Jon Lester can pitch out of the bullpen if necessary, which may be risky. "So that when you get to these big moments, it's basically like it has been the whole year." "Taking that same, ruthless approach, every day, every single start, even in the regular season," he said, per the Chicago Tribune's Paul Skrbina. The Akron Beacon Journal's Jason Lloyd is thinking optimistically:ĭespite the massive stakes of Wednesday's game, Hendricks is doing his best to treat Game 7 like any other start. Indians fans are feeling a bit uneasy after Cleveland lost the last two games. Both should be available to handle multiple innings Wednesday night. Allen, meanwhile, went 1.2 innings in Game 5. The silver lining from Games 5 and 6 for the Indians was that Miller didn't pitch whatsoever.
That's why it's imperative for Kluber to keep Chicago off the board for five-potentially even four-innings before he hands the ball over to the bullpen. Andrew Miller and Cody Allen have been devastating in the postseason, but they can't help the Indians much if they're entering a game with their team down. Lester and Arrieta left with the lead, which rendered Cleveland's best asset-the bullpen-ineffective. In comparison, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta went 11.2 combined innings and surrendered four earned runs. In the last two games, Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin combined to allow nine earned runs in 6.1 innings. Starting pitching will be the decisive factor Wednesday night.