Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer will miss Game 2 of the American League Championship Series after cutting his pinkie while fixing a drone on Friday, per Tom Withers of the Associated Press.
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Friday, Oct. 14
The cut required several stitches and Bauer's start will be pushed back to Game 3, per Withers. Josh Tomlin will step in to start the second game of the series.
Despite losing his Game 2 starter, Indians manager Terry Francona stayed upbeat when speaking with the media on Friday, via Tyler Kepner of the New York Times:
Prior to Game 1, Bauer waved his injured hand to waved to the crowd and "playfully" slapped Michael Brantley in the face, per Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com.
The 25-year-old Bauer, who was the third overall pick of the 2011 draft, put together his best season in the majors by posting a 12-8 record and a 4.26 ERA in a career-high 35 games this year.
He made his first career postseason start in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Boston Red Sox, going 4.2 innings while allowing three runs on six hits and striking out six.
While he didn't get the win, the Indians' bats did enough to take Game 1 and spark a series sweep to clinch a spot in the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Thanks to the sweep, the Indians had enough time to swap Bauer's spot in the rotation with the veteran Tomlin.
Tomlin recorded a career-best 13 wins this year (4.40 ERA), providing support behind Cleveland ace and Game 1 starter Corey Kluber.
Also making his postseason debut this year, the 31-year-old Tomlin went five innings in the decisive Game 3 of the ALDS, allowing two runs on four hits and picking up the win.
However, Tomlin has been susceptible to the long ball, allowing 36 home runs this season, which was the third-most among all pitchers. The Toronto Blue Jays, who ranked fourth in the league with 221 home runs this season, are not an ideal matchup for Tomlin.
That means there is even more pressure for the Indians to take Game 1 on Friday night with Kluber on the mound.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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