Quirky rivals meet again
CLEVELAND — If October’s drama is anything close to what it was like between the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians in July and August, buckle up for the A.L. Championship Series, which opens Friday night at Progressive Field.
Their previous seven matchups included a 19inning marathon on July 1 in Toronto and a walk-off Indians win on Aug. 19 on back-to-back homers in the ninth inning, the second an inside-the-park shot that turned rookie Tyler Naquin into a local legend.
“There were some games that were obviously close that had some quirky plays in them,” Jays slugger Jose Bautista said.
The Indians, who swept Boston in the A.L. Division Series after a season filled with injuries, start Corey Kluber in Game 1 against Toronto’s Marco Estrada.
Kluber was magnificent in his postseason debut, holding the Red Sox to three hits in seven shutout innings in Game 2 of the ALDS. The right-hander, will have to be on his game against the Blue Jays, who hit eight home runs in their sweep of Texas and feature a lineup with danger from top to bottom.
“They’re a solid lineup, one through nine,” said Kluber, tagged for five runs and seven hits in 3 ⁄ innings against Toronto on July 3. “It’s not just two, three, four guys that can hurt you. Everybody in that lineup can hurt you.”
On Canada Day, the Indians and Blue Jays slugged it out in Rogers Centre for more than six hours before Cleveland escaped with a 2-1 win.
The victory capped a franchise-record, 14-game winning streak for the Indians. Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said the game was a test of endurance.
“I felt like I was out there at shortstop forever,” he said. “We were using position players to pitch. That game stands out because it shows how evenly matched we are. Every game was close. ... It’s the two best teams to me.”
The Blue Jays have been in playoff mode for weeks. They battled their way to a wild-card berth and beat Baltimore in the one-game playoff, then knocked out the Texas Rangers with a flurry of long balls to advance to the ALCS.
Now, they’ll square off with the Indians, a team that may lack marquee names but not confidence.
“As long as everybody executes and excels at what they’re good at, it’s going to be a tough series for either opponent to come out on top,” Bautista said. “They’re a speed-and-base-hit club and we’re a walk-and-home-run club. It’s going to be a pretty good series, I believe.”
Blue Jays reliever n Francisco Liriano has recovered from the concussion he received when he was struck on the back of the head by a comebacker in the ALDS.
He’s expected to be cleared from the concussion protocol on Friday in time for Game 1.