Indians make history in bittersweet shutout of Tigers

Yahoo Sports Contributor

Sun, Sep 18, 2016, 7:47 AM

The Cleveland Indians needed a series of pick-me-ups after Carlos Carrasco suffered a broken hand — which will end his season — two pitches into Saturday’s game. They got eight of them from eight different relief pitchers as they combined to complete a historic 1-0 shutout of the Detroit Tigers.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the history was in the number of pitchers that were used. In total, nine different pitchers toed the rubber for the Indians over 10 innings. That’s the most ever to contribute to a shutout.

Per Elias, Indians set an MLB record by using 9 pitchers in a shutout, during 1-0 win over Detroit. Previous record was eight.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 18, 2016

Carrasco did not record an out, meaning Cleveland’s eight relievers combined to record all 30 of them. Along the way, they allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out 10.

Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco leaves Saturday's game after suffering a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his pitching hand. (Getty) — Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco leaves Saturday’s game after suffering a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his pitching hand. (Getty)

That’s as dominant a performance as you’ll see, which is pretty amazing considering each reliever needed to be spot on to keep the line moving. It’s also impressive knowing they were pitching with next to no margin for error with Justin Verlander also dealing for Detroit.

After Carrasco injury, Tito called the bullpen: "Tell them to put their seatbelts on. They're all going to pitch and we're going to win."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 18, 2016

Tito, of course, is a reference to Indians manager Terry Francona.

It was his job to mix-and-match his relievers effectively. The relievers themselves — Jeff Manship, Kyle Crockett, Cody Anderson, Zach McAllister, Perci Garner, Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen and Andrew Miller — did the rest. Miller, whom the Indians acquired at the trade deadline from the New York Yankees, earned the victory by pitching the ninth and tenth inning. He and Anderson were the only two pitchers to go two innings.

Of course, we can’t go without mentioning Jose Ramirez. It was his single in the 10th inning that won the game. He helped turn a potentially gloomy day into something positive. And then so did Carrasco, as he was the first player to welcome his teammates into the clubhouse.

Thank you, everyone, for the kind words. Means a lot!
Thanks most of all to my teammates for winning that game! We're going to do this!
— Carlos Carrasco (@Cookie_Carrasco) September 18, 2016

The Indians are a confident crew, no doubt about that. The hill got a little steeper on Saturday, but they won’t stop running.

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