☆ 2016 ALDS ☆ BOSTON RED SOX vs CLEVELAND INDIANS ☆
-
CLEVELAND -- In the second half of the regular season, the Red Sox answered the questions that had been hounding them about their inability to get real traction on the road. But now they're going to be put to the test once again. Because following Thursday night's 5-4 Indians victory in Game 1 of this American League Division Series, the onus is on Boston to steal a split at Progressive Field before the best-of-five heads to the Back Bay.
David Price is hounded by questions, too, specifically about his inability, to date, to win a postseason game as a starter. So Boston's $217 million ace is also going to have to rise to the occasion in Game 2 on Friday (4:30 p.m. ET, TBS), and he's going to have to do so against fellow Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.
"I want to have that really good postseason game," said Price, who is 2-7 with a 5.12 ERA in 14 career postseason appearances, with both of those wins coming in relief. "I know that I'm capable of doing that."
The Red Sox know they're capable of winning big games away from Fenway Park. They proved that with a Major League-best 27-17 road record in the second half and, particularly, a sterling September in which a road-heavy schedule (all but 10 of their games in the final month were on the road) didn't prevent them from taking what had been an ultra-tight fight for the AL East.
In the first half, the Red Sox were 19-18 on the road.
"When you look at what took place in the months of August and September," manager John Farrell said, "our rotation stepped forward in terms of being more consistent one through five. In the month of September, our bullpen was at its best. And I think that was the benefit of maybe some less innings pitched in August. They were able to catch a little bit of a second wind. But bottom line, we pitched better in the second half, and that led to the record."
Another bottom line: Cy Young candidate Rick Porcello just didn't pitch very well in Game 1. He was chased in the fifth and charged with five runs. The Red Sox, clearly, need better from Price.
One could argue that the Red Sox's attitude toward assuring themselves of the home-field edge in this ALDS was slightly more lax than that of the Tribe, as evidenced most notably by David Ortiz getting pulled in the fifth inning of the penultimate game of the season, which was a tight one with Toronto. Boston's two losses in that final weekend, combined with the Tribe's sweep of the Royals, gave the Indians home-field edge in this set, and that certainly felt significant in Game 1. The Indians got more runs (five) off Porcello than they did innings (4 2/3) out of starter Trevor Bauer, and then they rode their chief relievers hard. Andrew Miller delivered six outs spread over three innings, and Cody Allen was brought in for just the second five-out save of his career.
That presents another subplot to Game 2. The Indians are clearly banking on length out of Kluber, because, even with an off-day looming, they're going to have to be more conservative with Miller and Allen the second time around.
"I was joking with Kluber," Tribe manager Terry Francona said. "I told him he's on a tight 165-170 [pitch count]."
Given Francona's unconventional approach to the 'pen in Game 1, maybe the leash will be even longer than usual for Kluber. He is certainly well-rested. Quadriceps tightness forced him to skip his last start, so he's on 10 days' rest. How much (or if) the leg issue affects him will certainly be a talking point.
"Everything was fine," Kluber said. "It was more precautionary, didn't want it to turn into something serious. Everything is fine."
The Indians are in fine shape after their Game 1 win, which went against plenty of predictions about how this series might shake out, given the injury hits to the Tribe's rotation. If the Indians win Game 2, they've got a wealth of history on their side. Only six of the 48 teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Division Series round have gone on to lose the series.
But Boston can still give this series a very different feel going into Fenway. And that has to start with an on-point Price.
-
Updated futures before INDIANS Game 2 vegasinsider.com :
ODDS TO WIN 2016 AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANT (10/31/16)
Team Odds
Toronto Blue Jays 7/4
Cleveland Indians 5/2
Boston Red Sox 3/1
Texas Rangers 4/1
ODDS TO WIN 2016 WORLD SERIES (10/31/16)
Team Odds
Chicago Cubs 9/4
Toronto Blue Jays 11/2
Cleveland Indians 6/1
Boston Red Sox 13/2
Los Angeles Dodgers 15/2
San Francisco Giants 17/1
Texas Rangers 10/1
Washington Nationals 10/1
-
-
2016 ALDS ☆ BOSTON RED SOX vs CLEVELAND INDIANS ☆
Game Date Time Matchup TV
Gm 1 Oct. 6 TBD BOS @ CLE TBS... Porcello vs Bauer
Gm 2 Oct. 7 TBD BOS @ CLE TBS... Price vs Kluber
Gm 3 Oct. 9 TBD CLE @ BOS TBS... Tomlin vs Buchholz
*Gm 4 Oct. 10 2 or 3 pm CLE @ BOS TBS... Bauer vs Rodriguez
*Gm 5 Oct. 12 8 pm* BOS @ CLE TBS... Price vs Kluber
Game 5 would be an 8 pm primetime game mid-October in Cleveland, smart!?
