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Miller's struck out 10 of 12 batters faced in ALCS

Joe Sargent / Major League Baseball / Getty

Andrew Miller struck out five of the six batters he faced Saturday, including seven straight dating back to Game 1, as the Cleveland Indians left-hander continued to add to his dominant postseason resume.

Miller entered Game 2 against the Blue Jays in the seventh inning with the Indians clinging to a 2-1 lead, and the All-Star lefty once again baffled Toronto's hitters with the same sharp-breaking slider that helped him record all five of his outs Friday via strikeouts.

He struck out the first three batters he faced Saturday - Russell Martin, Melvin Upton, and Kevin Pillar - before sitting Darwin Barney down on three pitches for his seventh straight strikeout of the series.

The eye-popping tally made Miller the first pitcher in playoff history to notch at least five strikeouts in consecutive relief appearances, and gave him 10 strikeouts out of 11 outs during this year's AL Championship Series.

Game Batter Rslt Inning
ALCS G1 Darwin Barney K 7th
ALCS G1 Melvin Upton K 7th
ALCS G1 Josh Donaldson Single 8th
ALCS G1 Edwin Encarnacion K 8th
ALCS G1 Jose Bautista K 8th
ALCS G1 Russell Martin K 8th
ALCS G2 Russell Martin K 7th
ALCS G2 Melvin Upton K 7th
ALCS G2 Kevin Pillar K 7th
ALCS G2 Darwin Barney K 8th
ALCS G2 Ezequiel Carrera Groundout 8th
ALCS G2 Josh Donaldson K 8th

Miller's fifth strikeout of Game 2 came on yet another slider - this time to Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson, who flailed away at the inside 2-2 offering. The Indians reliever was replaced by closer Cody Allen in the ninth after completing two scoreless frames with 18 of his 24 pitches for strikes.

The 31-year-old hard-throwing lefty - who's never surrendered a run in 16 career playoff innings - now has 17 strikeouts, two walks, no runs, and just three hits allowed over 7 2/3 frames of relief this postseason.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)

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