Tribe bullpen toughs out nail-biter Miller escapes jam; Allen notches four-out Cody Allen 7-6 victory Andrew Miller Brian McCann

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1 Tribe bullpen toughs out nail-biter Miller escapes jam; Allen notches four-out save By Jordan Bastian / 12:02 AM ET CLEVELAND -- When the bullpen phone rang on Wednesday night, Indians closer Cody Allen was ready. It did not matter that the ninth inning had not arrived. As Cleveland showed the world in October, its relievers are not only overpowering, but also adaptable. In a 7-6 victory at Progressive Field, the Indians gave the Astros a glimpse of the formula that worked so well in the Tribe's run to the World Series. Allen worked a four-out save and relief ace Andrew Miller pitched out of a critical jam in the seventh. If Cleveland and Houston meet their goal of reaching the postseason this year, expect more of the same from Indians manager Terry Francona. "He's the best in baseball at managing a bullpen," Allen said. "We all just pitch when we're asked to and try to get as many outs as we can." The relentless Astros offense did its best to chip away at Cleveland's early-game lead, but having the game go from a potential blowout to a nail-biter played into the Tribe's hands. When things got dicey, Francona turned to his dynamic relief duo. All Miller has done this month is pile up 12 strikeouts against three walks with no runs allowed in 10 innings. As for Allen, the right-hander with the knee-buckling knuckle-curve has 17 strikeouts and one walk with one run yielded in eight innings. Allen typically handles the ninth, but he is capable of going multiple innings. Miller and his vicious slider are on call for any high-leverage situations. "Those two guys are elite," Astros catcher Brian McCann said. "The plan when you come in here is to have the lead, and then we hand it off to our bullpen. We battled tonight." Houston got Miller to bend in the seventh, but the reliever refused to break. Working with a 5-4 lead, Miller took over in the seventh for starter Trevor Bauer. The lefty opened with a strikeout of Norichika Aoki, but then watched first baseman Carlos Santana boot a grounder from Marwin Gonzalez to open the door for Houston. Miller followed with a walk to Josh Reddick before hitting Carlos Beltran with a pitch. The Astros had the bases loaded against a human-looking Miller. Carlos Correa then locked horns with the lefty for eight pitches -- the last a slider that dove low and in and under the shortstop's bat. Next came a four-pitch confrontation with McCann, who watched a 1-2 slider pop into the glove of catcher Roberto Perez for another strikeout. After 35 pitches, the inning was over. "They really pushed him," Francona said. "You saw in the end, not just his ability to have good stuff and pitch, but his competitiveness. He reached back for some really good stuff there, and he needed it." The Indians padded their lead, 7-4, in the sixth inning, but Houston clawed back with two runs in the eighth against setup man Bryan Shaw. Before the frame began, Francona's plan was to go to Allen if the lineup reached the lefty-swinging Reddick. With a runner on second and two outs, Reddick was due up, and the manager turned to his closer. "The entire league is punching out against him at a pretty good rate," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "He's got a great demeanor -- a closer mentality. I'd prefer when we play Cleveland that he doesn't pitch." Allen showed why, facing the minimum the rest of the way. The closer induced an inning-ending groundout from Reddick to end the eighth, then set Beltran, Correa and McCann down in order in the ninth. The final two outs were strikeouts. "That was fun to watch," Francona said. "That was two good teams playing." Anthony Castrovince Brantley's resurgence impressive by numbers By Anthony Castrovince / April 26th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- The RBI double in the first bounced out of the glove of Josh Reddick, who just about 24 hours earlier had made one of the great homer-robbing catches of this young season. The two-run single in the fifth was the product of a scorched-earth grounder aided by a drawn-in infield. So the latest triumph in Michael Brantley's comeback campaign -- 2-for-4 with three RBIs in the Indians' 7-6 win over the Astros on Wednesday night at Progressive Field -- had a little luck attached, as Brantley himself would acknowledge. "You gotta get those breaks," he said. But who deserves the occasional break more than Michael Brantley? The guy they call Dr. Smooth is back from his wilderness year, crushing the questions of whether ("Will he make it back from two surgical procedures on his right shoulder?") and what ("Will he even remotely resemble his old, pure-hitting self?"). He's in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak in which he's had seven extra-base hits and driven in 10 runs, raising his season OPS to.945. That's outstanding output for anybody, but astounding output for a guy whose career was at a crossroads. "Getting him back in name is one thing," manager Terry Francona said. "But getting him back as the player he was, that's pretty impressive on his part." From , Brantley developed a deserved reputation as one of the best pure hitters in the sport (.303/.362/.447 slash). His transcendent 2014 saw him finish second in the American League in hits (200), third in average (.327), fourth in OBP (.385) and fifth in Wins Above Replacement (7.0). He finished third in the MVP voting. But a dive in the outfield grass at Target Field one mid-september night in 2015 changed all that. At the time, there was no telling how significant the jammed shoulder Brantley sustained that night really was. He told the coaches he expected to play the next day. As it turns out, he had labrum surgery in November and didn't play again until April 25 of last year. And in a 2016 full of stops, starts and setbacks, that was one of just 11 games logged before undergoing a second procedure to address biceps tendinitis in August. "Watching from the sidelines," he said, "was tough." Brantley wore that on his face during the Tribe's amazing October run, but he did whatever he could to contribute behind the scenes. He gave his teammates words of encouragement or advice; they gave him company on those days that, had the season not been extended, would have found him alone in the Progressive Field workout room. Brantley wound up spending all winter here, trying to build up sustainable strength. The work ethic was never in doubt, but the outcome was. The lead shoulder is where a hitter generates his power. So even if Brantley's shoulder held up to the spring schedule, there was no telling if he'd generate consistent, quality contact.

