The Indians face a must-win game at home tonight against the Yankees. The winner of game five moves on to face the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series beginning Friday.
Few people thought it would come down to a fifth game when the Indians had been rolling for so long. Before the two games in New York, the Indians had not lost two games in a row since the middle of August.
鈥淭hey went six weeks, basically playing every day, without losing two in a row,鈥� said WKSU sports commentator Terry Pluto. 鈥淭hey kept winning.鈥�
Unprecedented Pressure
A loss tonight could be especially devastating for the Indians, who have been the favored AL team to go to the World Series.
鈥淎 year ago, they were kind of 鈥楾he Little Team That Could,鈥欌€� Pluto said. 鈥淕uys were hurt and it was a surprise whenever they won a series.鈥�
Manager Terry Francona is in his fifth season with the Indians.
鈥淚 think this is the most pressure any of his teams have faced since he came to Cleveland,鈥� Pluto said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 never had a team this good with these high expectations.鈥�
Corey Kluber and C. C. Sabathia will meet again in a reprise of their Game 2 face-off. Last Friday, Kluber had the worst start of his major league career. Meanwhile, 37-year-old Sabathia is playing with arthritic knees and a temperamental elbow.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not dominating, but he鈥檚 pretty good,鈥� Pluto said. 鈥�(Sabathia) is the veteran guy and he鈥檚 got a lot of heart, but clearly nobody would pick him over Kluber.鈥�
Home Field Advantage
The Indians will have the home field advantage at Progressive Field tonight. The game could go either way, but from Francona鈥檚 point of view, another face-off between Kluber 鈥� who will likely win another Cy Young award 鈥� and an aging Sabathia could have been part of the plan all along.
According to Pluto, Indians fans should hope for some early runs while Sabathia鈥檚 on the mound to 鈥済et that home mojo back.鈥�
The Indians play the Yankees in Cleveland tonight at 8 p.m.
