CLEVELAND – Manager Terry Francona’s juggling act with the Indians’ rotation keeps getting more difficult.
Trevor Bauer won’t start Game 2 of the ALCS against Toronto after he cut the pinkie finger on his right pitching hand Friday. Bauer’s injury is the latest for the Indians’ staff, which lost Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar to injuries late in the regular season.
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Cleveland said in a release on Friday that Bauer needed several stitches to close the cut from a “non-baseball related injury.” There is no immediate word on how the enigmatic Bauer, who likes to build and fly drones, got hurt.
Josh Tomlin, who was scheduled to pitch Game 3 in Toronto on Monday, will replace Bauer on Saturday. Bauer is slated to pitch Monday when the best-of-7 series resumes at Rogers Centre.
Bauer made his post-season debut in the AL Division Series opener and pitched into the fifth inning against Boston. Earlier this season, the right-hander came out of the bullpen and pitched five innings of shutout ball when the Indians outlasted the Blue Jays in 19 innings.
Francona has been forced to adjust his rotation for weeks after Carrasco (broken hand) and Salazar (forearm tightness) sustained injuries as the Indians were closing in on their first AL Central title since 2007.
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Corey Kluber is pitching Game 1 against Toronto’s Marco Estrada. The Indians plan to use Mike Clevinger in Game 4, but they aren’t sure how long he can pitch because he’s only gone in short stints this season and isn’t stretched out.
Francona has had to rely on his bullpen to carry the Indians.
Tomlin started Cleveland’s series-clinching win in the ALDS against Boston and effectively pitched into the sixth inning of his post-season debut despite the crowd at Fenway Park taunting him throughout his outing.
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