2 Now we know. There was nothing to worry about there. Brantley's first-inning double off Reddick's glove was the sixth ball he's barreled this year, per the Statcast exit velocity and launch angle equation. That's the second-highest total on the team, behind Francisco Lindor (10). Brantley's ground-ball single past the diving, drawn-in Carlos Correa was the 14th ball he's put in play with an exit velocity of 100 mph or higher. "I didn't think I was going to come back being a slap hitter," Brantley said with a smile. Brantley's biggest appeal is and always has been his ability to hit to all fields, to shorten up when necessary, to adjust his approach to the situation at hand. You saw that when he grounded that single the other way with two runners in scoring position. "He's got a really good idea of what he's doing," Francona said. "Runner on third with less than two outs, you very rarely see him pull off. He can shoot the ball the other way. They oftentimes pitch you backward because there's a runner in scoring position, but he's often on time because he's thinking the other way." Brantley feels his mechanics and his timing are still works in progress. Undeniably, he's caught some BABIP-fueled breaks in the course of staging one of the game's early feel-good stories. But you make your own luck, and Brantley made his with a dedicated rehab that ensured his sweet swing could come back intact. The Indians were thrilled to return the name. Turns out, they've also returned the numbers. Santana, Brantley key Tribe's offense in win By William Kosileski and Brian McTaggart / MLB.com 12:03 AM ET CLEVELAND -- Michael Brantley does not look like he's missed a beat. In a 7-6 victory over the Astros at Progressive Field on Wednesday night, the Indians left fielder continued his impressive comeback with a pair of hits and three RBIs to pace the Tribe's offense. "Getting him back in name is one thing," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "But getting him back as the player he was is pretty impressive on his part. I think the more repetition he gets, you're starting to see him get some timing. That's good." Full Game Coverage Brantley, who was limited to 11 games in 2016 due to right shoulder issues, used an RBI double in the first to spark an early rally off Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. Brantley later added a two-run single off the right-hander in the fifth. Carlos Santana delivered a two-run double in the sixth to pad the Indians' lead just enough for them to hold on for the win. Indians starter Trevor Bauer went six innings and allowed four runs -- Evan Gattis and Brian McCann each connected for a two-run home run -- while striking out eight en route to his second win of the season. In his six career starts against the Astros, Bauer is now 6-0 with a 2.61 ERA and has allowed seven earned runs in 38 innings. McCullers was handed his first loss of the season after going five innings and allowing five runs on seven hits. He has a 9.74 ERA in two road starts this year. The Astros rallied late, as Marwin Gonzalez added a two-run double off Indians reliever Bryan Shaw to cut it to a one-run game, but closer Cody Allen came in to record the four-out save. "I just didn't throw the ball well in the first and didn't start well," McCullers said. "I didn't finish the fifth well. I felt a little in my groove there in the middle innings, keeping us in it pretty decent. Sometimes that stuff happens early on, and you have to hang in there the best you can as far as the game goes on and give yourself a chance to win. I felt I did that until the fifth." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Not this time: Following Josh Reddick's leaping catch at the wall to rob Jason Kipnis of a home run on Tuesday, the Indians tested the Astros center fielder early in Wednesday's game. After the first two Tribe hitters reached, Brantley drove an 0-2 pitch to deep left-center, where Reddick was unable to make the catch as he banged against the wall. Two hitters later, Ramirez also sent a pitch to left-center. Reddick attempted to make a diving catch in the gap, but the ball hit off his glove, allowing Brantley to score to give the Indians a 3-0 lead. "They were tough," Reddick said. "Brantley got his pretty good, and I felt I should have caught both of them. I had the second one in my glove and just popped out on the landing. Very frustrating for me, especially knowing deep down I should have had them." Miller escapes a jam: After six innings, Bauer left the game with a 7-4 lead and was replaced by Indians reliever Andrew Miller. The lefthander struck out Norichika Aoki to start the inning, but an error by Santana at first allowed Gonzalez to reach base safely. The next two hitters, Reddick and Carlos Beltran, reached via a walk and a hit-by-pitch, respectively, loading the bases with one out. Miller then got back-toback strikeouts of Carlos Correa and McCann to end the inning. It took the left-hander 35 pitches to get out of the inning. "They really pushed him," Francona said. "You saw in the end, not just his ability to have good stuff and pitch, but his competitiveness. He reached back for some really good stuff there, and he needed it. They made him work really hard. That was fun to watch. That was a fun game to watch. That was two good teams playing." Tribe bullpen toughs out nail-biter QUOTABLE "It was very frustrating for me, as you could see. I didn't feel like it was a strike so I felt like I had to voice my opinion." -- Reddick, who was visibly upset after grounding out to end the eighth in an at-bat in which he thought a 2-0 pitch was a ball, not a called strike "He's such an unheralded player, and I think after missing a year, it's literally like getting a middle-of-the-order bat to sign as a free agent. It's a new player for them, even though he's been around. He's such a good competitor." -- Astros manager A.J. Hinch, on Brantley WHAT'S NEXT Astros: Right-hander Mike Fiers (0-1, 5.40) gets the start in Thursday's 5:10 p.m. CT series finale against the Indians at Progressive Field on MLB.TV. All three runs he allowed in his most recent outing came on solo home runs, and he's allowed six homers in 15 innings this season (five solo shots). Indians: Ace Corey Kluber (2-1, 4.28 ERA) is scheduled to make his fifth start of the season in Thursday's 6:10 p.m. ET series finale with the Astros on MLB.TV. The right-hander is coming off his strongest performance of the season, pitching a three-hit shutout against the White Sox on Friday.

