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The Cleveland Indians again rode Andrew Miller’s left arm, along with strong starting pitching by Josh Tomlin and timely hitting by Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor, to a 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday and a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

Cleveland’s postseason formula has been to take an early lead and let the starting pitching hold down the fort before turning it over to Miller and Cody Allen for roughly nine outs.

Saturday started out well for the Tribe, with Santana ripping a laser over the wall in left field for a 1-0 lead in the second inning against Toronto starter J.A. Happ.

Per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the right side was not Santana’s power side during the regular season:

After being shut out by Corey Kluber on Friday, the Blue Jays did not want to go quietly in Game 2, responding in the top of the third inning against Tomlin.

Darwin Barney, who started at second base after Devon Travis re-aggravated a knee injury in Game 1, singled with one out. He moved to second on a groundout by Ezequiel Carrera and scored on Josh Donaldson’s double.

The opposite-field double also moved Donaldson to the top of the Blue Jays’ record book, per StatsCentre:

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney provided a look at where the reigning AL MVP’s hits have gone in October:

Tomlin battled through the third inning, throwing 24 pitches before working his way out of trouble with just one run crossing the plate.

As they have done throughout the postseason, the Indians wasted no time responding.

After reaching first base on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the inning, Rajai Davis proceeded to steal second base and then took third on a wild pitch by Happ.

With two outs, Lindor, who was the hero with a two-run homer in the sixth inning Friday and singled in his first at-bat Saturday, gave the Indians a 2-1 lead with an RBI single.

Per Baseball Tonight, Lindor is getting accustomed to multihit games in the playoffs:

Jonah Keri of CBS Sports believes many people have found their new favorite baseball player based on early returns in October:

Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal noticed one thing three of the four remaining playoff teams have in common:

With the lead, Cleveland manager Terry Francona opted to let Tomlin pitch into the sixth inning against Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista for the third time. He retired Donaldson and Encarnacion quickly before walking Bautista.

Francona then went to his bullpen, ending Tomlin’s day after 5.2 innings in which he allowed three hits and one run with six strikeouts and two walks.

Tomlin’s success since Sept. 1 has helped Cleveland get by without Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar. Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com shared the numbers:

The key to Tomlin’s success on Saturday was his ability to generate ground balls, per Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs:

Because Miller threw 31 pitches in Game 1, Bryan Shaw relieved Tomlin and got Troy Tulowitzki to end the potential threat in the sixth.

Miller came out to start the seventh inning, striking out the side on 15 pitches before recording two more punchouts in the eighth inning, adding to his postseason legend in the process.

T.J. Zuppe of 92.3 The Fan tried to illustrate Miller’s postseason dominance with numbers:

Jared Carrabis of Barstool Sports took a different approach to illustrating what happens when Miller is on the mound:

You run out of words at some point with Miller, because this level of dominance is not supposed to happen, particularly in October against the best teams in baseball.

Just as he did Friday, Allen came on to relieve Miller in the ninth inning. Cleveland’s closer did his best imitation of Miller by striking out Encarnacion and Bautista before Tulowitzki flew out to center field to end the game.

This is what the Indians needed to happen. They were brilliant at home during the regular season, with a 53-28 record, and have yet to lose in four games at Progressive Field in the postseason.

The Blue Jays are down, but they are far from out in the ALCS. Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez will start Games 3 and 4 at Rogers Centre on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, while the Indians will counter with an injured Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger.

Toronto’s fans are going to be loud with support for their team. The Blue Jays need to get their offense going, but with the pitching advantage in each of the next two games, they have a chance to extend the series.

Postgame Reaction

As was the case on Friday, Miller became the main talking point after Game 2 for his dominant two-inning effort against the Blue Jays. 

“There’s a reason we gave up what we did for him,” Francona said, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and Gregor Chisholm. “We thought that he could be a guy that we could leverage in situations like we have. And it would make our bullpen that much better and give us a chance to keep playing. And that’s exactly what he’s doing.”

It would be easy to keep singing the praises of Miller, but the Indians don’t get a chance to use him without Tomlin shutting down the Blue Jays for nearly six full innings. 

