BOSTON -- As Cleveland Indians closer Cody Allen weaved his way through the Boston Red Sox lineup in the eighth and ninth innings Monday, a little piece of him flashed back to his boyhood in Florida. Allen took the mound in Game 3 of the American League Division Series without his best fastball or command. But as he surveyed the scene around him, his head was spinning with memories.I remember when I was a kid, watching games in this ballpark and seeing how crazy it was, Allen said in a raucous Indians clubhouse late Monday. For me to stand here and say I didnt hear the crowd, that would be a lie. I heard them. I could feel it, and Im sure their players could feel it.Its a really cool feeling to be part of a game like this, at Fenway Park, where theres so much history, playing against guys like Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz and that team over there. Its a really cool thing to be a part of.Once Travis Shaws pop fly settled into the glove of Cleveland right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall to seal a 4-3 Indians victory, Allen and his teammates experienced the ultimate in cool. They heard 39,530 Fenway fans go quiet before striking up a Thank you, Papi! cheer in recognition of Ortizs final game.In the midst of all that mourning, the Indians held an impromptu mosh pit at second base to celebrate a three-game series sweep. Boston is done, and Cleveland will move on and try to create some new memories against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series.The Indians entered the division series as consensus underdogs for a reason. September injuries to Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar put a major crimp in the pitching rotation, and Bostons lineup looked too deep and formidable to be stopped. Even though the Red Sox dropped five of six games to end the regular season, they led the majors with 878 runs and an .810 team OPS. Plus, they had the added incentive of trying to write a poignant final script for Ortiz.But everything unraveled against the Indians, who took the three games in the series by scores of 5-4, 6-0 and 4-3. The Red Sox struck out 31 times in 98 at-bats and posted a .214/.278/.378 slash line. Bostons three homers in the series came from the unlikely trio of Andrew Benintendi, Brock Holt and Sandy Leon. Ortiz, Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts hit a combined .200 (11-for-55) against Clevelands pitching.The Indians game plan from the outset was to seize the initiative. Boston has a lot of hitters who like to work deep counts, and the Tribe pitchers focused on throwing strike one to better dictate the action.Josh Tomlin, Mondays starter, averages a tick under 88 mph with his fastball and allowed a whopping 35 homers in 174 regular-season innings. But he throws four pitches and never competes like a guy whos velocity-impaired. They dont call him the Little Cowboy for nothing.If somebody doesnt believe in our pitchers, theyre gonna prove them wrong, Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway?said. Thats definitely the case with Tomlin. Hes had to prove himself from A ball on. Hes always been the underdog. He performs best that way.Tomlin twirled one-hit, shutout ball for four innings and seemed oblivious to the notion that he should be feeling any kind of pressure. In the fifth inning, after Benintendi doubled home a run to make it 2-1, the Fenway fans struck up a Tom-lin! Tom-lin! chant reminiscent of the mocking cheer that Pittsburgh fans used to rattle Johnny Cueto during the 2013 playoffs. It was utterly wasted on the Little Cowboy, who struck out Leon and retired Jackie Bradley Jr. on a groundout to avoid further damage.I was surprised there were that many people that knew my name, to be honest, Tomlin said.As the game progressed, everything fell into Cleveland manager Terry Franconas wheelhouse. Andrew Miller, providing a monster presence out of the bullpen, came on in the sixth inning and threw 35 pitches to record six outs. Bryan Shaw and Allen flirted with danger in the eighth and ninth, but Boston simply couldnt mount enough offense to get over the top.True to form, Clevelands hitters divvied up the goodies all series. Catcher Roberto Perez, a .183 hitter during the regular season, hit a big home run in Game 1. Chisenhall, who barely plays against left-handers, launched a telling three-run shot off David Price in Game 2. In the series finale, Tyler Naquin delivered an early two-run single, and 36-year-old Coco Crisp made a personal statement. With the Indians clinging to a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, Crisp launched a Drew Pomeranz knuckle-curve over the Green Monster for a two-run shot that allowed everybody in the Cleveland dugout to exhale.It was the second home run in 119 career postseason plate