Dodgers enjoy Miller time
They get to the Indians’ outstanding reliever for the second game in row.
DODGERS 6 CLEVELAND 4
CLEVELAND — On Tuesday afternoon, hours before the Dodgers toppled Cleveland Indians reliever Andrew Miller for the first time, the hitters piled onto couches in the visitors’ clubhouse at Progressive Field. The pre-series scouting meeting is a staple of the sport, a skull session to break down the tendencies and vulnerabilities of the opposing pitchers. A sizable chunk of Tuesday’s discussion focused on Miller.
Manager Dave Roberts described Miller as a “huge” topic during the session. The coaches apprised the team that Miller could appear in all three games here. He might arrive in any moment of importance, wielding 97mph fastballs and a medley of sliders from a variety of angles.
“We talked about how, if it was late in the game and somewhat close, they were not going to be afraid to use him,” utility man Enrique Hernandez said.
Perhaps Cleveland should have been.
Few Dodgers had faced Miller. After two nights here, Miller may not want to see them again. He had not given up a homer in 2017 before Tuesday. A day after Cody Bellinger broke that spell, Hernandez did the same to ignite a four-run rally in the eighth inning of a 6-4 Dodgers victory. His solo shot ended a deadlock in the sixth victory in a row for the Dodgers.
After throwing 25 pitches the game before, Miller looked gassed Wednesday. The lineup gashed him for four runs, pouncing on a misstep by rookie second baseman Erik Gonzalez after Hernandez homered. Trying to turn a double play with the bases loaded, Gonzalez never touched second base. A run scored on the mistake, and two came home on a single by Chris Taylor.
The eighth-inning flurry provided cushion for the
Dodgers bullpen. Josh Fields surrendered a homer for the third time in four outings. Luis Avilan was charged with two runs. After Avilan left in the eighth, Pedro Baez put two men in scoring position before striking out outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall to preserve the lead.
It was not the game Roberts expected. Cleveland began the game with the lowest bullpen earned-run average in the majors. The Dodgers ranked second. Both numbers will swell after Wednesday, but the victors will not complain.
“That’s the beautiful thing about baseball,” Roberts said. “That’s why we play.”
The final innings mutated a contest that began as a duel between Brandon McCarthy and Corey Kluber. McCarthy limited the Indians to one run and three hits in 51⁄3 innings. Kluber recovered from an early hiccup to strike out 10 batters in seven innings.
In Kluber, the Dodgers drew a formidable opponent. Kluber won the American League Cy Young Award in 2014 and finished third in the voting last season. Aware of his talent, the Dodgers felt compelled to use guile in the second inning.
After a leadoff walk by Yasmani Grandal, Taylor doubled. Grandal held at third base. Joc Pederson squibbed a grounder that third baseman Jose Ramirez could not convert. Grandal scored. After the infield single, Pederson broke for second base and Taylor, at third, waited for catcher Yan Gomes to remove his hand from his glove to throw.
“You just have to react,” Taylor said. “It’s a gamble.”
It paid off. Gonzalez spiked a relay back to the plate and Taylor stole home. McCarthy held the lead into the sixth. He did not record a strikeout. He also didn’t allow a runner to reach third base until the sixth. Asked to explain his success, he cred- ited “luck.”
“I couldn’t strike anybody out,” McCarthy said. “I couldn’t command my pitches. I couldn’t get them to move when I wanted to. Somehow, it worked out.”
Cleveland didn’t get its second hit until the sixth inning. McCarthy gave up two singles and exited. Grant Dayton gave up a sacrifice fly by outfielder Michael Brantley to halve the Dodgers’ lead.
For the seventh inning, Roberts selected Fields. There is little mystery to Fields’ approach: He fires his fastball more than 80% of the time, often elevated in the strike zone, and dares hitters to catch up. With the count at 2 and 2, Ramirez did. He smoked a 96-mph heater into the right-field seats and tied the score.
Hernandez pulled the Dodgers ahead in the second at-bat of the eighth. He credited seeing Miller during the World Baseball Classic this spring. The exhibition exposed Miller’s arsenal. Hernandez planned not to swing until Miller threw two strikes. Miller pumped two fastballs inside the zone and Hernandez shifted into “battle mode,” he said.
“I was looking for the slider, and he threw me the fastball,” Hernandez said. “I took an emergency swing, and the ball happened to go out.”
The homer soared toward the opposite field. Hernandez pumped his fist when the ball bounced off the top of the right-field wall. His teammates kept pushing after the blast, sullying the statistics of Miller.
Before this series started, Miller owned a 0.29 ERA. By Wednesday night, the number had inflated to 1.60. He can thank the Dodgers.
“If you look at our lineup, I think we have a pretty good one,” Hernandez said. “I know they have a pretty good bullpen, but you’ve still got to make pitches to get us out.”