Per MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis called Tomlin a guy who is “easy to root for” because “he’s had to work for all 89 mph on that fastball.”

The Blue Jays aren’t in a full-blown panic facing a 2-0 series deficit, just as they did last year against the Kansas City Royals, but manager John Gibbons is aware the sense of urgency is increasing. 

“Our back’s against the wall,” Gibbons said, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca. “That’s pretty obvious.”

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The American League Championship Series rolls on Saturday afternoon from Progressive Field with the Cleveland Indians holding a 1-0 series lead over the Toronto Blue Jays following their 2-0 victory in Game 1. 

Outstanding pitching from Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen kept Toronto’s offense at bay, while Francisco Lindor’s two-run homer off Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada provided the difference for the Tribe. 

Saturday’s second game of the series took a unique turn on Friday when the Indians announced that Josh Tomlin would be moved up to start in place of Trevor Bauer, who suffered a cut on his pinky finger that required stitches. 

The Blue Jays will counter with left-hander J.A. Happ before this series heads back to Toronto starting next week. 

Key Matchup for Toronto: Homers vs. Tomlin

The Blue Jays were likely kicking themselves after Game 1 for wasting early opportunities against Kluber. They had two runners on base in each of the first three innings but couldn’t take advantage and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. 

There is good news for the Blue Jays against Tomlin. Cleveland’s starter allowed the third-most home runs in Major League Baseball during the regular season (36 in 174 innings), per ESPN.com. 

According to Joe Sheehan, Tomlin will be doing something that hasn’t been done since 2004:

For the record, the 2004 pitcher was Bartolo Colon with the Los Angeles Angels. He pitched fairly well against the Boston Red Sox, allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings.

Cleveland will be hoping for a similar effort from Tomlin, who was terrific against the Red Sox in the division series with two runs allowed in five innings.

The Blue Jays have a potent lineup, but they are at their best when home runs are a factor. In their three-game division series sweep against Texas, the Blue Jays hit 10 home runs. 

Following Tomlin’s Game 3 win against Boston, Jonah Keri of CBS Sports wrote about the right-hander’s formula for success without overpowering stuff:

He relies on guile and pinpoint control to survive in a world of terrifying fireballers. Given how severely the numbers tilt in a hitter’s favor when he gets ahead, every pitcher has a strong incentive to get ahead in the count early. For Tomlin, the prospect of slinging an 87-mph fastball to a hulking slugger on a 2-0 count practically begs him to throw first-pitch strikes.

Tomlin’s best asset is, as Keri noted, control. He had the second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in baseball this year (5.9) among qualified starters because he doesn’t walk hitters. 

The Blue Jays will put the ball in play often against Tomlin. Their key to success will be hitting it over the fence as they did so often against the Rangers. 

Key Matchup for Cleveland: Speed on Bases

The Indians didn’t have many chances to take advantage of their speed in Game 1, because Estrada limited them to seven baserunners in eight innings.

Lindor’s homer allowed them to ease off the throttle late in Game 1, but they won’t have that luxury on Saturday, since the Blue Jays figure to score at least a few runs against Tomlin. 

While Cleveland’s lineup is capable of playing long ball—Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli tied for the team lead with 34 homers—their best asset is using their speed and instincts to take extra bases in an effort to keep pressure on the opposing pitcher. 

The Indians were one of the best teams in baseball at stealing bases during the regular season, racking up 134 steals with an 81.21 percent success rate. 

Per August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs, Cleveland’s success on the bases extends far beyond just being able to steal them:

We host a stat here on FanGraphs called Ultimate Base Running (UBR), which filters out stolen-base attempts and focuses just on a player’s ability and efficiency in taking the extra base on hits and tagging up on fly balls. As a team, the Indians rank second in baseball in this measure, behind only the historic Padres. On an individual level, Jose Ramirez was baseball’s best baserunner. Rajai Davis ranked seventh, among 268 batters with at least 300 plate appearances.

Fagerstrom also noted the Indians finished second in baseball by successfully taking the extra base on a hit 45 percent of the time and led baseball by scoring 129 runs from second on a single in 184 attempts. 

