The Cleveland Indians will be without starting pitchers Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco in an ALCS series where they will face a potent Toronto Blue Jays offense. With the Indians clinging to a three-man pitching rotation consisting of Mike Tomlin, Trevor Bauer, and Corey Kluber, the last of whom was dealing with a strained quadriceps earlier this month, the team couldn't afford a setback.
To give you better idea of how tough it is for the Indians right now, the team is scheduled to start rookie Mike Clevinger in Game 4. The pitcher posted a brutal 5.26 ERA in the regular season. Needless to say, the Tribe needed their three best available starting pitchers with a potential World Series appearance hanging in the balance. Then, Indians' president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti, delivered the bad news.
Early Friday, Antonetti revealed that Bauer lacerated his pinkie finger while repairing one of his drones. The 25-year-old pitcher likes to design, and builds drones in his down time.
Bauer was slated to start Game 2 but will now be pushed back to Game 3, with Tomlin taking his spot in the rotation. Indians manager Terry Francona tried making light of the situation, telling reporters, "It's pretty self-explanatory. We've all, at some point, had a drone-related problem."
The Indians take on the Blue Jays in Game 1 tonight at Progressive Field.
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