Cleveland Indians: A Position-by-Position Breakdown of the ALCS

Oct 10, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Indians teammates celebrate after defeating the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in game three of the 2016 ALDS playoff baseball series at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays have each rolled through their competition, and will now square off with the American League pennant on the line. How do the two teams stack up against each other?

The Cleveland Indians defied nearly everyone in the baseball world when thy swept the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series. Likewise, the Toronto Blue Jays walked off against the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Wild Card game, and then swept the Texas Rangers in the ALDS.

Perhaps no two teams in Major League Baseball are hotter as the American League Championship Series gets underway at Progressive Field on Friday night.

The Indians relied on the longball and a dominant bullpen in their victory over the BoSox, while the Blue Jays have been straight up mashing the ball and getting quality outings from their starters. There have been three walk-off victories so far this postseason, and two of them have come north of the border, both in knockout games. Edwin Encarnacion hit a walk-off home run against the Orioles that still hasn’t landed, and they put away the Rangers in game three on a walk-off error.

The World Series is on the line, and neither side has seen the Fall Classic in quite some time. After a season series that was about as evenly matched and entertaining as any in the game during the regular season, Cleveland and Toronto are ready to pull out all the stops in search of their ultimate goal.

Let’s take a look at how the Tribe and Jays match up.

The Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays have each rolled through their competition, and will now square off with the American League pennant on the line. How do the two teams stack up against each other?

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