In a separate article for FanGraphs, Fagerstrom noted how poor Toronto pitchers have been this season at preventing stolen bases with opposing teams succeeding 37 times in 42 combined attempts against Estrada, Happ, Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna. 

Happ, who will be on the mound Saturday, only had one caught stealing in eight attempts during the regular season. 

Russell Martin can only do so much, and he was awful throwing out baserunners this season, going 11-of-72 in that category for a 15 percent success rate. 

Cleveland hit well against left-handed pitching during the regular season, posting a collective .748 OPS, per Baseball-Reference.com. Davis will be in the starting lineup against a left-handed starter, as he was throughout the regular season, making him an integral piece if he can find a way on base. 

The Indians want to play a similar style to what the Royals did when they won the World Series last year. They can hit homers if necessary, but putting the ball in play and forcing the defense to throw them out is when they are at their best. 

Getting guys on base makes the Indians more lethal because of how well they run the bases as a collective whole. 

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Stellar pitching from Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller, Cody Allen and a home run from Francisco Lindor gave the Cleveland Indians a 2-0 victory and early edge in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada was cruising through the first five innings. He gave up just four singles and had Cleveland hitters off-balance with an outstanding fastball-changeup combination. 

The Indians struck in the sixth with Jason Kipnis drawing a five-pitch walk. Lindor got down 0-2 in the count before waiting back on a changeup from Estrada that carried over the center field fence for a 2-0 lead on a night when balls had been dying in the outfield. 

That would be the lone blemish on Estrada’s resume for the evening. Toronto’s starter finished with a complete game, allowing just six hits, two runs with six strikeouts and one walk on 101 pitches. 

Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca, Estrada’s loss was particularly tough because he did something no Toronto pitcher had done in 2016:

Per ESPN Stats & Info, it’s been nearly 20 years since the Indians have had a homer like the one Lindor provided:

Per Cespedes Family BBQ, it’s possible that you may have felt the earth shake wherever you were following Lindor’s blast:

Kluber continued his postseason magnificence for the Tribe. After throwing seven scoreless innings against Boston in the division series, the 2014 American League Cy Young winner added to his early playoff resume, with Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com providing his stat line so far this October:

The Blue Jays did have opportunities against Kluber that they were unable to take advantage of, particularly early. They had two runners on base in each of the first three innings, but they came up empty-handed. 

Falling behind didn’t appear to be a problem for Toronto hitters, with August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs noting they did something against Kluber virtually no one did in the regular season:

For the Blue Jays, though, their woes with runners in scoring position that disappeared against Texas in the division series came back Friday night. Per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, Toronto was 24th overall with a .249 average with runners in scoring position. 

The Blue Jays finished with seven hits, six of them singles. Edwin Encarnacion had the hardest-hit ball of the night, a frozen-rope double in the top of the first that sent Josh Donaldson to third base with one out. 

Kluber got out of it by striking out Jose Bautista, and Russell Martin grounded out to end the inning. In total, the Blue Jays went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in Game 1. 

This was the perfect setup for Cleveland, as Kluber was able to work deep in the game, and Lindor’s blast allowed manager Terry Francona to use the bullpen exactly how he wanted. 

Andrew Miller relieved Kluber in the top of the seventh and proceeded to record five outs, doing so in pretty much the way you would expect, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports:

After recording all of his outs via strikeout, MLB.com’s Andrew Simon noted Miller did something that hasn’t been done in 11 years:

Per ESPN’s Christopher Crawford, Miller has been otherworldly since 2013:

Following Miller’s exit, Cody Allen came in to close things out. He battled his command against the Red Sox in Game 3 on Monday, throwing 19 strikes on 40 pitches before ultimately getting the save. 

There were no such issues against the Blue Jays on this night for Allen. He needed just 11 pitches to record the save and leave the Indians three wins away from their first World Series appearance since 1997. 