3 Jackson 'feeling like myself again' after HR Long ball vs. Astros was outfielder's first since 2015 By Jordan Bastian / April 26th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- Austin Jackson's trot around the bases at Progressive Field on Tuesday night carried a little extra meaning for the veteran outfielder. The blast did not help the Indians to a win in the end, but it was another sign that Jackson is feeling more like himself on the field again. The home run was the first in 572 days for Jackson, who signed a Minor League contract with Cleveland over the offseason with the hope of competing for an Opening Day roster spot. Coming off left knee surgery that ended his season in June with the White Sox, Jackson not only broke camp with the Tribe, but he has thrived in the first month. Full Game Coverage "It did feel good to round 'em again," said Jackson, whose most recent home run came on Oct. 1, 2015, when he was with the Cubs. Cleveland has used Jackson out of the gates as a part-time center fielder, getting the bulk of his playing time against left-handed pitching. Indians manager Terry Francona admits that Jackson's career numbers (.723 OPS against lefties and.733 OPS against righties) do not paint Jackson as a platoon player, but that is how he currently fits into Cleveland's roster. At the moment, Jackson is sharing time in center with Lonnie Chisenhall, who mostly plays against right-handed pitching. Michael Brantley plays full-time in left field and Francona has mixed and matched with Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte in right. Through 10 games, Jackson has posted a.296/.387/.556 OPS with five extra-base hits and four walks in 31 plate appearances. Within that showing, the right-handed-hitting outfielder has turned in a OPS in his 21 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. The early showing comes after Jackson appeared in only 54 games for the White Sox this past season. He did not play after June 9 due to a torn meniscus in his left knee, which required surgery on June 15. "He deserves a ton of credit for getting himself in game shape as quickly as he did," Francona said. "He had a lot done in [his knee], and he missed a fair amount of time. And then, when he got the OK from the trainers, he was going game speed pretty quickly, which was impressive. And not only that, but he's maintained it, I think as you see him get more repetition." Tuesday's home run was another bit of evidence to back up Francona's assessment. "When you're dealing with the knees, that's tough," Jackson said. "All the cutting and pushing off -- things like that. I'm starting to get back to feeling like myself again, as far as physically. Offensively, defensively, things like that, that stuff just comes with playing more. The more I play, the more comfortable I get out there." Kluber hoping for more K's vs. Astros By William Kosileski / MLB.com April 26th, 2017 In the finale of a three-game set between two of the American League's top teams, Indians ace Corey Kluber will face off against Astros righthander Mike Fiers on Thursday at Progressive Field. After 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel's six-hit, complete-game performance to open the series on Tuesday, the Indians will look to their former Cy Young Award winner to ring in another strong start. Kluber is coming off his strongest outing of the season, where he allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out nine in a 110-pitch shutout against the White Sox on Friday. The Indians right-hander will take the mound against one of the AL's most dangerous lineups. Indians manager Terry Francona said that the Astros' lineup is so strong because of its mix of young players and veterans. "I mean, I knew coming in, regardless of what happened last night, they kind of are built to play in October. I think they've done a real good job," Francona said. "They were the team that jumped out early in the winter and -- [Josh] Reddick and [Brian] McCann, [Carlos] Beltran -- they not only got hitters that can produce, but they got some leadership also. I thought they did a good job. "You start mixing in those guys with the youth that they have, [it's a] pretty interesting ballclub. A lot to deal with. There's no off-innings, that's for sure." Kluber will pitch opposite Fiers. In his most recent outing, Fiers went five innings and allowed three runs -- all of which came via solo homers -- on seven hits while striking out five en route to a no-decision. While Fiers has had some early struggles this season, the Astros right-hander has had success against the Indians in his career. In two starts vs. Cleveland, he is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA, and he has held Tribe hitters to a.227 average. Things to know about this game Before Kluber shut out the White Sox and got the better of White Sox ace Jose Quintana on Friday, he had gotten off to a rough start. Through 18 1/3 innings in his first three starts, the right-hander allowed 14 runs (13 earned) on 20 hits, including five home runs. In his career vs. Houston, Kluber has gone 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA and has tallied 50 strikeouts in 40 innings. While Kluber is set to make his fifth start, Fiers will be starting for only the fourth time this season. Like Kluber, Fiers has gone through some early struggles. The right-hander has allowed 10 runs (nine earned) on 18 hits with six home runs across 15 innings. In 33 matchups against Fiers, left-handed hitters have collected 11 hits, including three home runs and five RBIs and have posted an OPS of Expect the Indians to have a lefty-heavy lineup on Thursday with Lonnie Chisenhall and Abraham Almonte hitting in the bottom third of the order. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and right fielder Teoscar Hernandez were both removed from Tuesday's game after colliding in right field while tracking a fly ball. Hernandez was carted off the field after the play, and he was diagnosed with a left knee contusion. Hernandez was placed on the 10-day disabled list, and utility man Tony Kemp was recalled from Triple-A Fresno. Altuve, who hurt his left shoulder in the collision, did not play on Wednesday but was available to come off the bench if needed. During Kluber's three-hit shutout against the White Sox in his most recent outing, a 357-foot Melky Cabrera single was the only one of 18 batted balls against Kluber to have a projected distance of more than 265 feet. Just two other times in the Statcast Era had Kluber allowed so few 300-foot drives in a single game.

