Cleveland Indians: Breaking down the insanity in the ALDS Game 2 victory

The Cleveland Indians picked up a 2-0 series lead over the New York Yankees in the ALDS after a miraculous win filled with countless storylines.

Cleveland Indians fans are going throughout their Saturday in partial shock after last night’s insane game. Or maybe that’s just me and I’m projecting.

On a night when Corey Kluber struggled and Edwin Encarnacion left with an injury, the Indians did what they have done so often in 2017 and found a new, creative way to win.

A lot of the focus heading into the postseason was on the pitching, but all that focus disregarded just how great the offense has been all year. It seems like a new player steps up every single game, and that was the case last night when Yan Gomes sent Indians fans home happy with a walk-off hit down the third-base line.

It is fair to call the win a surprising one, yet it is hard to ever be too surprised with this group. No deficit is out of hand and nothing ever seems to go according to a conventional baseball plan.

The hit from Gomes finished things off, but so many crazy things happened before that point it is almost hard to remember them all.

This post goes through all those moments, starting with another play from Gomes that potentially won the game before his walk-off hit did.

Let’s take one more look at that walk-off win. I can’t help myself.

That hit by Gomes not only won the game, but gave the Indians a 2-0 series lead heading to New York after the Yankees were likely confident they were heading home tied 1-1.

But the other big play from Gomes came in the 11th inning and left former catchers watching at home in astonishment.

Todd Frazier began the inning with a routine grounder to Erik Gonzalez at third, who proceeded to airmail the throw into the stands, sending Frazier to second. The Yankees sought an advantage by sending in Ronald Torreyes to pinch run, but that didn’t go so well for them.

1.88 seconds and 80.4 mph from his knees. It is nearly unbelievable, if we hadn’t seen him do it so many times before.

There is no excuse for Torreyes putting himself in that position, but it sure worked out well for the Indians. Brett Gardner proceeded to strike out and the Yankees went from no outs and the go-ahead run in scoring position to two outs and no momentum whatsoever.

Gomes showed the doubters why he has the trust of his manager, and why he continues to play even if he struggles on offense at times. As for his offense, the walk-off hit shows you need to discard whatever expectations you had about this team. The surprises will only keep coming.

Just as we all predicted, Corey Kluber lasted 2.2 innings and allowed six runs. Brutal.

Kluber was replaced by Tyler Olson in the third inning, beginning one of the world-famous “bullpenning” games for the Indians.

The only bullpen pitcher to allow a run was Mike Clevinger, who allowed two, but Olson, Bryan Shaw, Andrew Miller, Joe Smith, Cody Allen and Josh Tomlin didn’t allow a run and combined for just three hits.

Allen went two innings which is rare for him, but never faltered. Tomlin came in to start the 12th inning, surely an odd feeling for the starting pitcher, but responded with three strikeouts in two perfect innings.

Danny Salazar was the only member of the bullpen not to pitch in the win, as Francona is likely saving him for a potential Game 4 start if the series makes it that far. Salazar wouldn’t have to go more than a few innings, as having guys like Tomlin and Clevinger in the bullpen allows for Francona to get creative. But once again, the series has to make it that far.

The Yankees were supposed to be the team with the dominant bullpen, yet their group couldn’t hold the 8-3 lead once CC Sabathia left the game.

And now down 2-0, the Yankees will get a healthy dose of Carlos Carrasco and the rest of the bullpen on Sunday in New York. Best of luck to them. That lineup will need it.

On to the bad news, although it isn’t as bad as previously thought.

When Edwin Encarnacion was helped off the field in the first inning, it looked bad. Really bad. He couldn’t put any weight on his ankle and the replays showed it bend the wrong way.

But anyone who watches sports knows how gruesome ankle injuries look at first glance. The update from the team is that he is listed as day-to-day, which is a much better diagnosis than fans expected. I don’t expect to see him in the remainder of the ALDS, but he could potentially be available if the Indians advance.

The other bad news deals with Kluber, who had one of the worst starts Indians fans have ever seen from him. It was so bad fans were declaring it was because he got an extra day of rest, but it may just be because he had a bad day. Aces around baseball are struggling this postseason, and Kluber joined that club on Friday.

The fact the Indians won the game helps the ace move on and focus on his next start, which is the luxury of being on this special team. When one star falters, or even goes out with an injury, the rest of the team is there to pick up the slack.

Next: Indians finding new ways to win

The Indians now head to New York up 2-0 with Carlos Carrasco on the mound in Game 3. The day of rest will have the bullpen at full strength, so things are looking rather bleak for the Yankees. I don’t want to jinx the Indians, but it may be impossible to even do that at this point.