Looking at Game 2, though, the Indians will likely have to get more out of their offense if they want to avoid going to Toronto tied at one game. Josh Tomlin will get the start in place of Trevor Bauer after the team announced Bauer suffered a cut on his pinkie finger that required stitches.

Francona’s management of the bullpen will be interesting because Miller did need over 30 pitches to record those five strikeouts, so he may not be available for as many outs as he was tonight. 

The Blue Jays just have to take advantage of their opportunities because they had a chance to blow this game open early. Kluber was able to work around trouble, but their bats will not go quietly, and manager John Gibbons didn’t have to use anyone out of his bullpen tonight. 

Postgame Reaction

Lindor’s trot around the bases allowed Kipnis to try explaining what it feels like when Cleveland’s star shortstop hits one over the fence. 

“The whole world turns into a trampoline,” Kipnis said, per ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Francona didn’t have a metaphor like that to describe Lindor, though he did offer his best summation of what makes the 22-year-old such a unique asset. 

“He’s got a ton of talent,” Francona said, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and Gregor Chisholm. “I just think you can tell how much he enjoys playing the game. Shoot, if I had his ability, I’d feel confident, too.”

Lindor was also asked about hitting the homer, his second of the postseason, per Bastian and Chisholm:

Oh, man, it was unreal. First of all, I thought [center fielder Kevin Pillar] was going to catch it. As soon as it went out, I put my hands out and said, ‘Thank God.’ And I looked at the dugout and everybody was going insane. And the crowd today — unreal. I just tried to go with the flow. I celebrated like it was a walk-off.

Kluber, the other hero for Cleveland in Game 1, earned high marks from Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. 

“He’s got arguably the best right-hand breaking ball in the game,” Gibbons said, per Bastian and Chisholm. “And he kept us honest with enough fastballs. And he’s got that razor-blade slider that’s tough to do anything with. [It’s] a big strikeout pitch for him. He gets a lot of weak contact on them, really.”

Never one to accept credit for his own work, Kluber gave praise to the job done by Miller and Allen after he left the game. 

“If we can get deep in a ballgame and get a lead to our bullpen,” Kluber said, per Bastian and Chisholm, “I feel like we have a really good shot. Those guys have all been doing an unbelievable job down there [in the bullpen]. That’s our game plan—to try to get them a lead and let them go out and do their thing.”

It’s been a winning formula so far for the Indians. To get to the World Series, they must continue to do it.

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Madison Bumgarner has a team-friendly contract that features two team options for 2018 and 2019, but that’s not stopping the San Francisco Giants from getting an early start on extension talks with their ace.

Continue for updates.

Giants Want to Talk Extension

Thursday, Oct. 13

Per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants general manager Bobby Evans has already spoken to Bumgarner and told his agents the team is ready to discuss an extension when they are.

Bumgarner has been one of the best bargains in Major League Baseball since signing his original five-year, $35 million deal in April 2012.

That deal bought out Bumgarner’s first three years of free agency if the Giants end up exercising both of their options.

Per Baseball-Reference.com, next year will be the first time in Bumgarner’s career that he makes more than $10 million in a season.

Bumgarner is scheduled to make $11.5 million in 2017. For perspective, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, Kansas City Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy will make $13.5 million next season.

There aren’t many pitchers in baseball who warrant an extension more than Bumgarner, who has been named to four consecutive National League All-Star teams.

After finishing in the top 10 in Cy Young voting in each of the previous three seasons, Bumgarner has a strong chance to make it four straight in 2016, setting career highs in starts (34), innings (226.2) and strikeouts (251).

The Giants could end up having to pay Bumgarner a record amount to lock him up. David Price signed the largest contract for a pitcher in history last year, when the Boston Red Sox gave him $217 million over seven years.

Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Zack Greinke of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals are the only other pitchers who have signed deals worth $200 million or more.

At just 27 years old, Bumgarner doesn’t figure to slow down anytime soon. He’s been one of the most consistently dominant pitchers in the big leagues since 2011 and is as valuable as any other player the Giants have.

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Following the Boston Red Sox‘s elimination from the postseason, second baseman Dustin Pedroia has undergone surgery on his left knee.

Continue for updates.  