4 Covering the Bases: Game 20 by Jordan Bastian FIRST: The Indians knew what to expect against Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. on Wednesday night. It s not a big secret. McCullers has been throwing his curveball more than half the time this season. And know this: McCullers knew that the Indians knew. People know I throw my curveball a lot, McCullers told reporters on Wednesday night. OK, so if the Indians knew what McCullers was going to do, and McCullers knew that the Indians knew, then we know the question was this: What could Cleveland do to counteract the pitch? Let s ask Professor Brantley. It s a plus breaking ball, Indians outfielder Michael Brantley said. It s one of the best breaking balls you re going to see all year. You re just trying to stay on it. You can roll them over with the best of them, especially when they are that good. So, if you can stay on it and try to drive it the other way, you re going to have better success. Easier said than done. Here s a look at the spray heatmap of how left-handed hitters (Cleveland had seven in the lineup on Wednesday) have fared against McCullers curve through his first four starts: Last season, lefty batters hit.126 with a.161 slugging percentage against McCullers curve. This year, that was up to.259/.370 heading into Wednesday s meeting with the Tribe. Overall, hitters had a.242 average and.355 slugging against the pitch in 17. The Indians executed the plan described by Brantley extremely well. Cleveland went 5-for-7 (.714 average) with two doubles, three singles and a sacrifice fly against the starter s curve. Carlos Santana (first-inning single), Edwin Encarnacion (sac fly in first), Jason Kipnis (single in first), Francisco Lindor (double in fifth) and Brantley (double in first and single in fifth) all took the pitch to the opposite field. Here s a look at how the Tribe s lefty s fared against McCullers curve: I recognized early they were looking for the breaking ball, McCullers said. And it wasn t that good today, so I really started throwing my heater and changeup a lot. Indians manager Terry Francona was impressed with his lineup s approach, especially in the first inning. We did a real good job early, Francona said. He really went to that breaking ball. It s a good one. It s one of the better ones. It s getting something up that you can handle. Maybe not swinging at the really good ones, because those are hard to hit. SECOND: What Brantley is doing right now is extremely impressive. With every hit, he looks more and more like the Brantley of old, and it s easy to forget how much time he missed. So, with every hit and Brantley has a 10-game hitting streak going at the moment it s important to keep the context in mind here. He played in only 11 games last year. That s been written ad nauseam, but it s important to remember it. Brantley hasn t been a regular since Completing the comeback was always a possibility, but no one knew what version of Michael Brantley the Indians would be getting. Would the power disappear given the complicated nature of his injury and two surgeries? I didn t think that I was going to come back being a slap hitter, Brantley quipped. With his 2-for-4 showing on Wednesday, Brantley is now batting.318/.384/.561 this month. Small sample size, yes, but it s not too far off from the.308/.366/.462 mark that he posted across the seasons combined. Getting him back in name is one thing, Francona said. But, getting him back as the player he was is pretty impressive on his part. I think the more repetition he gets, you re starting to see him get some timing. That s good. Is Brantley the same player, though? Again, it s early, and more plate appearances are needed to build a sample that will paint a clearer picture of where Brantley is at as a hitter. But, the early showing does show a few areas in which he is not exactly who he was prior to the shoulder and biceps woes. Brantley s walk rate is nearly identical to 13 15, as are his swing rates for the most part. So, the eye is still there like it was before. No surprise there. What we ve seen early on and perhaps it will change with repetition as Brantley gets used to playing everyday again are differences in his contact rate. Specifically, Brantley is missing pitches outside the strike zone (O-contact percentage) at a higher rate. That helps account for a swinging strike rate that has nearly doubled, a strikeout percentage that has spiked far beyond Brantley s usual level, and a dip in his overall contact percentage. Those will be things to monitor as the season wears on. It s getting there, Brantley said of his swing. I m always working. It s a work in progress. I trust the process that it is going to get better, I hope, and I m excited to get out there with my teammates and help them. Watching from the sidelines, it was tough last year. But, being out there every day and having fun with the boys while playing baseball again, it s all I can ask. THIRD: After outings good or bad, it s not uncommon for Trevor Bauer to say he executed his plan just how how he hoped, and that pitches that got hit were right where he wanted them. Chalk it up to bad luck or good hitting. Well, in the sixth inning, Bauer did make a good pitch. He fired a two-seamer that tailed away from Brian McCann, and the Astros catcher still found a way to slug it over the wall in center for a two-run homer. It s really hard to complain about this location: Was the pitch where Bauer wanted? Exactly where I wanted, Bauer said. Apparently, it was right where he wanted it, too. The mistakes came one batter earlier, when Bauer didn t find the zone and walked Carlos Correa. There was also an elevated cutter that caught too much plate in the fourth. Evan Gattis swatted through the trees in center for a two-run shot. Bauer s final line: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 2 HR, 108 (64). I thought he was good, Francona said. Good velocity. Ball had a lot of life on it. Early, he had some strikeouts. You know, [you run into trouble] when you have a leadoff walk against a team like this, and the ballpark was not going to play big.

