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Bautista expects Indians' Game 5 starter will be 'shaking in his boots'

Nick Turchiaro / Reuters

After the Toronto Blue Jays fended off elimination against the Cleveland Indians and their ace Corey Kluber in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday, they set themselves up for an interesting Game 5 matchup.

The Indians announced left-hander Ryan Merritt will take the hill for Wednesday's key contest at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Merritt made just four appearances during his 2016 rookie campaign, including one start, so the decision came as a surprise.

It was so perplexing, in fact, that Blue Jays manager John Gibbons didn't have much to say about his team's Game 5 opponent in postgame comments.

"What I know about him? He's left-handed," Gibbons said. "That's all I know right now."

Indians skipper Terry Francona may be hoping the use of a random starter will throw off the Blue Jays' offense, which managed five runs in Game 4. For his part, Jose Bautista said he isn't scared of Merritt's unpredictability.

"We'll try to look at videos, look at some scouting reports, see how his ball moves," Bautista told reporters. "Not having seen him is something that could go either way. With our experience and our lineup I'm pretty sure he's going to be shaking in his boots more than we are. I like where we're at."

Although a small sample size, Merritt was impressive during his four major-league outings this season, posting a 1.64 ERA and 0.55 WHIP in 11 innings.

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