Cleveland Indians: Meet ALCS Game 5 Starter Ryan Merritt

The Cleveland Indians handed over the ball to rookie starter Ryan Merritt for Game 5 of the ALCS. Prior to that game, Ryan Merritt had a career total of 11 major league innings.

Ryan Merritt was the first player out of the dugout at Rogers Centre for the Cleveland Indians. This was his first postseason start and his first appearance at the MLB level since September 30^th.

Merritt was counted out by a lot of people before the game even began. His fastball sits around the 86 mph mark and with a power-filled Toronto Blue Jays lineup at the plate, the expectations were low. Instead, Merritt shut down the Blue Jays for 4 1/3 innings. He only allowed one hit and no runs while constantly pumping strikes into the zone. He owned the edges of the plate and Toronto’s batters seemed to have trouble picking up the ball. Even at 86 mph, his fastball beat a few of the Blue Jays’ barrels. Merritt started Game 5 of the ALCS and it ultimately earned the Indians a 2016 World Series berth with a 3-0 victory.

Ryan Merrit likely wasn’t a name many fans expected to be in the Indians’ playoff rotation. Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco were intended to be part of an unstoppable starting rotation, but they both suffered injuries preventing that. Cleveland then relied on the trio of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Josh Tomlin. Merritt wasn’t even going to be on the ALCS roster but Bauer ended up slicing open his pinkie finger Thursday night and it opened an opportunity. Merritt was added as insurance but with Bauer’s injury being worse than expected, he was handed the ball for Game 5.

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The 24-year old left hander was chosen for a few reasons. One being a scouting report developed by the Indians about the Blue Jays lineup. Their lineup, according to the reports, is especially susceptible to breaking balls which explains why Kluber and Tomlin set career highs in curveballs thrown in Game 1 and 2. The reports also led the Indians to believe that a guy that pounds the strikezone early in at-bats will provide them with a very good chance of winning.

“We looked into it,” Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. “If you’re a lefty and you throw first-pitch strikes and fill up the strike zone, these guys don’t do a ton.”

The second reason for relying on Merritt was because of his maturity and comfortability at this level. Rogers Centre has a reputation for rattling pitchers during big games. But Merritt has had a calm demeanor since pitching in Waco, Texas for McLennan Community College. The Indians scouting team believed his personality was such a remarkable asset that it could be used to overcome any lack of stuff. Before the game, he was seen in the clubhouse enjoying video games.

“Our scouts did an unbelievable job of recognizing that,” said Brad Grant, Cleveland’s director of amateur scouting. “The way he handled it was incredible tonight. He didn’t get rattled.”

Toronto’s stadium, the Rogers Centre, hosts around 50,000 fans. That is about eight times the population of the town (Celina, Texas) where Ryan Merritt attended high school. Tomlin, a native of Whitehouse, Texas, said Celina, Texas was known for its incredible football program. Now, it’s the “Home of Ryan Merritt.”

“No doubt about it,” Tomlin said. “He’s the face of that dang town right now.”

Despite the 50,000 screaming fans, the stadium shaking, and this being the biggest game of his life, Ryan Merritt looked at home. His first challenge was lead-off hitter Jose Bautista who said that Merritt would be “shaking in his boots” during Game 5. Merritt got Bautista to hit a weak groundout off of an 84-mph cut fastball. After the game, Merritt told the media that he heard Bautista’s comments.

With Bautista providing a bit of fuel to the Indians’ fire, the 24-year old was perfect through the first 10 batters he faced. The first hit he surrendered game in the fourth inning due to a Josh Donaldson single. Merritt immediately recovered and induced an inning-ending double-play groundout. He faced two additional batters in the 5^th inning before manager Terry Francona decided it was time for the bullpen to take over. ALCS MVP Award winner Andrew Miller and the rest of the bullpen finished the job.

“The only guy that really got in his way was probably me,” said Francona. “For him to do what he did under those circumstances, he may not look the part, but he is beyond his years, and it’s one of the most phenomenal things I’ve ever seen.”

Before the clubhouse champagne celebrations began, teammates were heard yelling, “Were you shaking in your boots?!” Other teammates also egged Merritt on to give a speech but the young pitcher just smiled. Pitching coach Mickey Callaway stated, “He’s the unflappable Ryan Merritt. He probably doesn’t even know [Toronto’s hitters’] names.”

Now, they know his name along with all of Cleveland and all of Celina, Texas. Ryan Merritt has had such a following post Game 5 that even his wedding registry has received support.

Next: What do the Indians do for the next five days?

The young Indians rookie may not be the most known or established player in that locker room. But now he’s a Cleveland star who helped the Indians have a chance to win their first World Series since 1948.