5 One interesting element to Bauer s start was that he threw 51 four-seamers, compared to 26 two-seamers. That continued a trend that we ve seen so far in April with the righty. Last year, Bauer s two-seamer overtook his four-seamer as his primary fastball. It s flip-flopped in the early going this year. Bauer said that was unlikely to remain the case over the rest of the season. I m trying to execute the scouting report, Bauer explained. I think it s just kind of a limited sample size at this point. There s a lot of guys that, like you try to stay up in the zone to these guys. Usually, when I go up in the zone, I throw four-seamers instead of two-seamers. I think that ll even out as the year goes. I think my two-seam s a much better pitch than my four-seam is overall. But, when you look at a report on a specific hitter, sometimes it s better to throw four-seamers than two-seamers. HOME: Through two games, this series has lived up to its billing. The Indians and Astros could very well wind up in the postseason and that would be a pretty fun matchup, given the makeup of the rosters. Man, they keep coming at you, Francona said of the Astros. I think there s a lot of qualities about both teams that are kind of similar. It s only April, but Houston got a little taste of Cleveland s October formula on Wednesday night, too. With the Indians clinging to a 5 4 lead in the seventh, Andrew Miller took over. Thanks in part to an error by Santana, Miller toiled through a 35- pitch inning, but the lefty never broke. He struck out three, including Correa and McCann with the bases loaded to escape. In the eighth, with Bryan Shaw laboring, Francona handed the ball to closer Cody Allen with a runner on second, two outs and Cleveland up, 7 6. Allen then recorded a four-out save, ending with a pair of strikeouts. Combined this season, Allen and Miller have a 0.50 ERA with 29 strikeouts and four walks in 18 innings. Dating back to the start of the postseason, that duo has fashioned a 0.71 ERA with 83 strikeouts and 14 walks in 51 innings. Allen has 17 strikeouts vs. one walk in eight innings this year. I d prefer when we play Cleveland that he doesn t pitch, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. EXTRAS: I ll leave you with this Bauer is now 6 0 against the Astros in his career. A local scribe asked the pitcher if there was any rhyme or reason to his perfect ledge against Houston, and the pitcher offered the perfect reply: Random variation. April 26: Tito s pregame minutiae by Jordan Bastian On Austin Jackson s comeback from knee surgery: I think he deserves a ton of credit for getting himself in game shape as quickly as he did. I think when people see a knee scope, they just think it s a little knee scope. He had a lot done in there and he missed a fair amount of time. And then, when he got the OK from the trainers, he was going game speed pretty quickly, which was impressive. And not only that, but he maintained it, I think as you see him get more repetition. He s never been a big split guy, really. But, on our club right now, it seems to make sense to play him against lefties. You can see him getting atbats kind of like Guyer just depending on the makeup of the roster and things like that, health of guys, and things like that. On Jackson in center, where he hasn t been tested too much early on: I think part of that is because he s so dependable. I think he s always in the right spot. He moves well pre-pitch and things like that. I mean, he doesn t run like he did when he was younger, but he s very dependable out there. I think that s the best word I can use. On his first impression of Houston s lineup: I mean, I knew coming in, regardless of what happened last night, they kind of are built to play in October. I think they ve done a real good job. They were the team that jumped out early in the winter. Reddick and McCann, Beltran. So, they not only got hitters that can produce, but they got some leadership also. I thought they did a good job. You start mixing in those guys with the youth that they have, and it s a pretty interesting ballclub. A lot to deal with. There s no off innings, that s for sure. On Trevor Bauer s last start: We try to take something from everything, whether it was good or bad. But, I think the way he threw the other day, I think it was certainly something to build off of, or a jumping-off point. He should have felt pretty good about himself. He s going to have to pitch good for us to win. McCullers has real good stuff, and he s another one of those younger guys that, you get to the Major Leagues and then you realize you don t only belong, but you can be good. He s starting to show that. On Jose Altuve and Teoscar Hernandez colliding in the outfield: [Altuve] got up pretty quick, and then sat back down. I don t want to say you don t care, you certainly care, you never want to see somebody get hurt. But, he looked like he had his wits about him. When you saw the replay, it looked like he got hit pretty hard. But, at least when he got up and moved around you were like, OK, he s going to be OK. He just, obviously, got shaken up. And it s hard to see from that far away exactly what happened. But, I think everybody takes a little bit of relief when you see a kid get up and move around. On the difficulty of sticking with players when they are struggling: It can seem [difficult] at times. It s the same thing with bullpen guys when they re having a tough time. I remember last year when Shaw went through that period, everybody wanted to ask, and I just felt like running away was not the right thing to do. There s time when, like every team, you send guys back to Triple-A, or you make a move. But, when you know a guy, Guyer is a good example, he s on your club, he s going to be on your club. We need him to do certain things. Well, by running away, it s not going to help him get to that. You ask the players to try and be consistent, so I try and do the same thing. You can move guys in the batting order, if you want to. I think putting him in the same situations, he s going to figure it out. He s too good not to. On being able to sense when a guy is close to getting out of a slump: I think [Guyer] is a really tough kid. I know he s aggravated right now, because he s getting pitches to hit and he s not hitting them like he wants to. Sometimes, with guys that don t play every day, you know, like I thought maybe that home run in Chicago would kind of get him going. But, when you don t play every day, sometimes you can t back up those at-bats. So, they can come and go a little bit. But, I think he has 27 or 28 atbats. I still fall back on, the Guys get to their level. And when he does, there probably will be some damage in there, there will be some home

