The Indians took a commanding 3-0 series lead against the Blue Jays and that's probably a good thing, given what happened with starting pitcher Trevor Bauer in Game 3 of the ALCS.
Bauer was forced from the first inning due to blood gushing from the pinky finger of his right (throwing) hand. He can't cover it with a bandage or anything due to MLB rules and he also can't get blood on the ball, so that was it.
Bauer injured himself last week while working on a drone. At the time, it probably seemed like a pretty foolish thing to happen right in the midst of a possible run to the World Series, especially with fellow starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar already on the shelf with actual baseball injuries.
The question on the minds of millions right now is surely how did this happen. Let Bauer himself fill you in:
Bauer later said he felt bad and that he was also relieved to be able to pitch in Game 3 (he was originally scheduled to start in Game 2, but the Indians pushed him back to Game 3 in an attempt to give the wound time to better heal).
"Obviously you feel bad," Bauer said Sunday. "I want to go out and be able to make my start and help the team any way that I can. I was really looking forward to pitching on Saturday. And people come in town and obviously Game 2, it's an important game. So all these games are important. So I definitely felt bad. [It's] just one of those things, freak accident you can't really control. And try to maintain a positive attitude the whole time. Literally I was worried that I wouldn't be able to pitch at some point in the series. I got pretty lucky."
Little did he know that the injury would force him from the game so early and it definitely jeopardizes his chances of pitching again this postseason. Think about it. The cut surely opened up again and he can't pitch again until it's healed enough that it won't bleed -- and he can't cover it up, either.
So that means that Bauer's injury costs his team. Even with the win, the entire bullpen was used -- the first of possibly back-to-back-to-back games -- given that Bauer didn't get out of the first inning. If the Blue Jays make a deep series of this, it's pretty likely Bauer can't start again, meaning that only 2/5 of the Indians' rotation is able to make a start.
Bauer's drone injury impacted the postseason and it could end up being a major player, depending upon how things shake out moving forward for the Indians. His teammates really picked him up in Game 3, though, making the "major" part there pretty unlikely now, at least in the ALCS.