TORONTO – The city of Cleveland had gone 52 years without a sports championship before the Cavaliers downed the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals last spring. The Indians are four wins away from giving Cleveland its second title in four months.
SEE: Game and celebration highlights
The Indians have captured their first American League pennant since 1997 by blanking the Toronto Blue Jays for the second time in the AL Championship Series. Rookie Ryan Merritt combined with three relievers on a six-hitter as Cleveland posted a 3-0 shutout in Game 5 at Toronto.
Merritt’s major league resume had consisted of 11 innings before he limited the Blue Jays to two hits and no walks while striking out three over 4 1/3 innings. He threw 49 pitches in his playoff debut and his first action since Sept. 30 against Kansas City.
Cleveland’s bullpen was equally impressive. Bryan Shaw followed Merritt and worked in and out of a first-and-second jam in the fifth. Andrew Miller replaced Shaw and needed just one pitch to induce an inning-ending double play before working two more shutout innings. Cody Allen got the final three outs for his third save of the series.
Carlos Santana and Coco Crisp belted solo homers off losing pitcher Marco Estrada, who was reached for two earned runs and five hits over six innings. Santana’s blast made it 2-0 in the third, one inning before Crisp went deep.
Francisco Lindor (lihn-DOHR’) provided half of the Indians’ six hits and scored the first run on an error by left fielder Ezequiel Carrera in the top of the first.
Miller was named the series MVP after the game. The lefty struck out 14 and held the Jays to three hits over 7 1/3 innings.
The Blue Jays’ offense did little against the Indians in the series, scoring just eight runs and batting .201. Toronto hit .266 with 22 runs scored during their three-game sweep of Texas in the division series.
The Indians’ 1.43 ERA in the series more than made up for the team’s .168 batting average. The Indians will face either the Chicago Cubs or Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to win their first World Series crown since 1948.
Game 1 of the World Series will be in Cleveland on Oct. 25.
The Cubs evened up the National League series at two games apiece with a 10-2 win Wednesday night in Los Angeles.