BATS MORE LIKE IT
They still face elimination, but Jays keep hope alive with 5-1 win against Cleveland
They’re probably not coming back, right? No, put that out of your mind. Coming back from 0-3 in a best-of-seven series is probably hopeless, like never losing a sock in the laundry, or beating traffic. Nobody ever really beats traffic. In Toronto, traffic beats you.
But the Toronto Blue Jays, facing elimination in the American League Championship Series, beat Cleveland 5-1 in Game 4. They now trail the series 3-1, which is better than 3-0, if not by a lot. Trailing 3-1 just means you put off the execution until Wednesday, maybe.
“We’re in the same boat as today,” said reliever Jason Grilli. “If it means getting in the World Series, we’ve got to win every game.”
“I mean, it definitely feels good to get a win,” said catcher Russell Martin.
“And that’s how it starts. We won four in a row to start the playoffs, and I believe that we can do it.”
I mean, he has to say that. What else can you say?
One team has come back from 0-3, ever, and its manager is in the opposing dugout in this series.
It’s just in Game 4, Cleveland had to pitch ace Corey Kluber on short rest for the first time in his life, and he lasted only 89 pitches because if Toronto forces Game 7, he will pitch on short rest for the second time in his life.
“I think seeing him so recently was good for us as well,” said designated hitter Michael Saunders. “Understanding what his ball was doing. His stuff was as good as it’s always been. (But) there’s that familiarity.”
Kluber made a few more mistakes, too. Cleveland manager Terry Francona thought his legs got tired.
It took until the third inning of the fourth game of the series, but Josh Donaldson smashed a two-out home run to left-centre, and the Jays held a lead over Cleveland for the first time in October. One inning later, with men at first and second, Ezequiel Carrera — “a prime-time player,” said shortstop Troy Tulowitzki — slapped at a first-pitch curveball, and it arced gently up over the infield but short of the outfield, into that safe shaded valley that Donaldson’s doomed screaming liner in Game 3 couldn’t find.
Tulowitzki read the play like a pro and scored from second. 2-0. Toronto improved to 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the series.
“We call that a blooper,” Carrera said. He patted his belly at first base because, he said, his teammates call him Little Fatty.
The two runs mattered in this one because starter Aaron Sanchez was cruising along like he was driving a classic Chevy Bel Air down an empty highway. Cleveland’s two hits came from their No. 8 and 9 hitters. Aaron Sanchez is a killer, and it probably would have been nice to see him start twice in this series.
“I think he could eventually pitch a perfect game or something like that, but you don’t need to be better than he was today,” Martin said. “I think what helped us is scoring first. Scoring first, you can breathe a little bit.”
There were other signs of life from the bats. Edwin Encarnacion hit one to the track. Saunders crushed an upper-deck slider foul and singled twice. Bautista hit one to the track, and he is inches away from a home run a lot these days. Tulowitzki hit a single off the top of the wall. Carrera had excellent at-bats, and forced Cleveland right-fielder Lonnie Chisenhall to chase one down at the wall to save a run or two. Baseball is a funny game, though you don’t always laugh.
“Good teams are always lucky,” said Saunders, quite seriously.
And in the seventh, they loaded the bases when Cleveland decided on facing Edwin rather than Donaldson, even though Encarnacion had been nails all day: single, long fly ball to the wall, liner that found a glove. Encarnacion, along with Donaldson, has been the most reliable bat in the lineup. The big hit had eluded this team for three games.
Edwin spanked a single up the middle that scored two. Didn’t try to do too much. A cushion, finally. The Jays hadn’t been able to breathe all series long.
So, now what? Cleveland will start a rookie named Ryan Merritt in Game 5. He pitched 11 innings this year. He’s left-handed, and doesn’t throw hard. Toronto will counter with Marco Estrada. Hmm.
Then . . . well, they’d go back to Cleveland and see Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin again, with J.A. Happ pitching. What if the bats are waking up? Hmm.
Then it would be Kluber again in Game 7, and they said they saw his pitches better this time, plus, short rest again. Would his legs tire again? Hmm.
It’s probably not happening. The Jays bats can go cold fast, and they’ve been showing that for most of a month. Cleveland’s still got Andrew Miller lurking, still has a fresh bullpen, still has bats and speed. Three more wins is a mountain.
But . . . Cleveland is trying to advance to the World Series with two starting pitchers, plus a bullpen that can lay waste to the earth. It’s a tightrope, not a paved road to the centre of town. “Why not us?” Grilli asked. I guess we’ll see.