October baseball in Cleveland, GO TRIBE!
2016 ALDS ☆ BOSTON RED SOX vs CLEVELAND INDIANS ☆
Game Date Time Matchup TV
Gm 1 Oct. 6 8 pm BOS @ CLE TBS... Porcello vs Bauer
Gm 2 Oct. 7 4:30 pm BOS @ CLE TBS... Price vs Kluber
Gm 3 Oct. 9 4 pm CLE @ BOS TBS... Tomlin vs Buchholz
*Gm 4 Oct. 10 TBD CLE @ BOS TBS... TBD vs Rodriguez
*Gm 5 Oct. 12 TBD BOS @ CLE TBS
October baseball in Cleveland, GO TRIBE!
-
Zombo said:
Very entertaining.
BALLGAME.
Z
Really was, the Jake was rocking as well
I wish these schedulers would think of me over here
the game on Thursday they start at 1am but on Friday with no work tomorrow it's 9.30pm! Not that I'm selfish or anything...
Not that I'm selfish or anything...
Thought you were cursed at 8.5 when Napoli's ground rule double sent Kip back to 3rd & inning ended. Belly Up to the Winner's Window. The Curse is broken.Congrats
-
Game is starting on TNT due to the TOR/TX game running long.
Because Vegas actually does real analysis instead of looking at 6 month old numbers.
Or because they look at betting patterns as much as they do the actual match-ups...
I bet the over 8.5 total
Never a doubt... lol...
Great game last nite... love that Jake sound of a no-doubter like Kipnis hit.
-
-
Texas looks like they are choking like dogs.
Texas looks like they are choking like dogs.
That is so nice of them, two options left lose now in TOR and done or go all 5 games both good.
-
955 Boston open -110 consensus -110 in other words dead even !
956 Cleveland open -110 consensus -110
7 runs OVER/UNDER, went up to 7' on most casinos saw 8 in one
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where's LondonBrown, I wonder if he bet this one I would have bet CLE but laid off the total...if I bet it.
And Kluber is deadly with 4+ runs something like 46-0 but this is Boston.
.....edit add, Kluber is now 47 + 1 postseason = 48-0 with 4+ runs, that is Cy Young leathal. oh the TBS guys said 35-0? What do they know.
-
I know that it's not just me but were the TBS announces totally for Boston?
Really now no talk about how the Indians just 3 hit shutout the mighty beaners? And other little things all throughout the first two games, I bet they can't wait to get back to Boston.
TRIBE off tomorrow then Tomlin in Boston on Sunday. GO TRIBE!
GO BUCKEYES, BROWNS, INDIANS, CAVS, YSU, NAVY and yes I like ND! -
Game is starting on TNT due to the TOR/TX game running long.
Because Vegas actually does real analysis instead of looking at 6 month old numbers.
Or because they look at betting patterns as much as they do the actual match-ups...
I bet the over 8.5 total
Never a doubt... lol...
Great game last nite... love that Jake sound of a no-doubter like Kipnis hit.
-
I know that it's not just me but were the TBS announces totally for Boston?
Really now no talk about how the Indians just 3 hit shutout the mighty beaners? And other little things all throughout the first two games, I bet they can't wait to get back to Boston.
TRIBE off tomorrow then Tomlin in Boston on Sunday. GO TRIBE!
I know that it's not just me but were the TBS announces totally for Boston?
Really now no talk about how the Indians just 3 hit shutout the mighty beaners? And other little things all throughout the first two games, I bet they can't wait to get back to Boston.
TRIBE off tomorrow then Tomlin in Boston on Sunday. GO TRIBE!
