Indians bullpen a perfect remedy for a bleeding finger
Game 3 of the American League Championship Series began with a bleeding finger and the Cleveland Indians bullpen acted as the Band-aid.
Indians starter Trevor Bauer couldn't even make it out of the first inning due to the cut on his little finger leaking blood which was caused by a blade from his drone earlier in the week. In a pivotal game 3 of the ALCS the Indians bullpen continued their dominance as they picked up the slack for the injured Bauer.
The Indians bullpen trotted out six different pitchers logging 8.1 innings giving up seven hits, two runs, one walk and eight strikeouts in the 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Indians became the first team in MLB history to win a postseason game without a single pitcher recording more than five outs.
This isn't the first time the Tribe bullpen had to come in for an injured starter and pitch 8 or more innings. On September 17th vs. the Detroit Tigers Carlos Carrasco was hit by a line drive in the pitching hand in the first inning. The Indians bullpen used eight pitchers in 10 innings and the Indians beat the Tigers 1-0.
In the ALCS Cleveland's bullpen has pitched 14.1 innings, given up eight hits, two runs, one walk and 21 strikeouts. In the entire postseason their line looks like this: 24.2 IP, 16 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 35 K.
#Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer is bleeding pretty badly from his pitching hand. #ALCS Game 3 pic.twitter.com/PqCu3NLLjF
— SportsCast (@SportsCast_THN) October 18, 2016
We are now 4-1 this season in games in which our bullpen throws 8 or more innings.
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) October 18, 2016
That is crazy. #RallyTogether https://t.co/AHFAPEmlHV