Brendan Kennedy
Twists and turning points
Five key moments from season finale,
1 Carrera’s costly error One of the key differences for the Jays in Tuesday’s Game 4 victory was that they got an early lead — their first of the series — ensuring they avoided the more fearsome parts of Cleveland’s bullpen. On Wednesday they fell behind before they even had a chance to hit, when Francisco Lindor sliced a single the other way and was driven home on a Mike Napoli double, pounded off the wall and misplayed by Ezequiel Carrera. Cleveland had a 69-20 record this season, including playoffs, when they scored first — a testament to their great bullpen. The early tally also had the effect of quieting the Rogers Centre’s soldout crowd.
2 Bautista vs. Merritt After Game 4, Jose Bautista was asked what he thought about the team’s chances in Game 5 given that Cleveland’s scheduled starter, Ryan Merritt, was an unknown rookie with only 11 big-league innings under his belt. “With our experience and our lineup I’m pretty sure he’s going to be shaking in his boots more than we are.” It was quintessential bulletinboard material, the kind of quote teams put up in their clubhouse as motivation. Fittingly, Bautista was Merritt’s first batter and the rookie bested the veteran, getting ahead on the first two pitches with an 84m.p.h. changeup and 70-m.p.h. curveball before eventually inducing a weak groundout.
3 Santana’s homer Marco Estrada did not pitch poorly — he allowed five baserunners in his six innings, while striking out seven — but he did make a couple of costly mistakes. He was lucky to only be burned for a run on Napoli’s first-inning double — batted balls of a similar profile were home runs 97 per cent of the time this season — but when he left a cut fastball up in the strike zone to Carlos Santana in the third inning, no amount of luck could save him. Santana deposited the pitch deep into the right-field seats. Estrada also gave up a solo blast to Coco Crisp in the fourth, but the loss can hardly be laid at his feet.
4 Miller vs. Donaldson Cleveland’s Angel of Death, Andrew Miller, was summoned from the bullpen in the sixth inning to face Josh Donaldson, the Jays’ Game 4 hero, with one out and Bautista on base. Given how virtually unhittable Miller’s slider is, Donaldson was clearly hunting a fastball early in the count. He got one in the first pitch and took a hack. Unfortunately it hit the dirt in front of Lindor, Cleveland’s shortstop, who turned an inning-ending double play. The fact Miller got two outs on one pitch was even more demoralizing. The lanky lefty, who had already set an ALCS strikeout record, has yet to allow a run in his post-season career.
5 Last call for stars? Down 3-0 in the ninth inning with the season hanging in the balance, Bautista stepped to the plate to lead off the ninth inning for what may have been his final at-bat as a Blue Jay. Briefly delayed by a field crasher — with little regard for the importance of the moment — Bautista worked the count full on Cleveland closer Cody Allen before driving a double to the left-field corner. The sold-out crowd roared louder than it had all series. After Donaldson struck out, it was Edwin Encarnacion’s turn. But he went down swinging against Allen’s nose-diving knuckle-curve. In this series the Jays’ two big boppers combined to hit just .189 with two RBIs.