Here are 16 Walk-Off Thoughts on the Indians’ 5-2 win against the Kansas City Royals Thursday night.
1. Thursday night was essentially a blueprint for how the Indians would want a postseason game to look like with Mike Clevinger on the mound. Clevinger gave up two earned runs and worked into trouble three times but battled to give the Indians five innings before handing it over to the bullpen.
2. After those five innings, the bullpen took over. Dan Otero threw two scoreless to get to Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen in the ninth. And, of course, in a postseason game Andrew Miller would be available.
3. The Indians are going to need Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer, for sure, throw strong outings. They’ll likely need Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger to at least give them five innings. Then, that bullpen, which has been among baseball’s best since the addition of Miller, will try to piece together the rest of the game. With the added off-days in the postseason, Indians manager Terry Francona could rely on Miller, Allen, Shaw, Otero and company even more. They just need Tomlin and/or Clevinger to give them roughly five solid innings to give them a chance.
4. Thursday’s game was a snapshot of that.
5. Said Francona on Clevinger, "I mean, his stuff is good, I thought maybe down a tick tonight but the way he pitches as he mature, I think you'll see less of that. On the guys where he throws strike one, instead of attacking he lets guys back into the count so that's what you're seeing a lot of deep counts, a lot of walks. As he pitches more and he gains more confidence, you'll see him attacking like after the home run, he tried to stay away from contact a little bit. Again, these are things he'll get better at. Saying that, other than the home run he kept them off the scoreboard."
6. Tomlin and Clevinger have a lot heaped onto their shoulders the last two weeks. So far, they’ve responded to it.
7. Said Otero, “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody in this clubhouse. I think everybody here knew they have the ability and mental fortitude to get it done. They haven’t really surprised anybody here inside this clubhouse. We have all the faith in them in the world. Tomlin’s done it three quarters of the year, he just had a bad stretch. Clev did it all through the minor leagues this year. Obviously his first couple starts up here weren’t the best but ever since then he’s been throwing the ball real well. Now he’s just rolling with it.”
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8. Something that several players have said—Corey Kluber and Josh Tomlin among them—is that the pitchers who are now tasked with replacing Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar aren’t trying to be Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar. With their raw stuff, guys like that can’t be replaced. It’s also not quite who Clevinger is as a pticher, and it certainly isn’t Tomlin.
9. Francona was asked if the club views these last few starts as an important lead-up to the postseason, especially for those two. His response: "But I don't think we view it like that. You can't do more. They just need to do their job and again especially in September because you have numbers, but they just need to do what they're supposed to. Clevs a young kind that's still learning, you just can't push a button and all of a sudden be somebody else or be a veteran and we don't expect that. We just want him to try to continue to get better and we'll figure out when to take him out and who to put in."
10. The bullpen worked exactly as it should, and pretty much as it has since the beginning of August. Otero worked two scoreless innings, continuing his stellar 1.49 ERA season, Shaw worked a scoreless eighth and Allen earned his 29th save of the season. Much has obviously been made about the value that additions like Mike Napoli, Rajai Davis and others have brought to the 2016 Indians. Otero has been right there with them.
11. That bullpen as whole, since Andrew Miller was added, has been perhaps baseball’s best. Since Aug. 1, Miller, Allen, Shaw, Otero and Zach McAllister have combined for a 1.81 ERA, 119 strikeouts and only 25 walks in 109 2/3 innings pitched (thanks to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com for that stat). Just as the starting rotation has needed a lift, the bullpen has provided it.
12. The Indians’ bullpen was already strong, regardless of what Twitter thought of Allen and Shaw, before adding Miller. His inclusion has made it a truly top-tier group.
13. Said Otero, “… bringing in a guy like Miller into the bullpen has to help any bullpen, especially here where you already had two stalwarts down there in Cody and Bryan, what they’ve done the last few years. I think Tito has the confidence in pretty much everyday down there. I don’t think he shies away from anybody. He’s shown that, I think in the Chicago series, I think he threw Cody Anderson in a tied game in the seventh or eighth. Z-Mac has done it for him last year and this year. Manship has been in big spots. I don’t think he shies away from anybody. I think that helps his mentality going into a game.”
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14. Shaw, especially, has received some undeserved groans from many when he enters a game. No pitcher in baseball has appeared in more games since 2013 than Shaw. He’s appeared in at least 70 games each year since then with an ERA of 3.24 or better. Otero used the word “amazing” to describe that kind of use and consistency, saying, “It’s uncanny. I can’t even say how amazing that is as a reliever, to keep his arm, his mind in that shape to be able to do that. I think some of it maybe is he doesn’t think about it too much. I think that helps him. It’s impressive to watch. You don’t see many relievers do that, go 70-75 games, 3-4 years in a row. He’s been able to do it and effectively.”
15. Carlos Santana has been among the better hitters in the American League lately. He’s heating up at the right time. He drove in four runs Thursday and belted his 34th home run of the season, which ties Mike Napoli for the team lead. He’s hitting .458 with seven RBI in this homestand. He’s also reached base in 22 straight games. So much has been made about Napoli’s power numbers—Santana has been right there with him, and he’s been drawing walks like he always does as well.
16. Coming into the year, one of the more intriguing questions was if the Indians would pick up Santana’s $12 million club option for 2017. At this point, Santana has made that decision a no-brainer.