Cleveland Indians fans gotta love it, Tribe takes out Boston in Fenway Park
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
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on October 10, 2016 at 10:50 PM, updated October 10, 2016 at 10:53 PM
BOSTON -- Soak it up.
Savor it.
Sweep!
Wake up with a smile and think about what the Cleveland Indians have just done after they beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3, in Fenway Park.
Three games against Boston, three victories in the American League Division Series.
Two of the games were the kind that were so pressure-packed, you weren't sure if your heart was about to stop -- or blow right through your chest.
Think about it. Ninth inning. Two outs. Runners on first and second base.
Tribe closer Cody Allen was struggling to throw strikes. He was probably setting some sort of playoff record for taking very, very deep breaths to fight off anxiety.
The Fenway fans were standing and stomping and screaming: LET'S GO RED SOX ... LET'S GO RED SOX!
And with the count full, 3-and-2, Travis Shaw lifted a soft fly ball to right field.
Ballgame!
For the second time in this series, Allen had a 40-pitch save. Andrew Miller ruled from the bullpen. Cleveland indeed rocks right now!
There were Tribe players hugging and dancing and yelling. More than a few were crying as they had a group embrace around second base.
All of this in Fenway Park, a house of horrors for the Tribe in their last two post-season appearances here in 2007 and 1999.
WHAT A SURPRISE
Who saw this coming, especially when the Indians were without their No. 2-3 starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar because of injuries?
But how can you put limits on this Tribe team? It's been a magic collection of talent, chemistry, baseball brains and perhaps a little luck.
It all adds up to a trip to the American League Championship Series, where the Tribe will play Toronto in the best-of-seven showdown.
What fun!
Fun is what this season has been about for the Tribe, the team with 11 wins in its last at-bat.
Fun is watching the Boston Red Sox with all their power and huge paychecks look utterly confused and shaken by the Tribe pitchers.
Fun is watching manager Terry Francona come back to the ballpark where he won twice in the World Series -- and was fired after the 2011 season. He rarely talks about that, but it hurts.
Fun is watching Coco Crisp set up one run with a superb sacrifice bunt in the fourth -- then slamming a two-run homer in the sixth. And he also is a former Red Sox!
Fun is watching Jose Ramirez turn into two dazzling plays, both times diving into the dirt to spear a shot down the third-base line. Then Ramirez bounded cat-like back to his feet to throw out runners.
Fun is Tribe baseball this year!
SMART BASEBALL
In the fourth inning, the Indians played some truly beautiful baseball.
The savvy hitter: Jose Ramirez led off by slapping a single through the right side of the infield. He had two strikes on him. As Ramirez does so often, he took a compact swing just trying to put some decent wood on the ball. Base hit.
The patient hitter: Lonnie Chisenhall walked. Chisenhall doesn't walk much -- only 23 times in 385 at bats in the regular season. But he was patient at the plate, rewarded with a chance to jog to first base.
The bunter: Coco Crisp followed with a sacrifice bunt, pushing runners to second and third base. A veteran acquired at the end of August, Crisp has played in 32 post-season games.
The rookie: Tyler Naquin has had problems with high fastballs. He had struck out in his first three playoff at bats, mostly on high heat. Boston's Clay Buchholz certainly throws hard enough to zip it past Naquin.
But Buchholz served Naquin a low curveball -- a pitch Naquin absolutely, positively loves from a right-hander. Naquin is a .366 hitter off changeups and breaking pitches.
Whap! Base hit. Two RBI.
Two innings later, Crisp homered.
THE LITTLE COWBOY RIDES
Fun is watching Josh Tomlin, the pitcher called "The Little Cowboy" by former Tribe manager Manny Acta.
When it comes to the playoffs, this was Tomlin's first rodeo -- but you'd never know it. He even had to wait an extra 26 hours for his start to begin because Sunday's game was rained out.
Before the game, Francona insisted Tomlin would not fold under pressure, or be bothered by having to wait longer to finally start.
"He's such a tough kid," said the manager.
Tomlin worked five innings, painting the corners of the plate. The Boston crowd tried to intimidate the Tribe's starter by eerily chanting TOM-LIN... TOM-LIN... TOM-LIN.
If Tomlin heard it, you'd never know. At one point, he struck out three hitters in a row -- all looking as the umpire sent them to the dugout with a right hand.
Tomlin told me on Sunday he was very "calm" about the start, and it showed.
The Indians wanted five good innings from him, and he delivered.
What a night for Tomlin, the 581st pick in the 2006 draft.
If you bleed Wahoo red, white and blue -- Tomlin should be one of your favorites. He's a symbol of what this team is all about.
"I think the team we have right here is special," Francona said before the game.
Good enough to go to the World Series?
"I don't know," he said. "It's going to be fun to find out."
And doing it at Fenway Park?
"What this means to me is to celebrate with the Indians and our group, that's what means the most to me," said Francona. "It doesn't matter where it happens."
But doing it in Fenway had to taste sweeter to Francona and his team.
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