appearances for Crisp, who began his major league career with Cleveland in 2002. He moved on to play for Boston, Kansas City and Oakland before the Indians reacquired him from the Athletics in late August.I hit it, and I was like, OK, I got it. Its a homer, Crisp said. And then I was like, Wait a second. I hit it, and thats the Monster out there, and that wasnt really a pull homer. I started running and had my head down, and I looked up and saw the second base umpire twirling his fingers. Thats when I got pumped up.The sheer joy and self-effacing nature of Crisps quote is typical of the Indians, a likable batch of grinders who take their non-star status as a point of pride. Along with an underrated lineup, a solid defense and an effective bullpen, they have the advantage of being a unified group. Just about every media interview with an Indian includes some mention of how each player on the roster has bought into the team dynamic.Everybody in here loves each other, Tomlin said. We love being around each other. Ive never seen a group of individuals who get to the ballpark as early as we get to the ballpark. We play cards with each other and hang out with each other at night. There are a bunch of things that go into it. Its not just what we do on the field. Its what we do off the field as well.Now that theyve dispatched with Boston, the Indians have the luxury of enjoying each others company for another series -- and possibly a World Series after that. Theyre enjoying the ride so much that they cant abide the thought of it coming to an end.Cheap Marlins Jerseys . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Wholesale Marlins Jerseys . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/ . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Marlins Jerseys 2020 . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Fake Marlins Jerseys . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season.University of Cincinnati basketball coach Mick Cronin is a big admirer of the way Butler conducts its program.Theyre really good every year because they play the game the right way, Cronin said. They run their program the right way. They have great continuity the way they do things. They understand why theyre successful, and they stick with it from their administration on down.The No. 22 Bearcats (7-1) will face the No. 16 Bulldogs (8-1) at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.Butler nipped host Cincinnati 78-76 last season.The approach is especially important on the court.On the floor, all the things that are hard for young kids to do that go into winning, theyre willing to do them, Cronin said. Theyre not gonna win every game, but theyre really hard to beat. Obviously, theyre gonna be a tough out at home especially.Cronin said the Bulldogs have good talent.(Andrew) Chrabascz is a great college basketball player because he does every well, not just score, Cronin said. Hes a tough matchup. They have eight guys who I think are really good players and they dont do dumb things. The guys that dribble, dribble. The guys that pass, pass and the guys that should shoot, shoot.They give themselves every chance to win by playing really smart. Im sure their coach will tell you they have to get better just like us, but they try never to make a play thats not a smart play. They play hard and physical but in a clean way.The Bulldogs are coming off a 72-71 loss at Indiana State Wedneesday night.dddddddddddd It was a loss that didnt surprise Bulldogs coach Chris Holtmann despite the 8-0 start.Weve got a long ways to go as far as playing together offensively, Holtmann said. The freshmen played like freshmen (against Indiana State). I dont care what anybody says or what the rankings are. This team is a real work in progress. There are a lot of real lessons we can take from (the Indiana State loss).Holtmann isnt sure if playing again against a tough team will be good thing or bad thing.(The Bearcats) are a very good team, Holtmann said. Well see. The schedule was made for a reason. If were going to tuck our tails and not get better after a tough game, thats on us. We have to be more tough-minded to know what is ahead of us. We have to get better in practice. That will be our challenge.Butler holds a slim 1.4 rebounding advantage over its opponents after Indiana State outrebounded Butler by eight.They just out-toughed us, said Chrabascz, who leads the team with a 5.8 rebounding average.The Bearcats are outrebounding opponents by six per game.Chrabascz, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, is averaging 10.9 points, second on the Bulldogs to junior forward Kelan Martins 17.4 scoring average.Junior forward Kyle Washington leads the Bearcats with a 17.3 scoring average, followed by sophomore swingman Jacob Evans with 15.6 points per game. ' ' '
