Trevor Bauer gets surprising nod for Game 1 of ALDS

The Cleveland Indians made a surprising decision regarding their pitching rotation for the ALDS.

Indians manager Terry Francona announced on Tuesday that Trevor Bauer will start Game 1 of the ALDS. The shock is that Corey Kluber, the likely Cy Young Award winner, will not start the series.

Francona cited the desire to keep Kluber on his regular pitching schedule as a big reason for the decision.

“The biggest thing was keeping him on his 5-day. That was really important to Kluber. That was really the only way we could do it,” Francona said Tuesday.

Kluber, who last started on Sunday, is in line to start Game 2 on Friday, which would give him a normal four days of rest between starts. Had he been asked to pitch Thursday, it would have been on short rest.

But that’s not the only surprise.

The Indians have clearly chosen Bauer over Carlos Carrasco, who seems by most measures to be the team’s second-best starter behind Kluber. Carrasco went 18-6 with a 3.29 ERA and 226 strikeouts during the regular season, compared to Bauer, who was 17-9 with a 4.19 ERA and 196 strikeouts. But Bauer has a 3.02 ERA since the All-Star break, while Carrasco has been similarly strong with a 3.12 ERA.

Francona also likes how flexible Bauer is with being able to pitch multiple times in a series.

“He’s durable. He bounces back really well. That’s another thing. We can use him, whether it’s a second start, or in the bullpen, probably easier than anybody on our roster. That’s another factor. The chances of anybody besides Kluber going real deep probably aren’t real good because we’re going to get to our bullpen if we have a lead,” Francona said.

A lot will be on Bauer now to start the series off well for Cleveland, especially as he looks to make up for last year’s infamous drone mishap.