Francona goes 'anti-Showalter' by using Miller in 5th
"Miller Time" came decidedly early Thursday.
Two days after Buck Showalter's widely panned decision not to use his closer during the late innings of the Orioles' one-game playoff, Indians skipper Terry Francona managed on the other end of the spectrum by deploying his All-Star stopper, Andrew Miller, in the fifth inning of Cleveland's ALDS opener against the Red Sox.
With Cleveland clinging to a one-run lead, Miller, who was making his earliest appearance since May 2013, entered Thursday's game with two outs and nobody on and a pair of left-handed hitters looming in the order. The lefty closer promptly gave up a double to Brock Holt and walked Mookie Betts before striking out David Ortiz to end the inning.
Francona's bold move was in stark contrast to Showalter's inactivity Tuesday, when the Orioles manager was roasted by the baseball world for not using Cy Young candidate Zach Britton at any point during Baltimore's extra-inning, wild-card loss to Toronto. Suffice to say, Miller's early appearance elicited mixed reaction:
The willingness to use Miller anywhere is great. Specific situation isn't what we usually had in mind when we talk about relief aces though.
— David Cameron (@DCameronFG) October 7, 2016
Here comes Andrew Miller, with two outs in the fifth. Terry Francona, the anti-Showalter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 7, 2016
Love it. That kind of strategy is a big reason Francona should be manager of the year. https://t.co/Y83Fmr5pQB
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) October 7, 2016
Francona said he likes Miller because he can use him "anywhere." Tonight that's with two outs in the fifth.
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) October 7, 2016
What if they just made the whole pitching staff out of Andrew Miller?
— Ben Reiter (@BenReiter) October 7, 2016
I asked Terry Francona toward the end of the season what's the earliest he would use Andrew Miller, and he basically said conception.
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) October 7, 2016
I'm going to go against the tide here and say that... two outs with no one on base in a DH game is an odd time to bring Andrew Miller.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 7, 2016
Terry Francona going full-throttle Ned Yost, summoning Andrew Miller with two out in the 5th. #Indians asking for 13 outs from the pen.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) October 7, 2016
Miller's night ended in the seventh, after he threw a season-high 40 pitches and struck out four batters over two innings of work. The outing marked the fifth time in his career he threw at least 40 pitches in a relief appearance, and just the second such instance since 2011 (Sept. 22, 2015).