Latest on Pedroia’s Timeline for Return

Thursday, Oct. 13

According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, Pedroia is expected to be ready in time for the start of spring training after undergoing knee surgery.

Per Abraham, Pedroia suffered the injury in mid-September during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

After injuries threw his career off track the previous two years, Pedroia was seemingly back to his old self in 2016. The former American League MVP hit .318 with 15 home runs, 74 RBI and 105 runs scored, which marked his best statistical season since 2011.

In addition to Pedroia’s offensive exploits, FanGraphs rated him as the second-most valuable defensive second baseman in 2016 behind only Cesar Hernandez of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Pedroia struggled at the plate in Boston’s American League Division Series loss to the Cleveland Indians, as he went just 2-for-12 for a .167 batting average with two runs scored in three games.

While Pedroia and the Red Sox wanted to send David Ortiz off with another World Series championship, the early exit may prove beneficial to Pedroia and his recovery.

He has some added time to rehab and get back into game condition prior to spring training, which means he should enter the 2017 regular season in good health so long as the current timeline holds true to form.

Boston boasts some middle infield depth if Pedroia’s injury takes longer to heal than anticipated, as Brock Holt is capable of filling in. However, early indications suggest that won’t be necessary, which is positive news for a Red Sox team that will need all the offense it can get next season without Big Papi.

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Game 2 of the National League Division Series may not have gone as planned for the Chicago Cubs, but they earned a 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants and took a commanding 2-0 series lead Saturday at Wrigley Field. 

Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks caused mass panic in Chicago when he exited in the top of the fourth inning after taking a line drive to his right (pitching) arm off the bat of Angel Pagan. 

Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reported Hendricks left with a right forearm contusion and was being evaluated. He led Major League Baseball with a 2.13 ERA and finished second with a 0.98 WHIP during the regular season. 

The Cubs could have an issue if Hendricks has to miss a start, though the good news is the team announced his X-rays came back negative.

Jon Lester was brilliant with eight scoreless innings in Game 1, but Game 3 starter Jake Arrieta struggled with a 3.69 ERA in the second half. Expected Game 4 starter John Lackey had a 2.76 ERA in the second half, though he only started 11 games due to injuries. 

Prior to leaving, Hendricks was having an outing to remember in an unexpected way with this two-run single in the second inning, as MLB Network showed:

Travis Wood relieved Hendricks with two outs in the fourth inning, and he struck out Conor Gillaspie to end the top half of the frame. Wood came up to bat in the bottom half of the inning and proceeded to hit a homer deep into the left field bleachers. 

Per ESPN’s Jayson Stark, home runs for relief pitchers in the postseason have become extremely rare:

Per Muskat, it hasn’t been quite as long since the Cubs have had a pitcher—starter or reliever—hit a home run in a playoff game:

At that point, Cubs pitchers accounted for three of the team’s five RBI.

The Giants were in a huge hole early because Jeff Samardzija’s first career playoff start did not go well for San Francisco. He gave up four runs in the first two innings and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the third. 

Per ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon, Samardzija’s two-inning start marked the shortest of his MLB career. Stark noted the Shark struggled against winning teams in 2016:

Per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, going into a 4-0 hole against Hendricks has not been a recipe for success in 2016:

Regardless of who is pitching, getting a four-run lead has been virtually an automatic win for the Cubs this season, per Baseball Tonight:

Before Hendricks was forced out, the Giants chipped away at the lead thanks to Gregor Blanco’s RBI double, which scored Joe Panik, and Brandon Belt’s sacrifice fly, which scored Blanco to make it 4-2. 

The bad news for the Giants is that was all their offense could muster.

Wood, Carl Edwards Jr., Mike Montgomery, Hector Rondon and Aroldis Chapman combined for 5.1 scoreless innings in which they allowed just two hits with no walks and six strikeouts. 

Another problem facing the Giants as they head back home for Game 3 on Monday is they aren’t taking advantage of holding the heart of Chicago’s lineup (Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell) to a combined 1-for-21 in the first two games. 