Nope, it's not just you. I couldn't believe the bias. I half expected them to go in the dugout and start blowing the sux! The Tribe was an afterthought. What a shame that we mopped the floor with their elderly asses..and maybe they cry when we sweep em Sunday after sending the PATs down in flames. Fuck them arrogant Basston holes
-
Fuck yeah, go tribe!
-
The status of this American League Division Series as it shifts to Fenway Park feels familiar. The big question is whether the end result will be a familiar one, as well.
Give the Indians credit for taking advantage of playing at home in Games 1 and 2 of this best-of-five set. But don't give them their tickets to the AL Championship Series just yet. We've got the October history between these two clubs to remind us not to assume anything going into Game 3 on Sunday (4 p.m. ET, TBS), when Clay Buchholz opposes Josh Tomlin.
Only seven times in 53 tries has a team gone down 0-2 in the Division Series and gone on to win. The 2016 Red Sox, who had a team meeting Saturday, are confident they can join that short list.
"We're the Boston Red Sox," Buchholz said. "We know how good we are and we're here for a reason."
This organization has been here before.
In the 1999 ALDS, the Indians were up, 2-0, on Boston when the series was Back Bay-bound, and the Red Sox wound up winning Games 3 and 4 at home before bringing down the Pedro Martinez relief hammer in Game 5.
In the best-of-seven 2007 ALCS, the Indians were up, 3-1, going into Game 5 at home, but they lost that one and the next two in Fenway.
So as good as this looks for Cleveland and as bleak as it appears for a Boston club trying to extend David Ortiz's Hall of Fame-worthy career, remember one thing.
"It's not over yet," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "You've got to beat us three times, not two."
The Indians are certainly aware of that.
"We can't get complacent and we're not," Tomlin said. "It's about going out there and handling our business, trying to win a game and not let them back in it. We know how good they are and so we can't get complacent and just kind of go through the motions and expect to win."
The Red Sox have more than just prideful sentiment backing them up in their belief that they can still make a series out of this. They've also got the stats.
Boston had a .300/.365/.492 slash line at home this season. That average was 36 points higher than on the road, while the on-base percentage was 33 points higher and the slugging percentage was 62 points higher.
Oh, and Big Papi, who has been basically invisible in this series so far, has a 1.125 OPS at Fenway in 156 postseason plate appearances there. Hard to imagine he doesn't still make his presence known.
Perhaps more importantly, the Indians were a fundamentally different ballclub on the road than at home. That's why they fought so hard for home-field advantage in the season's final weekend.
At home, the Tribe scored 5.58 runs per game. On the road? Just 4.06, the fourth-lowest road runs average in the Majors. The Tribe's .691 road OPS was the third-worst in the league.
"The atmosphere," Tribe manager Terry Francona acknowledged, "is going to be a little different come Sunday."
And we have officially entered the part of the program where the Indians' injury-depleted rotation is most shaky. Tomlin was demoted from the starting unit in late August, only to return in mid-September after Danny Salazar went down with a right forearm strain. Tomlin finished the season strong (a 1.75 ERA and .540 OPS against in his last 25 2/3 innings over four starts), but that doesn't totally erase the 7.96 ERA and .937 OPS against in 10 starts from July 6 through Aug. 30.
Tomlin also finished the year with a 1.9 homers-per-nine-innings mark, which was the highest of his career. That could be a Fenway factor.
Of course, Buchholz has been an awfully difficult guy to pin down in his mercurial career. And his season has been an unusual one. Back in the weeks leading up to the Trade Deadline, it appeared Buchholz might be on his way out of Boston, as he had pitched himself out of the rotation with a 5.91 ERA in his first 18 appearances. But a temporary move to the bullpen proved to be beneficial for Buchholz, and save for one rough start against the Blue Jays, he finished strong, going at least six innings and allowing two earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts.
So it's not hard to draw a parallel between the two men taking the mound, and not just because they are former teammates at Angelina Junior College. Both pitched themselves into the 'pen, only to finish with a flourish when a rotation depletion called for it. And now they're entrusted with a key Game 3 assignment -- Tomlin trying to nail down an ALCS berth few predicted for the Tribe, and Buchholz trying to revive a season on the brink.
"Backs against the wall," Red Sox skipper John Farrell said. "Buchholz on the mound Sunday with an attitude of no tomorrow."
Will the Red Sox pull off a comeback reminiscent of yesteryear?
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login