Here are 29 Walk-Off Thoughts on the Indians’ 5-4 win against the Boston Red Sox Thursday night that gave them a 1-0 lead in the American League Division Series.
1. Few things in sports are better than playoff baseball and the electricity that comes with it. For the first time since 2013 and the first time in the ALDS since 2007, Cleveland fans got to experience it again. It didn’t disappoint.
2. Like many times this season, the Indians found themselves down and needing to punch back. They landed three haymakers in the third, sending Progressive Field to decibel levels not heard in some time. That third inning will be something for Indians fans to remember.
3. Roberto Perez came out of nowhere to hit a solo home run to tie it 2-2 against Cy Young contender Rick Porcello. After Carlos Santana grounded out, Jason Kipnis put the Indians on top in a postseason game for the first time in nine years with home run to center field. While he was just finishing the round of high-fives in the dugout, Francisco Lindor belted a home run that just cleared the wall in right field to make it 4-2.
4. The beaten-up Indians were down 2-1 against a Cy Young contender and baseball’s best lineup and then crushed three home runs in the span of four batters.
5. The first tied it. The second gave the Indians a lead. The third sent Progressive Field into bedlam. It was the first time the Indians hit three home runs in a postseason inning since Game 3 of the 1998 ALCS against the New York Yankees, when Mark Whiten, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome accomplished the feat.
6. Said Kipnis, “After the first one it was exciting. After mine it was even kind of getting nuts in there. And the third one our dugout was kind of losing it. We played with a lot of energy. We played with a lot of emotion. That's the way our team goes. We've got up and down the lineup, 25 guys who are baseball players who love to compete and we ride the waves. And that was a pretty high one, starting with Roberto with a great at-bat.”
7. Said Lindor, “The fans, that’s what motivated me. How they reacted, I reacted. I try to enjoy the game. I try to smile. I try to have fun. As soon as Mookie jumped, the ball touched the top of the wall, everybody’s hands went up. My hands went up, too. I was just excited. … I was telling the guys, I’ve never celebrated more a home run in the third inning.”
8. Perez became the first Indians hitter to homer in his first postseason at-bat. He also later singled and took second base on a sacrifice fly to left field, which eventually led to a fifth run that turned out to be crucial. In the first inning, Perez applied a reaching tag on Brock Holt that took a run off the scoreboard and held the Red Sox’s early lead to 1-0.
9. Said Perez, “Early in the year, I kind of struggled, but later in the year, at the end of the season, I was really feeling myself. I was getting more comfortable at the plate. Tonight, I put the ball in play, trying to have good ABs and good things will happen. That was the key tonight.”
10. It was arguably Perez’s best game of the season, and it came at the perfect time.
11. Said Indians manager Terry Francona, “Yeah, he played a real good game. He swung the bat. His base running -- I thought that was an outstanding tag at first. I'm not sure if it was a slide or a car accident or what going into second. But that was a nice piece of heads-up base running for us, and that's the things we have to do to win.”
12. Added Cody Allen, “He's unbelievable. We're blessed in this organization where we've had a couple very, very good catchers the last few years, with Yan, Roberto and Chris Gimenez. They really handle the staff. We've had the pleasure of Yan the last few years. He throws everybody out, calls a great game, blocks [pitches]. That's part of my game, getting ahead with fastballs and burying breaking balls. They smother up absolutely everything. If you can have confidence in a guy with a guy at third base, to bounce a breaking ball, that's huge.”
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13. The Indians have prided themselves all season on being able to overcome obstacles and being able to receive significant contributions from anyone in the lineup on a given night. Considering Perez’s tag in the first, his home run in the third and his single and tag-up in the fifth, perhaps no Indians position player had a better night in Game 1.
14. Trevor Bauer took the mound in the biggest start of his career and was just good enough to hold the Red Sox at bay, allowing three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He threw only 78 pitches, meaning he should be good to go for Game 4 on short rest.
15. It took an inning or two for Bauer to control his adrenaline, saying, “Adrenaline is a crazy thing. You don’t want to let it take over, because that’s bad. You don’t want to suppress it either, because that’s bad. The first couple innings, I just tried to locate; That was my focus. And then I let the adrenaline take care of the velocity. It started to wear off after the second. It felt like a normal game again. And then I started trying to do what I normally do, which is throw everything as hard as possible and get after it. I think it went pretty well.”
