Here are 19 Walk-Off Thoughts after the Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series Friday night.
1. The Indians’ pitching staff stifled another terrific offense and Francisco Lindor hit the biggest home run of his career. And, the Indians have a 1-0 series lead in the ALCS with a trip to the World Series on the line.
2. Lindor, Corey Kluber and Andrew Miller stand as three of the Indians’ key pieces not only this season but looking ahead through at least the 2018 season. It was primarily on their backs that the Indians came out on top Friday night, essentially according to plan.
3. After five innings of trading scoreless innings, Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada left a changeup low and inside that Lindor crushed for a two-run home run. That home run sailing toward the bullpens in center field was the only offense of the night, and it was enough.
4. It also came against a changeup that’s considered one of the best in baseball.
5. Said Lindor, “I was just trying to stay down through the middle. Brantley always tells me, down through the middle. Santana told me, when I see the ball higher, that's why I had to see the ball higher, and stay inside the baseball. And that's really what I was trying to do the whole at-bat, I was trying to stay down and through the baseball, see something higher and stay inside the baseball. And it went out.”
6. Lindor put his fist in the air the second it left the park and was celebrating the moment he touched home plate. He often has a smile on his face and playful flair when playing the game. That certainly hasn’t changed because the Indians are on a bigger, national stage now.
7. Said Lindor, “I’m just trying to play the game, have fun, enjoy it. And nobody is counting on us. So there's no pressure. We're just trying to do our thing. Play the game the right way. And we all have a different role and Kluber has his role. I have a different role. I'm doing it. If we all do our role we'll be successful.”
8. When asked about Lindor “breaking out” to a national audience, Miller responded by saying that should have happened a while ago.
9. Said Miller, “He should already be broken out. I’ve played in Boston and New York where it doesn’t take much for guys to turn into stars just because of the media presence. Here in Cleveland, maybe he doesn’t get quite the attention, but he deserves more than he’s getting. I think baseball people certainly understand how good he is and how good he can be. He’s only going to get better.”
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10. Earlier this year, Lindor frustrated Miller—still on the Yankees—when he couldn’t be put away. Said Miller, “I know I had an at-bat against him this year when I was with the Yankees. He just fouled off good pitch after good pitch and I must have gotten to the point where I kind of just threw him one down the middle and said, ‘Hit it.’ I wanted to get it over with. Either get on base or get out. He’s just incredibly talented. He’s a star. He really is good, the way he carries himself, the way he plays. I’m glad he’s on our side.”
11. Coming off a mild quad strain, Kluber has been terrific in his first two career postseason starts, both against a couple of the better lineups in the game. He’s now thrown 13 1/3 scoreless innings in those starts with 13 strikeouts.
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12. On Friday, though, he had to work for it. The Blue Jays had two runners on in the first three innings and at least one runner in scoring position in the first four. He worked out of it each time, holding the score to a 0-0 tie until Lindor’s home run.
13. Said Kluber on facing the Blue Jays’ lineup, “Yeah, their whole lineup one through nine is dangerous. I know the middle of the lineup gets a lot of attention for the home runs they hit. But I think their whole lineup is dangerous. Like you said, I made some mistakes early on, and they were able to take advantage of them for base hits. But it's really just trying to stick with that same approach. Get ahead of them and put them in defensive counts, so they're not keyholing one pitch.”
14. Jason Kipnis and pitching coach Mickey Callaway each said after Kluber’s ALDS start that he might not have had his best stuff. On Friday, again, he ran into some threats before escaping. But, the end result each time has been the same.
15. Kluber handed the ball off to Miller, and the word “helpless” might be the best to describe what followed. Miller faced six hitters: one reached on a single, five struck out. That included a stretch in which Miller faced the vaunted heart of the Blue Jays’ lineup, and after a single by Josh Donaldson, Miller struck out the side.
16. Miller now has 12 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings pitched. He’s been as dominant as ever on baseball’s bigger stages. And this is exactly why the Indians acquired him—to have this kind of a weapon to pair with the starting rotation in October. It’s been a plan put into motion, and it’s worked flawlessly through the ALDS and Game 1 of the ALCS.
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17. Said Indians manager Terry Francona, “For him to go through the middle of the order like that, that's why we got him. And we intend to use him, but like we said before the game, you can't use him, then, if you don't have somebody behind him. And that needs to be one of our strengths if we get where we want to go.”
18. But against this lineup, even Miller was just trying to “survive.” He also knows it likely won’t come down to that exact result again this series.
19. Said Miller, “I’ve been saying it all week, these guys are just so good. One All-Star hitter after another. What is Tulo hitting sixth this series? It’s a lot of fun to compete against these guys. It’s just what we have to tackle. We don’t have a choice. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. That’s just the reality of the situation. Every team that’s left standing that this point certainly feels like they’re pretty good and they are. It’s fun to go out there and compete, especially when you survive. I know it’s not always going to be straight forward. It’s not going to be a cakewalk because we shut them out today. Tomorrow is going to be a new day. These guys have scored a lot of runs and done a lot of damage in the playoffs.”