Terry Francona knows how to win at Fenway Park. The former Red Sox manager chased out of Boston stuck it to his old club with a three-game ALDS sweep of the Red Sox after a 4-3 Game 3 win Monday night in Boston.
Following a recipe from Game 1, Francona used starter Josh Tomlin for five innings before calling on midseason acquisition Andrew Miller, who stymied Boston for two scoreless innings in relief with three strikeouts. Bryan Shaw recorded two outs before Cody Allen converted a four-out save as the Tribe moved to 75-3 this year when leading after seven.
With the win, the Indians will face the Toronto Blue Jays in the best-of-seven AL Championship Series beginning Friday in Cleveland.
Unfortunately the Red Sox's loss means we've seen the last from David Ortiz, who finishes his career with one of the best age-40 seasons in MLB history. More on Big Papi below.
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Three takeaways from Cleveland's win:
1. From small ball to long ball, Coco Crisp provided spark Indians needed. Crisp connected with a two-run homer over the Green Monster in the sixth inning to give the Tribe a 4-1 lead, but it was a fourth-inning bunt that gave the Indians the first runs of the game. With Jose Ramirez and Lonnie Chisenhall at first and second and no outs, Crisp laid down a perfect squeeze to move the runners. Tyler Naquin delivered a two-run single on the very next pitch from Clay Buchholz, who took the loss.
2. Strong Red Sox lineup non-existent in ALDS. From top to bottom, the Red Sox had one of the most potent lineups in baseball. The club led the majors in numerous categories during the regular season, including runs (878), doubles (343), extra-base hits (576), average (.282), on-base percentage (.348) and slugging percentage (.461). But over the last week of the regular season and into the ALDS, the bats struggled to come to life. It was especially true for Jackie Bradley Jr. (1 for his last 21), Sandy Leon (5 for his last 52) and even Ortiz (4 for his last 29). Boston finished the ALDS with a streak of 26 consecutive innings without holding the lead.
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3. Ortiz's career incredible despite poor finish. Although Ortiz finished his career with a .138 average over his last nine games, his 20-year career is one for Cooperstown. Ortiz blasted 541 home runs, good from 17th all time; 1,768 RBIs, 22nd all time; and 632 doubles, 10th all time. He's only the third player in history to have more than 500 home runs and 600 doubles. The other two are Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. A three-time World Series champion, Ortiz finishes his postseason career with 17 home runs, 61 RBIs and 22 doubles.
Highlight
Crisp's home run was just his seventh in 202 games at Fenway Park.
What's next
ALCS Game 1: Blue Jays at Indians, Friday 8:08 p.m. ET (TBS): After sweeping the Rangers to reach the ALCS for the second year in a row, the Blue Jays head to Cleveland looking to reach the World Series for the first time since 1993, a year the club won it all. The Indians won the regular season series 4-3, but were outscored 38-24.