Cleveland Indians reach the World Series

His fastball tops out at 87 miles per hour. In them, he has allowed five hits, struck out 21 batters, and walked only two. They needed just three runs in Game 5.

“With our experience in our lineup, I’m pretty sure he’s going to be shaking in his boots more than we are”, Bautista said before the game. “I don’t know how we can begin to think about who the exact players are until we have that piece done, and we’ll have that done in the next few weeks”.

He probably should have been a lot more scared. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. After Russell Martin’s bloop single with one out in the fifth, Francona leaned again on a bullpen that soaked up 8 1/3 innings in a Game 3 win Monday. He finished the series with an immaculate ERA and a 0.43 WHIP.

Toronto’s Brett Cecil, Joe Biagini and Roberto Osuna delivered three innings of one-hit relief. But finesse, when properly executed, can still win in baseball. Once the bats go cold, the margin of error shrinks, and while Toronto’s starters and bullpen (especially Roberto Osuna) were up to the task in these playoffs, they had to be near ideal in this series to give the Jays an edge.

Merritt’s day was an exercise in pitch sequencing mastery.

Jose Bautista was the last man to leave.

Then, they let Bautista hear it. Merritt then chucked an 85-mph fastball that missed outside.

Merritt’s teammates faith in him never wavered. On paper, that 86-mph offering should have been upper-deck fodder. “You see where you’re at with your pitches”. That was a consistent theme throughout Merritt’s outing. In his case, that little extra took the pitch all the way up to 86-87 miles per hour.

“To stay on top or get close to the top, I mean, it takes a lot”, Gibbons said. Troy Tulowitzki fouled out to first. His gorgeous curve left a trail of devastation in its wake. “They pitched great. It was tough”.

You have to wonder if it will be next year, either. The Jays, hoping to play with a lead, hoping to get to neophyte lefthander Ryan Merritt, had one lead in five games.

“He’s unflappable – the unflappable Ryan Merritt”, Callaway said. Facing Josh Donaldson, the Blue Jays’ best hitter in the series, Miller induced an inning-ending double play on the first pitch.

That all set up Indians manager Terry Francona being able to go to his bullpen with a lead, just as planned.

This year it was Encarnacion’s turn, with a three-run drive in the 11th inning to beat Baltimore in the wild card game. Since coming back to the Blue Jays prior to the 2013 season, Gibbons has compiled a 339-309 record – a successful run that has boosted his career record as a manager to 644-614.

Shapiro has said Gibbons will return for in 2017, the final year of his contract. Not with so many questions in so many areas.

With all of 11 major league innings under his belt – and only one start, on September 30 – Merritt took the mound and looked just like a seasoned vet. “I’m glad they called me and that they had trust in me to come out here and give them a chance to win the game, especially at this point in the season”. Everybody is behind you.

You could also go down the conspiracy route here.

Both players were big parts of the franchise’s return to prominence previous year.

Bautista, who turned 36 on Wednesday, drew the ire of many Jays fans this postseason as he struggled at the plate while saying there were “circumstances” hindering his team’s hitters against Cleveland’s staff.

Toronto’s offensive funk was remarkable given the shaky state of Cleveland’s starting pitching.

“When this building is full it either seems like playoff baseball or it is playoff baseball”.