There is one bright spot for San Francisco even with this hole to climb out of: Madison Bumgarner. The Giants ace will take the mound at home, trying to keep his team alive. 

In case you haven’t heard, Bumgarner is pretty good in these do-or-die situations. His last run allowed in the playoffs was a solo homer by Salvador Perez the seventh inning of Game 1 of the 2014 World Series against the Kansas City Royals. 

Bumgarner has gone 23 straight scoreless innings in the postseason since, including a complete-game shutout against the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday. 

The Cubs have looked every bit the best team in baseball they were during the regular season through two games. They got great pitching in Game 1 from Lester, and the offense came to life early in Game 2 before the bullpen took over. 

Even though the even-year magic may have helped carry the Giants this far, even with Bumgarner going Monday, they will need a lot of help to bring this series back to Chicago for a potential Game 5. 

Postgame Reaction

After the game, Hendricks’ arm was one of the biggest discussion points. He seemed optimistic about this being a short-term issue, per Muskat and Chris Haft of MLB.com:

When it first hit me, I didn’t really feel it in the moment. I just tried to recover and make the play. Once I started throwing off the mound, it just started tightening up on me. The X-rays were negative though, so hopefully it’s just a day-to-day thing. I’ll see how I feel over the next couple days.

From one difficult moment to another, Giants manager Bruce Bochy is using his team’s recent history of October success as a motivating factor going back home.

“It’s tough to lose two here, but it’s a case that we have been down this road before,” Bochy said, per Muskat and Haft. “It’s never easy with us, so we’re hoping to get one here, but now we go home and you keep fighting. That’s all you can do.”

There isn’t any way to sugarcoat where things stand for the Giants. All they can do is hope history is able to repeat itself starting Monday. 

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Lonnie Chisenhall’s three-run home run and Corey Kluber’s fantastic start carried the Cleveland Indians to a 6-0 victory and 2-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series. 

The big question on Cleveland’s side coming into Friday’s game was how Kluber would fare in his first start since leaving a September 26 game against the Detroit Tigers after four innings with a strained quad. 

Red Sox leadoff hitter Dustin Pedroia put Kluber to work right away, hitting a tapper back to the mound that the 2014 American League Cy Young winner had to move to field. He fired a strike to first for the out, showing no ill effects.  

Kluber looked like one of the favorites for the 2016 AL Cy Young Award—which is a nicer way of saying he looked like himself. The right-hander went seven scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts and throwing 104 pitches. 

Sports Illustrated provided a GIF of what Boston hitters were experiencing as they tried to attack Kluber:

This start from Kluber was what the Indians needed after manager Terry Francona used Andrew Miller and Cody Allen for 40 pitches each in Game 1 to secure the victory on Thursday. 

Dan Otero and Bryan Shaw covered the final two innings to preserve the Game 2 shutout. 

Cleveland has Josh Tomlin on the hill in Game 3. He gave up 36 homers in 174 innings during the regular season, so going to Fenway Park could require Francona to turn to his relief corps early if the Indians are to put the series away.

While Kluber was busy putting up zeroes, Cleveland’s offense continued to use the long ball against Boston pitching. After the Indians hit three solo homers Thursday, Chisenhall capped off a four-run second inning against Red Sox starter David Price with a three-run laser that just cleared the wall in right field. 

It was a critical moment not just because it put the Red Sox in an early 4-0 hole against one of the best pitchers in the AL. Cleveland has been close to unbeatable this year when Kluber gets at least four runs of support, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian:

ESPN Stats & Info has the in-depth numbers to prove how hard and fast Chisenhall’s blast got out of Progressive Field:

Chisenhall, who is usually deployed against right-handed pitching, got the start against the left-handed Price. It should have been a big advantage for the Red Sox. 

Instead, Chisenhall hit his first homer of 2016 against a southpaw and left Boston searching for answers heading back home for Game 3.

