Cleveland Indians: The idea of Game 2 being a must-win game

The Cleveland Indians are looking to avoid a 2-0 deficit against the Houston Astros. Does that make Saturday’s Game 2 a must-win game?

The Cleveland Indians can’t lose the ALDS today. Or can they?

The Indians enter the game down 1-0 in the series after a rough performance in Game 1. A loss today would drop the team into a 2-0 deficit, but with two home games coming up in a few days.

Indians fans saw a 2-0 series lead fade away in last year’s ALDS, so it could happen again. However, I have seen takes on Twitter calling this Game 2 a must-win game. Is that the case?

This idea of a must-win game has almost become cliché. The only true must-win game is when a team is facing actual elimination. So personally, I don’t think all hope is lost if the Indians lose again today.

The difference is that another weak performance may signal that the team doesn’t have what it takes to contend with the Astros. So while it is not a must-win, the team must at least look like a playoff team in Game 2. Scratching across two runs just won’t get it done against any team in October.

The Indians need to come back to Cleveland with the belief that they can win. They are professional baseball players with postseason experience, so they already entered the series with that belief. But doubts can begin creeping in with another bad loss.

I say all this realizing that an Indians win in Game 2 immediately shifts the series to their advantage. It would send the team to Cleveland tied 1-1 with two of the remaining three games at home. So while it is easy to feel the doom after a bad loss, the series is far from over.

Being upset after the Game 1 loss is understandable. But that game is in the past and if the Indians win the series, the game won’t matter. Hopefully the team can rally around each other and realize that they are capable of taking down the Astros.