Miller returns to strengthen bullpen

The Indians have reliever Andrew Miller, one of baseball’s best, back at their disposal.

Obviously, they’ve managed OK without him.

The nasty left-hander was activated from the disabled list Thursday after recovering from knee tendinitis over the last three weeks, which happened to coincide with the Indians reeling off an American League-record 21 straight wins before Thursday night’s game against the Royals. It was tied for the longest streak in 101 years.

While off to the side, Miller has enjoyed it.

“They’ve been an incredible team to watch — it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.

“It’s not a lot of fun to miss out, but they’ve found a lot of different ways (to win) and (played) pretty good baseball across the board.

“It’s a tribute to the staff and the types of players we have.

“Hopefully it’s a nice building block to where we want to go.”

The Indians have one goal — winning the World Series. And to do that, they’ll need Miller, who dominated last year’s postseason as few relievers have. He struck out 30 in 19 ⁄ innings as the Indians fell one game short of their first world championship since 1948.

Miller hasn’t pitched since Aug. 21, when he pulled himself from an appearance in Boston and went on the DL for the second time with tendinitis in his right knee. The Indians started their streak two days later.

Manager Terry Francona laughed when asked if he had a spot for “this Miller guy.”

“We need to build him back into this because the goal is for him to be a huge weapon,” Francona said. “But I think there’s a progression, and we’ll pay attention to it.”