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16. Bauer had been hit hard at times in the first inning this season. It’s another reason why Tyler Naquin and Lindor’s relay throws, along with Perez’s tag, were so crucial to hold the Red Sox to one run before the home run spree in the third.
17. Francona said on Wednesday he thought Bauer had been waiting his whole life for this start. He was right.
18. Said Bauer, “That was the coolest experience of my life, for sure. They did a great job, the crowd did a fantastic job, they were here early, all the red, the towels, the energy in the stadium, that was big for us. I know coming out and would have liked to have a scoreless first inning and kind of get off to a better start. But again, the great defensive play, Lindor, Naquin and Berto at the plate, and the offense came right back in the second and got a run back. And then they went on from there.”
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19. This was also Bauer’s greatest challenge to date, something he relishes. He added, “Absolutely. They’re really good. And the stakes are very high. The adrenaline kick, the atmosphere, I live for that stuff. That’s what I love about baseball. Obviously today isn’t a one-game, win-or-go-home [situation], but every game in the playoffs kind of has that feel to it. So I was very excited to go out there and have that opportunity and get to compete like that.”
20. Perhaps the most interesting thing from a look-ahead standpoint is how Thursday night proved that Francona will be aggressive in going to his bullpen. When Sandy Leon hit a home run in the fifth, he called on Andrew Miller, the earliest Miller has entered a game with the Indians to date.
21. Baltimore manager Buck Showalter essentially started a firestorm on social media this week when he didn’t go to Zach Britton in the Wild Card Game, which the Orioles eventually lost in extra innings. The thinking is that, with a reliever that good available, how could you not put him into the game?
22. Francona showed he’s on the other side of that thinking, pulling the trigger on Miller early. Part of that decision could have been that Bauer will need to throw on short rest. But being able to use Miller as a weapon in the postseason—when every inning is critical and there are more off-days built in—was perhaps the biggest reason why the Indians traded so much for him.
23. Francona didn’t waste him on Thursday. Miller threw two scoreless innings on 40 pitches and extended the game just enough—as Bauer did, just enough—to get to Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen for a five-out save.
24. It aligns with the thinking that your best reliever doesn’t always have to be the closer. The best reliever needs to be used, and it can happen midway through the game. It’s better than waiting for a save situation that might never come. In the Indians’ case, it means not always waiting until the eighth or ninth to use Miller.
25. Said Miller, “Yeah, I think at this point we're all ready to go every day. We'll find a way. You prepare yourself, you try to take care of yourself. This organization, it's unbelievable what they provide us to kind of go through what it takes to feel good. You've got to take advantage of that tomorrow and find a way to get out there. This is a selfless team. This win sums up who we are. … He didn't put a number on it. But I knew to be ready early. I think everybody is at this point. These games are a little bit different. We have more off days. We just had a few off days, we have one coming up. It's the way the schedule works.”
26. It was essentially a known fact that the Indians’ bullpen would have to be a major factor this series, even more-so than with other teams. Miller and Allen each threw 40 pitches Thursday night. It’s unclear what role they can play in Game 2. But without them, Game 1’s result would likely have been different, especially with Bauer needing to throw Game 4 on short rest. To this series, it was about as critical as something can be for the first game.
27. Said Francona, “There was a lot of a combination of things. I didn't want for them to come through the third time if they had a chance to tie the game. And Trevor was nearing 80 coming back on short rest. There was a lot of combinations. Andrew first came in, they made him throw a lot of pitches. … That’s a heck of a lineup. But he was up to the task. I mean, that's why we got him.”
28. Bauer struck out six and Miller and Allen each struck out four. The 14 strikeouts as a staff set a franchise record for the most as a team in a nine-inning postseason game, surpassing the 13 strikeouts from Game 5 of the 2001 ALDS against Seattle.
29. The Indians received a strong night from Perez, a solid effort from Bauer in his first postseason start, an ideal 5 1/3 innings from the bullpen and one of the most exciting innings in Indians history, with three home runs off a Cy Young contender. Playoff baseball often takes the electricity of the game to a completely new level, and this was just Game 1.