Price’s postseason struggles continued Friday. He lasted just 3.1 innings, giving up five runs on six hits, two walks and three strikeouts. His playoff ERA coming into Friday was 5.12 in 63.1 innings, and he remains winless in nine postseason starts. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Price’s outing today also represented his shortest in the playoffs:

Going back to Rick Porcello’s start from Thursday night, MLB.com’s Ian Browne noted the Red Sox haven’t seen their two aces very long in the series:

Price and Porcello combined to throw 453 innings during the regular season with 417 strikeouts. Their struggles will force the Red Sox to turn to Clay Buchholz in Game 3 with their season on the line. 

This season was often a struggle for Buchholz, though he did look much better in the second half with a 3.22 ERA in 19 appearances. 

Just as puzzling for the Red Sox so far has been the lack of production from their lineup, with ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber providing some alarming numbers:

During the regular season, Boston’s offense led the league in virtually every major category, including runs (878), doubles (343), total bases (2,615), average (.282), on-base percentage (.348) and slugging percentage (.461). 

This is not the scenario the Red Sox wanted to find themselves in, though history is on their side. The last two times they have played the Indians in the playoffs came in the 1999 division series when Pedro Martinez’s Game 5 heroics capped off a third straight win after falling behind 2-0 and the 2007 ALCS when they came back from a 3-1 series deficit en route to their second World Series title in four seasons. 

The Indians did have a little help and motivation at Progressive Field, just in case a playoff game wasn’t enough, as Ohio’s favorite son provided a message to the team and fans in attendance before first pitch, per the team’s official Twitter account:

Whatever is happening in Cleveland right now seems to be working. Four months ago, the Cavaliers ended the city’s 52-year championship drought by pulling off a historic comeback against the Golden State Warriors. 

The Indians still have a long way to go if they want to make it two titles in 2016 for Cleveland, but the first two games of this division series against the high-powered Red Sox offense couldn’t have gone better for the Tribe. 

Postgame Reaction

After hitting his first career playoff home run, Chisenhall explained in part his approach against Price. 

“He’s difficult, but he’s around the zone. So you try to be aggressive,” Chisenhall said on the TBS broadcast, via Bastian and Browne. “Saved that big hit off a lefty for the postseason. The guys in front of me did a great job and we got him out of the game early.”

Even though Friday was another postseason letdown for Price, he did not sound like a beaten man after the game.

“I haven’t had good results yet but it’s coming,” Price said, via Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald. “I promise you that.”

Pedroia was much more reflective about things after his team fell behind 2-0 in the series while still giving credit to Cleveland for its performance thus far. 

“They’ve played better than us,” Pedroia said, via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. “…We’ve lost who we are. We’ve lost the Red Sox.”

While the Red Sox will try to find their identity in Boston before Game 3, Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis talked about how the Indians are feeding off some national media members not giving them much of a chance, via Hayden Grove of Cleveland.com:

Continuing with his us-against-the-world theme, per Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com, Kipnis said “people forget there’s a reason we opened [the series] in Cleveland and not Boston. We have a pretty good team here.”

Looking at what the Indians have a chance to do with one more win, Kipnis noted he doesn’t expect the Indians to take their foot off the throttle in Game 3. 

“When you have a chance to knock out a team early, you don’t waste any time,” Kipnis said, via Meisel. “You do it. You don’t want to let them get their footing or let them feel at home. If you get a chance to end it, you end it.”

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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano suffered a concussion in Game 2 of his team’s playoff series against the Texas Rangers after being hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Carlos Gomez.

It’s unclear when he will return to the field.

Continue for updates.

Liriano Replaced on ALDS Roster

Saturday, Oct. 8

Scott MacArthur of TSN reported the Blue Jays have replaced Liriano with Danny Barnes on their American League Division Series roster.

Latest on Liriano’s Status

Saturday, Oct. 8

Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reported Liriano is in Major League Baseball’s concussion protocol.

ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera reported Liriano was released from the hospital and flew back to Toronto with the Blue Jays.

Per USA Today‘s Jorge L. Ortiz, Liriano was taken to an ambulance on a stretcher while wearing a neck brace.

Ortiz added that Liriano was being checked out after a liner off Carlos Gomez’s bat hit him in the head.

