TORONTO — There hadn’t been many tense moments in the Indians’ playoff run—they hadn’t lost a game since Sept. 28, hadn’t even trailed at the end of an inning since Oct. 6—but this, surely, was the most stressful yet.
A rotation that was already down to three after injuries knocked out its Nos. 2 and 3 starters had been further tested when Trevor Bauer sliced open the pinkie on his pitching hand while repairing a drone a day before his scheduled start. He’d been pushed back and Josh Tomlin had won Game 2 in his place, but Cleveland needed Bauer to deliver a strong outing in Game 3 and give the team some breathing room going into a stretch of potentially weaker starters.