6 runs, some RBIs. I wish I could explain it better. I just feel like that s the way it is. Guys get to their level and when they do, like I say, if you kind of run away from them, then you miss out on it. Or, they may not get to that level if you run away from them. On Jose Ramirez s defensive play regardless of any position: One, he s a really good player. I do think it s easier for him to go from second to third, as opposed to left field to third. He was so busy last year at the beginning, trying to make that transition to left field, because he hadn t played very much there. Then, when he came in to third a little bit, you could tell there were a few balls maybe that got up on him quickly, or he didn t really have his feet under him all of the time on his throws. I know it s a longer throw from third, but he played there all spring and the majority of last year. I just think he s a really good defensive infielder. I think you could put him at short. He may not be able to make that throw in the hole that not a lot of guys do anyway. But, he d probably make all the plays there, too. On how much it helps having a guy like Ramirez for defensive shifting: We did it in, I think it was Minnesota, when Yandy wasn t able to complete the double play. Jose, that s a real bonus when you have somebody like that, because I ve never been a real big fan of doing what a lot of the teams do. They move the third baseman way over to the right field side. I just don t agree. But, that s a part of what makes the game so good. When you have a guy that s kind of a shortstop-ish guy over there, it really does help. On Chris Coghlan diving over Yadier Molina at the plate in Tuesday s Blue Jays-Cardinals game: He could ve broke his neck. I wonder if he just dove and then was so athletic that he was able to tumble? That was unbelievable. That was unbelievable. Can you imagine if [Molina] jad just nicked him a little bit? That could ve been [bad]. That was unbelievable. On Rays manager (former Indians coach) Kevin Cash going with all relievers in a 2 0 win over Baltimore due to the threat of bad weather: What [an idiot] he is. You know what s so funny? In the fourth inning, I said to Millsy and Mickey, I go, What the [bleep] is Cashy doing? Because they were winning, 2 0, and they were four pitchers in. I m like, [Dang], Erasmo Ramirez must ve got hurt. Then, when I saw it last night, I was cracking up. Well, he got the last laugh on everybody. Have you ever had a situation like that? I did. You know what? I made a bad mistake one night in Boston. I was told it was coming, for sure. I think it was Keith Foulke, I used him in the fifth. And it didn t come. Never again. I ll take my chances. Did you follow the Dustin Pedroia-Manny Machado incident, and how it s best to respond to events on the field: Everybody feels different about everything. There were a lot of good comments. I thought [O s manager Buck Showalter s] comments were really good, that, as a manager, you have a responsibility. If something happens to somebody, whether they get hit by a pitch or if something does happen and somebody gets hurt, it s a lot to think about, because you re responsible for their well-being. Everybody has their own opinion, but I thought his shoe or his spike hit the bag and popped up. I didn t think there was any intent. I thought Pedroia s comments were really good. I think he said it was a little bit late, but when a guy s going that fast. I didn t really think there was that much to be made about it. I think sometimes maybe Machado s a little bit of a lightning rod for past stuff. Does the slide rule lend itself to that kind of slide happening more? Well, I think there s a lot of ambiguity in that. And I know the league cares about guys not getting hurt, which is good. It s just, sometimes when you slide into a bag, with momentum, it s hard to just stay put. I mean, it s real hard. If you pop up, you might get hit with a throw. There s a lot going on and everybody s going fast. When you have the ability to turn it into super slow-mo, that s not how the play happened. Francona stays in seat for a moment I d like to apologize to Kevin Cash. Indians 7, Astros 6: 13 Walk-Off Thoughts on going the other way, Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller By Ryan Lewis Published: April 26, The Indians had a clear approach against Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Wednesday night: go to the opposite field and jump on the knuckle curve. They had four hits in the first inning to the opposite field (all by left-handed hitters) as well as a sacrifice fly off the bat of Edwin Encarnacion that was sent the other way to right field. Michael Brantley later added a two-run single in the fifth to left. The only runs the Indians scored on a ball hit up the middle or pulled Wednesday night came on Carlos Santana s two-run double in the sixth that made it McCullers is known for his knuckle curve. The Indians wanted to stay on it and drive it the other way instead of trying to yank it, which often results in a hitter rolling over on one with a weak ground ball to first or second base. That approach is the biggest reason the Indians are now 11-9 instead of Brantley: "It's an approach that you want to take. I mean, he has a very good breaking ball, like you said. Its a plus breaking ball, its one of the best breaking balls you're going to see all year. You're just trying to stay on it. You can roll them over with the best of them, especially when they are that good, so if you can stay on it and try to drive it the other way, you're going to have better success. 4. Indians manager Terry Francona: Early, we did a real good job early. A lot of times, before guys can settle in, and then he really went to that breaking ball. It s a good one. It s one of the better ones. Carlos had a couple really good at-bats. The double to score the two, that was huge for us. They re a really good team. They run some guys out of their bullpen that they can be a handful. 5. Brantley drove in three runs Wednesday night. He s now hitting.318 this season with four home runs and 15 RBI. For the first time in two full seasons, he looks like his 2014 self, the one who finished as an MVP finalist and Silver Slugger in the American League. Once again, Brantley in in the No. 3 spot in the lineup represents one of the more dangerous hitters in the league given his shoulder continues to respond well. 6. Brantley, on his swing: "It's getting there. I'm always working. It's a work in progress. I trust the process that it is going to get better, I hope, and I'm excited to get out there with my teammates and help them. Watching from the sidelines, it was tough last year, but being out there every day and having fun with the boys while playing baseball again it s all I can ask." 7. The top of the seventh inning featured one of the better matchups you re likely to see around the league. Andrew Miller vs. Carlos Correa in a three-run game with the bases loaded. The matchup didn t disappoint.