The incident occurred when Liriano tried to get out of the way of Gomez’s comebacker in the bottom of the eighth inning. The ball struck the pitcher on the side of the head and caromed into the outfield.

Liriano a Lockdown Reliever for Blue Jays

The Blue Jays starting rotation has done a terrific job of containing Texas’ offense so far in the ALDS. Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ have earned wins in each of the first two games, allowing a combined two runs on 13 hits with 11 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.

Liriano pitched to four batters in Friday’s game, recording one out and allowing two runs on two hits and one walk. He tossed 1.2 scoreless innings in the Blue Jays’ Wild Card Game win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

The Blue Jays added Liriano before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline to provide depth and take pressure off Aaron Sanchez, who threw a total of 125.1 innings at the major league level over the previous two years and surpassed that total by mid-July this year.

Losing Liriano is not a problem the Blue Jays wanted to deal with at this point in the season. However, they are set up well. Sanchez, Happ, Estrada and Marcus Stroman form an excellent starting quartet alongside solid depth in the bullpen, so Toronto can get by in the short term without the big left-hander.

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Before the Toronto Blue Jays celebrated a 5-2 win on Edwin Encarnacion’s walk-off three-run homer in the 11th inning of Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game, a fan at Toronto’s Rogers Centre caused a stir by throwing a can of beer at Baltimore Orioles left fielder Hyun Soo Kim in the seventh inning.

The Blue Jays issued a statement Wednesday and apologized to the entire Orioles organization for the incident:

The incident occurred while Kim was catching a fly ball off the bat of Melvin Upton Jr. for the third out of the inning, at which point an object landed on the left side of Kim. 

Toronto police have released a photo of the alleged suspect, via the Toronto Star: 

Per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, Orioles manager Buck Showalter walked from the dugout to left field to “register his displeasure” with the umpiring crew. 

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, who pointed and yelled toward the stands after the play, criticized the fan for his or her actions, per Crasnick:

Someone threw a beer down at my player. That’s about as pathetic as it gets between the lines. You don’t do that. I don’t care how passionate you think you are. Yell, cuss, scream, tell us we’re horrible. We get that. We’re the opposition. We completely understand that. To throw something at a player, that’s as pathetic as it gets.

Toronto City Councilor Norm Kelly took to Twitter to ask anyone with information about the incident to contact the police.

The Orioles and Blue Jays played a thriller to determine who would face the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series. The Blue Jays tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth inning, which is how it remained until Encarnacion sent everyone in Toronto home happy.

Unfortunately, a fan’s action in the Rogers Centre stands took away from what should have been a great moment for the Blue Jays and the city.

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After locking up president Theo Epstein, the Chicago Cubs are keeping the rest of their dynamic front-office trio together with extensions for general manager Jed Hoyer and vice president Jason McLeod.  

According to the Cubs’ official Twitter account, Hoyer and McLeod each received five-year extensions through 2021. 

The trio of Epstein, Hoyer and McLeod joined the Cubs in October 2011 after previously working together with the Boston Red Sox from 2003 to 2009. 

As part of the team’s announcement on Friday, Epstein praised the work of Hoyer and McLeod to help make the Cubs into what they are, per Carrie Muskat of MLB.com:

Jed and Jason are simply the best at what they do and have played fundamentally important leadership roles in helping the Cubs build a healthy and thriving organization. We feel honored to have the stability and support that we enjoy throughout baseball operations and look forward to many years of working together in Chicago.

Epstein received his own five-year extension from the Cubs on Wednesday. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported it could be in excess of $50 million. 

Since this new front-office regime has taken over in Chicago, the Cubs have become the model franchise in Major League Baseball. They have hit big with draft picks such as Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber as well as shrewd trades that landed Jake Arrieta, Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Hendricks. 

Those personnel moves, along with the development of players who were previously in the system such as Javier Baez and Willson Contreras, have led the Cubs to their first regular season with at least 100 wins since 1935. 

Given the volume of young talent already on the Cubs roster, as well as the franchise’s knack for drafting and developing in the minors, the success of the last two years is only the beginning of what Epstein, Hoyer and McLeod are capable of when they are working together. 

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