Indians fans buy Merritt wedding gifts after ALCS performance

In the span of 24 hours and just 4 1/3 innings, Ryan Merritt has gone from anonymous minor leaguer to Cleveland's latest rock star.

Merritt's stunning two-hit shutout performance on Wednesday in his first career postseason start - and just the sixth big-league appearance of his brief career - has made Indians fans delirious with joy, as it helped push the club to its first AL pennant in 19 years. Fans in Northeast Ohio were so thankful for their new hero's pitching performance that they hunted down his wedding registry and began buying up every item he and his fiance, Sarah Brushaber, have been asking for.

"They're probably going to buy it before our friends get to it," Merritt told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian on Thursday. "Hopefully we don't end up with like five Keurigs or something."

Merritt and Brushaber registered at Target and Pottery Barn, and thanks to Indians fans they may end up with enough kitchen and bathroom products to start their own wholesale stores.

"Honestly, we didn't really believe it at first," Brushaber said. "We just kind of thought it was out there and people knew about it, but it's just unreal. That was just the last thing we expected to come out of this. It's just crazy."

Indians fans looking to send the happy couple gifts still have time - Merritt and Brushaber are tying the knot in January - but there's not much left. They are still in need of a shower curtain, or possibly some duvet covers, among other items.

Although the 24-year-old clearly wasn't quaking in his boots by pitching to the powerful Toronto Blue Jays lineup in the playoffs, he's certainly been taken aback by the outpouring of support after his performance.

"It's been emotional. It's been a lot of fun," Merritt told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com on Thursday. "I've just been trying to enjoy it and just kind of take it in moment by moment, and not let all this change me, who I am.

"It's just great to be a part of it."