Blue Jays-Indians ALCS Game 1: How to watch, live stream info, expert predictions
The road to the World Series continues
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2 min read
We know this much: the American League pennant will be claimed by either the Toronto Blue Jays or the Cleveland Indians. On Friday night, their best-of-seven series will begin in Cleveland, with the winner advancing to their first World Series in nearly two decades (or longer, in the Blue Jays' case). We previewed the series here, now let's address how you can watch Game 1.
The key details:
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: TBS
Streaming: TBS, MLB.tv (full details in those links)
Onto the starting pitchers.
Originally acquired as part of a three-team trade -- nobody remembers Ryan Ludwick and Jake Westbrook were the headliners at the time -- Kluber has transitioned from a potential back-of-the-rotation type to a legitimate ace. Miraculous? Cleveland fans would probably say yes.
Whatever the case, Kluber's hymns include a lot of well-located low-to-mid-90s fastballs and, oh by the way, that trademark putaway slider -- all delivered from easy-breezy mechanics. Something else to watch for: how he deploys his cutter -- typically when he falls behind and wants to outrun barrels.
Kluber faced the Blue Jays twice during the regular season. His first outing didn't go so well -- he was chased in the fourth after allowing five runs. The rematch in late August went better for Kluber: he held the Jays to two runs in six-plus frames, all the while fanning eight batters. It's worth noting Kluber had two starts all season where he walked four (or more) batters -- both were against the Jays.
Josh Donaldson has the most plate appearances (19) against Kluber of anyone in the Jays' expected lineup. Donaldson has hit .375/.474/.563 in those. Kluber will have to figure out the reigning AL MVP if he's to stake the Indians to a 1-0 lead.
Estrada has had an interesting career arc. Formerly a dogsbody afterthought who was available on waivers, he's since ascended all the way to Game-1-starter status behind his high-grade changeup and deceptive mechanics -- he has a short arm stroke and an over-the-top release point, making ball-tracking difficult.
Expect Estrada to pepper the zone with his upper-80s fastball early in counts, dropping in a curve or cutting the ball to evade barrels. You and everyone else knows his backspin-heavy changeup is coming later on, but that knowledge doesn't make the pitch any less effective.
Estrada faced the Indians once during the season. That start came in early July, when he tossed five innings and allowed three runs. Estrada did strike out seven batters, and the Jays won a 9-6 slugfest. Toronto would obviously take that result again.
No Indians batter has faced Estrada -- who was exclusive to the NL prior to 2015 -- more than seven times.
CBS Sports predictions
What good is a preview post that doesn't include our guesses. Here are our Game 1 predictions:
| R.J. Anderson | Mike Axisa | Jonah Keri | Dayn Perry | Matt Snyder | |
| G1 Winner |  | | | | |
| Score | 2-1 | 3-2 | 4-3 | 4-2 | 5-2 |
Should be a good one.
