The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Tribe gets healthy just in time
The Indians are heading into their best-of-five ALDS matchup with the Astros, starting Oct. 5 in Houston, healthier than they have been at any point in the season.
Catcher Yan Gomes’ right thumb is still an ugly purple from a freakish injury Sept. 29 in Kansas City, but he says he’ll be ready to catch Tribe starter Corey Kluber in the ALDS opener.
“I’m good,” he said Oct. 2 in the Indians’ clubhouse before the Tribe played an intrasquad game at Progressive Field. “I haven’t done any throwing except to play catch with my son, but right now it feels like a bad cut. It’s on the outside, so it’s fine.”
Game 1 is scheduled to begin at 2:05 p.m. Game 2, also in Houston, is scheduled to begin at 4:37 p.m. Oct. 6. Both games will be televised on TBS. After an off day Oct. 7, the series shifts to Progressive Field on Oct. 8.
The Indians need Gomes at his best. He caught 112 games while batting .266 — 34 points higher than in 2017 — and driving in 48 runs this season. He is Kluber’s primary catcher.
Gomes was injured when his thumb hit the bat of Kansas City’s Alex Gordon as Gomes was trying to throw out a Royals runner trying to steal second base. Two stitches were required to stop the bleeding.
Pitcher Trevor Bauer is not only fully recovered from the right leg stress fracture that sidelined him for six weeks from Aug. 12Sept.
21, he also has regained his pitching form to the point where Manager Terry Francona is considering starting Bauer (or Shane Bieber) in Game 4 at Progressive Field, Francona announced Oct. 2.
Carlos Carrasco will start Game 2, and Mike Clevinger will start Game 3.
Andrew Miller, the lefthanded reliever who was on the disabled list three times with knee and shoulder injuries, is ready for the Astros. He has pitched in a total of 10 innings in 10 games since returning from the DL on Sept. 10. He allowed seven earned runs and two home runs in that stretch.
“I feel good,” Miller said in the Indians’ clubhouse. “I feel like I threw the ball well. I threw the ball over the plate. My stuff was good, so I’m looking forward to it.
“We have our hands full with Houston. Obviously, they’re the reigning
champs. We have to go down there and hopefully make a statement and come back here in good shape.”
Left fielder Michael Brantley belongs on the healthy list, too. He has been rock-steady all season after being limited to 90 games last year because of an ankle injury suffered in August. He had only two at-bats in the 2017 ALDS against the Yankees.
Jason Kipnis played in 147 games in 2018 after shoulder and hamstring injuries held him back last year.
“We were so unsettled last year in the playoffs,” Francona said. “We went through a lot of that the last two weeks. It’s not a lot of fun, because it’s unsettling. But I think — in fact, I know — it was for a good reason.
“Now, we’re going to see if it pays off. We think we have Josh Donaldson in a good place. We think Andrew has come so far. Kip’s had three weeks to play center
field. Jose’s (Ramirez) had three weeks at second. If you have too many question marks, sometimes the answer is no. And we really don’t want that to happen.”
He never used a sore back as an excuse for pitching poorly in two starts against the Yankees in the ALDS last year, but Kluber is definitely rested and ready to pitch the opener of the five-game series with the Astros.
He gave up nine earned runs in 6 1/3 innings pitching against the Yankees last year.
To ensure there would be no repeat of last year’s back problems for Kluber, Francona massaged his starting rotation so the Indians ace would have an extra day of rest before dueling Astros starter Justin Verlander on Oct. 5.
“He’s ready to go,” Francona said. “He’s ready to accept the challenge of anchoring our staff.”
Kluber was 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA in 2018.