7 8. Eight pitches, four balls fouled off. Miller finally got the best of Correa with his trademark slider down-and-in. Correa missed and then angrily grabbed his bat. Now with two down, Miller froze Brian McCann with a slider on the outside corner and was walking off the mound before getting the signal from the ump. 9. Francona: They really pushed him. You saw in the end not just his ability to have good stuff and pitch, but his competitiveness. He reached back for some really good stuff there, and he needed it. They made him work really hard. That was fun to watch. That was a fun game to watch. That was two good teams playing. 10. Bauer s night likely wasn t too far from what you might have expected facing a lineup like the Astros, one that has depth and is dangerous 1-through-9. The Astros have consistent power and are among the favorites in the league in part because of it. 11. Bauer allowed four runs on six hits and struck out eight in six innings pitched. The Astros crushed two pitches but were mostly quiet against him aside from that. Evan Gattis drilled a ball (estimated 433 feet). Brian McCann later belted a two-run shot. As he rounded the bases, Bauer threw his hands up and looked back to Roberto Perez as if to say, How? Bauer opened the at-bat with a two-seamer on the outside corner. It was right where it was supposed to be, it just wasn t the expected result. 12. Bauer: Yeah. Exactly where I wanted. Apparently, it was right where he wanted it, too. 13. Jose Ramirez, with an RBI-double in the first inning, leads the club with 18 RBI this season. He s the first Indians hitter to reach that mark in the club s first 20 games since Brantley did it in Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: Indians 7, Astros 6: Indians go other way to top Astros By Ryan Lewis CLEVELAND: The Indians peppered the opposite field to power their way to a 7-6 win over the tenacious Houston Astros on Wednesday night at Progressive Field. The Astros rallied three times before closer Cody Allen finally quieted them for good, securing a four-out save to escape the eighth inning with the tying run on second and cruising through the ninth. Fortunately, [Allen] got out of it and then held them, because, man, they keep coming at you, Indians manager Terry Francona said of the Astros. I think there s a lot of qualities about both teams that are kind of similar. Fortunately we answered a couple times because they weren t going to quit playing. Facing Astros right-handed starter Lance McCullers (2-1), the Indians found early success going the other way with four hits to left field by lefthanded hitters that resulted in a quick 3-0 lead. Carlos Santana singled to left-center and Francisco Lindor drew a walk to open the first inning. Michael Brantley followed with a drive to the wall in left-center that ricocheted off the glove of Josh Reddick, scoring a run. Edwin Encarnacion then drove a ball to the opposite field for a sacrifice fly to bring home the second run in the inning. Jose Ramirez added an RBI double, again off the glove of a diving Reddick in left-center field, to push the Indians advantage to 3-0. It was Ramirez s team-leading 18th RBI of the season. One night after Reddick robbed Jason Kipnis of a homer in Tuesday s Tribe loss, he twice came up just short Wednesday in the first inning. Kipnis singled to left before McCullers finally escaped by inducing Lonnie Chisenhall to hit into an inning-ending double play. But by then the damage had been done, all of it on hits to the opposite field. With the lead cut to 3-2 in the fifth, the Indians (11-9) continued to go the other way with positive results. Santana walked and Lindor doubled down the left-field line to put two in scoring position. Both came home on a two-run single by Brantley, giving him a three-rbi night. The Astros (14-7) twice cut the Indians lead to one with two-run home runs against starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. In the fourth, Evan Gattis belted a home run estimated at 433 feet to center field. Two innings later, Brian McCann hit a two-run shot to center field to cut the lead to 5-4. Bauer (2-2) allowed four runs on six hits and struck out eight in six innings. Santana added on again in the sixth, ripping a two-run double to right field, this time to the pull side. Andrew Miller entered in the seventh with a 7-4 lead but ran into trouble after a Santana error. The Astros loaded the bases when Reddick walked and Carlos Beltran was hit by a pitch. In one of the best possible matchups in baseball today, Miller faced Carlos Correa representing the go-ahead run. The two battled for eight pitches before Miller finally won the duel with a wicked slider for a strikeout. He did the same with Brian McCann, striking him out looking with another slider to end the threat. An inning later, now facing Bryan Shaw, the Astros responded with a two-run double by Martin Gonzalez to slice the lead to one run for the third time. Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: Indians go other way to top Houston Astros 7-6 By Ryan Lewis Published: April 26, 2017 CLEVELAND: The Indians peppered the opposite field to power their way to a 7-6 win against the Houston Astros Wednesday night. Facing Astros right-handed starter Lance McCullers (2-1), the Indians found early success going the other way with four hits to left field by lefthanded hitters that resulted in a quick 3-0 lead.

