The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Indians staying tough in playoff race
Anyone who counted the Indians out of the playoff race after they were swept by Tampa
Bay and then split a fourgame series with the White Sox earlier this month might want to count again.
The Indians flew back to Cleveland after completing a three-game sweep of the Angels on Sept. 11 still on the outside, but in better shape than they were Sept. 6 when they started a three-game series in Minnesota.
Taking five of six games on the trip left the Indians four games behind the Twins heading into games played Sept. 12. They are a half-game behind the A’s for the second wild card spot and a game behind the Rays for the first wild card spot. They were 6.5 games behind the Twins in the AL Central and 1.5 games out of the second wild card Sept. 6.
The Indians are refusing to let injuries to third baseman Jose Ramirez (hand), outfielder Tyler Naquin (knee) and starting pitcher Corey Kluber be an excuse for not making the playoffs. That doesn’t account for adversity from earlier in the year when Mike Clevinger missed more than two months with a back injury and Carlos Carrasco missed three months battling leukemia.
Just the fact they are still in the race when it would have been easy to give up is a testimony
to what Terry Francona has instilled in his team in seven years as the Indians manager. Compare the 2019 Indians to the hot mess the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox have become.
Every game and every series is huge for the Indians with only 15 games to play. They could be in control of the wild card race when the Twins leave town Sept. 15 or they could be in a deeper hole. The A’s will play the Rangers three times in Texas while the Indians are busy with the Twins. The Rays start a threegame series with the Angels in Anaheim on Sept. 13.
The Indians host the Tigers and Phillies for three games each after playing the Twins then finish the season with three road games against the White Sox and three more against the Nationals.
Indians rookie Aaron Civale (3-3, 1.93 ERA) will duel Twins starter Jake Odorizzi (14-6, 3.60) in the series opener at 7:10 p.m. Sept. 13 at Progressive Field.
Mike Clevinger (11-2, 2.72) will pitch against a pitcher to be determined Sept. 14. Shane Bieber (147, 3.17) will pitch for the Indians on Sept. 15 against Jose Berrios (12-8, 3.63) in the final game the Indians and Twins meet in the regular season. The rotation is set up perfectly for the Indians.
Civale has appeared in eight games and has not allowed more than two runs in any start this season. He gave up one run in five innings against the Twins on Sept. 7 in his last start, but the bullpen failed and the Indians lost, 5-3.
The bullpen is the biggest question mark for the Indians in their quest for a fourth straight playoff appearance.
Closer Brad Hand was not available Sept. 11 when the Indians edged the Angels, 4-3, because he was sent back to Cleveland on a red-eye flight the night before so doctors could examine him and maybe figure out if something was structurally wrong with his tired left arm. An MRI came back clean, Francona told reporters in Anaheim on Sept. 11.
“Now we have to build him back up,” Francona said. “How that goes will be determined by how he feels.”
It is no wonder Hand is tired. He has finished 59 games — the most of
any pitcher in the major leagues this season. He has saved 34 games and blown five saves. He earned four straight saves after blowing three straight, although the Indians won two of those three games. He gave up a two-run homer against the White Sox in a third of an inning Sept. 4 and pitched only one inning since then, earning the save Sept. 8 when the Indians beat the Twins, 5-2.
Francona is uncertain if Hand will be available for the series with the Twins. It could be that Hand has to miss the first game but could pitch in the final two games or the season finale.
Meanwhile, Tyler Clippard, Carlos Carrasco and Adam Cimber will hold
up the backend of the bullpen. Carrasco earned the victory in Anaheim on Sept. 11. Cimber got his first major league save.
“We’re ready,” Clippard told reporters in Anaheim. “The nice thing is what we’ve done all year — nobody has really had set roles, except for Brad. We’re ready for everything down there. That’s the way it’s been all year. Nothing is going to really throw us off. We’re ready to go when Tito wants us to go.”
The Indians have overcome adversity all season. There’s no reason to stop now.