In 1948, the Cleveland Indians clinched the American League pennant with a rookie – Gene Bearden – on the mound. They later went on to win the World Series. Terry Francona and the rest of the Tribe hope history repeats itself as Ryan Merritt, a rookie, gave them a heroic performance in pivotal game 5 of the American League Championship series.
Merritt went 4 1/3 giving up two hits on no walks while striking out three. He gave up an even four fly balls and four ground ball outs while throwing only 49 pitches. The offense awarded him a 3-0 cushion, thanks in part to solo homeruns from Carlos Santana and Coco Crisp.
About three weeks ago, the Indians told Merritt to face hitters in Arizona Instructional League games. Then, he allowed one run on three hits in five walk-free innings of his first and only major league start Sept. 30 in Kansas City. Although it wasn’t part of the plan to put him on the postseason roster, Francona made clear that he was one injury away, especially with fellow starters Carlos Carrasco (broken hand) and Danny Salazar (forearm strain) already unable to pitch.
Sure enough, right-hander Trevor Bauer gashed his pinkie finger while repairing one of his drones last Friday. So here’s Merritt, who pitched in front of a crowd of nearly 50,000, including his fiancee.
He stopped the bleeding for an organization that has not been to the World Series since 1997.
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