Ryan Merritt flooded with wedding gifts from Indians fans

Game six was another one-run game, with a nice outing from Maddux, besides a three-run third inning by NY. They will be rested for Game 5. At the end of the “95 season, most just assumed that with the frustration caused by World Series losses in 1991 and 1992 over, Atlanta was built to win more Commissioner’s Trophies before the decade came to a close”.

Shaw pitched an inning, and Miller came on with one out in the sixth and a runner on. The first batter, the unsafe veteran Jose Bautista, hit a double to left field. The stingy scorekeeper did not give Napoli an RBI because Toronto outfielder Ezequiel Carrera bobbled the ball, but no matter; the Tribe had a 1-0 lead before Merritt threw his first pitch.

Francona wasted no time in going to his bullpen as soon they established a lead. Montgomery entered after starter John Lackey, who was charged with two runs after giving up three hits and three walks over four-plus innings. Tito then went back to his bullpen in the 7th and brought in his bullpen ace, Andrew Miller.

After stops with Baltimore and the Yankees, Miller ended up in Cleveland, and the Indians had an unorthodox plan for his usage.

Even if you don’t trust third-order wins – or its elder kin, Pythagorean record, which supports the notion that the Cubs (with 107 “expected” wins) were better than the Dodgers (90) – you have to face certain realities.

A most unlikely pitching performance helped put a most unexpected team into the World Series. Next up were Josh Donaldson, the hero of game four, and Edwin Encarnacion, but they both struck out. The Indians cruised to a 3-0 victory and won the American League pennant.

On Wednesday, Toronto host game five and the Cleveland Indians were aiming to secure their first World Series since 1997 but failed.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but the heavy criticism directed at Orioles manager Buck Showalter for not bringing in lights-out closer Zach Britton in the AL wild card game did drive home the point about the need to win or lose with your best players.

Now, they’re on to the World Series with homefield advantage.

They’ll also keep an eye on the NLCS to see who their opponent will be.

With starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer dealing with injuries, the Indians kept defying the odds. The Indians eliminated Toronto 4-1 to earn the privilage to wait for the victor between the Dodgers and Cubs to visit Cleveland on Tuesday to start the World Series.