8 Carlos Santana singled to left-center and Francisco Lindor drew a walk to open the first inning. Michael Brantley followed with a drive to the wall in left-center that ricocheted off the glove of Josh Reddick, scoring a run. Edwin Encarnacion then drove a ball to the opposite field to bring home a second run in the inning via a sacrifice fly. Jose Ramirez added an RBI-double, again off the glove of a diving Reddick in left-center field, to push the Indians advantage to 3-0. It was Ramirez s team-leading 18th RBI of the season. One night after Reddick robbed Kipnis of a home run in Tuesday s Indians loss, he twice came up just short on Wednesday in the first inning. Jason Kipnis singled to left before McCullers finally escaped by inducing an inning-ending double play off the bat of Lonnie Chisenhall, but the damage had been done, all of it on hits to the opposite field. With the lead cut to 3-2 in the fifth, the Indians (11-9) continued to go the other way with positive results. Santana walked and Lindor doubled down the left-field line to put two in scoring position. Both came home via a two-run single off the bat of Brantley, giving him a three-rbi night. The Astros (14-7) twice cut the Indians lead with two-run home runs against starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. In the fourth, Evan Gattis belted a home run to center field with an estimated distance of 433 feet. Two innings later, Brian McCann hit a two-run shot to center field that cut the led to 5-4. Bauer (2-2) allowed four runs on six hits and struck out eight in six innings pitched. Santana added on again in the sixth, ripping a two-run double to right field, this time to the pull side. Andrew Miller entered in the seventh with a 7-4 lead but ran into trouble after a Santana error. The Astros loaded the bases after Reddick walked and Carlos Beltran was hit by a pitch. In one of the best possible matchups in baseball today, Miller faced Carlos Correa as the go-ahead run. The two battled for eight pitches before Miller finally got the best of him with a slider to strike him out. He did the same with Brian McCann, striking him out looking with another slider to end the threat. An inning later, now facing Bryan Shaw, the Astros responded yet again with a two-run double by Martin Gonzalez in the eighth off, refusing to be put away and slicing the lead to one run for the third time. Cody Allen finally quieted the Astros comeback attempts for good, securing a four-out save to escape the eighth inning with the tying run on second and cruising through the ninth. It ended the yo-yoing of two-run hits by one of the league s better offenses that repeatedly made it a one-run game. Fortunately, [Allen] got out of it and then held them, because man they keep coming at you, said Indians manager Terry Francona. I think there s a lot of qualities about both teams that are kind of similar. Fortunately we answered a couple times because they weren t going to quit playing. Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: Indians notebook: Struggling Brandon Guyer still in team s plans; Austin Jackson looking comfortable By Ryan Lewis CLEVELAND: The Indians acquired outfielder Brandon Guyer at last year s trade deadline to provide a solid bat against left-handed pitching. So far this season, that bat hasn t been as solid as the club had hoped. But that doesn t mean Guyer will be riding the bench for a couple weeks as he figures it out. Guyer, who entered Wednesday s game hitting just.138 (4-for-29) this season with one home run and a paltry.435 OPS, carries a career.839 OPS against left-handed pitching in his career. Facing Houston Astros ace Dallas Keuchel in Tuesday s game, Guyer batted seventh after hitting third in a few games earlier this season. He s been moved down the order as he works through his swing Jason Kipnis also returned, bolstering the lineup but the Indians want to keep writing his name in the lineup instead of running away from him. Indians manager Terry Francona likened Guyer s situation to that of a struggling reliever as a player who doesn t appear in every game. There s [a] time when, like every team, you send guys back to Triple-A, or you make a move, Francona said. But when you know a guy, Guyer is a good example, he s on your club, he s been on your club. We need him to do certain things. Well, by running away, it s not going to help him get to that. I think putting guys in the same situations, he s going to figure it out, he s too good not to. Francona pointed out that it can be more difficult for hitters in a platoon to work through issues with their swing since they re not in the lineup every day. Guyer is used to that setup, but a slump hasn t quite hit him like this early in a season. Yeah, but at the same time, I ve been doing that my whole career, Guyer said. I ve kind of had that role, so I can t use that as an excuse. I m used to that, and I ve been able to succeed doing that, so it is as simple as baseball is a weird game and things like this happen. I ve got to grind through it, that s what it s all about. The Indians signed Guyer to a two-year extension that includes a club option for the 2019 season this winter. He s a fixture in the outfield for the foreseeable future. And he ll continue to get his at-bats against lefties. At home again Austin Jackson, the other outfielder the Indians deploy mostly against left-handers, is off to a strong start to the season, hitting.296 with a.387 on-base percentage entering Wednesday. He also hit his first home run of the season in Tuesday s loss to the Astros.