Andrew Miller Is So Unfair

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

Andrew Miller has been the MVP of the postseason. And it isn't particularly close, either. In 7.2 innings of work, the lanky, 6'7" southpaw, has been virtually unhittable, giving Indians manager Terry Francona a lethal weapon he can deploy in any pressure-packed situation.

Most relievers as good as Miller—and to be clear, there aren't many—typically don't pitch until the ninth inning. They're held back for a save situation, tasked with protecting a lead and getting the final three outs (although from the Cubs' Joe Maddon to the Dodgers' Dave Roberts, we've seen managers turn to their closers before the ninth a few times this postseason). For the Indians, it helps having hard-throwing righty Cody Allen to close out games, allowing Francona to leverage his best reliever in different spots—Miller's entered in the fifth, sixth, and twice in the seventh during the playoffs. Francona's also using him for more than one inning at a time.

It's a strategy much different from how Miller was being deployed in New York. He closed a bit for the Yankees while Aroldis Chapman served a suspension, before forming one of the all-time great relief trios with the triple-digit throwing Cuban and Dellin Betances—probably three of the five best relievers in baseball. Yankees manager Joe Girardi had elite options at his disposal and didn't have to extend Miller past one inning most outings. And he didn't, using him for more than one frame three times in 44 appearances before a blockbuster trade sent Miller to Cleveland.

Francona hasn't followed the same script. In Miller's 26 regular-season appearances with the Indians, he went more than one inning eight times, and has done so in all four of his postseason outings. He has thrown 30-plus pitches in three of his four playoff appearances after reaching that mark four times in the regular season. Sunday's 2-1 win over the Blue Jays was the first time he's stayed under 30 pitches during the playoffs, needing 24 to fire two scoreless and help Cleveland take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Miller has struck out 17 of the 28 batters he's faced in the postseason—15 on his slider—while allowing two doubles, a single and two walks. He's putting up historic postseason strikeout numbers. Of the 12 Blue Jays batters he's faced in the ALCS, 10 went down on strikes, including five in Game 2, all on his slider.

And while his fastball velocity was a bit down Sunday, Toronto's Darwin Barney said Miller's arm angle and length helps his heater appear quicker than it might be. Miller's fastball was still touching mid-90s, though, mixed with a fast-moving wipeout slider that batters have swung through 60 percent of the time they've offered at the pitch this postseason.

The playoffs are a different beast, and Francona is getting the most out of Miller, who has shown a knack for taking his game to another level on the big stage. In 10 career postseason appearances, spanning 16 innings, he's worked more than one frame eight times, striking out 27 of the 55 batters he's faced without allowing a run.

Make no mistake, he's been downright dominant in the regular season, too. Miller has three straight 100-plus strikeout seasons, ranking top five among qualified relievers in K rate, WHIP, ERA, FIP and WAR. Over the past two years, he's been every bit as good as Betances, Chapman and Zach Britton, who just had one of the greatest seasons by a relief pitcher of all time.

For opposing teams, Miller is the stuff of nightmares. Francona almost unfairly uses him to shorten games and force teams to beat his starting pitchers, which they haven't had much luck with, either. Ace Corey Kluber hasn't allowed a run in two starts, while Josh Tomlin has done enough in his two outings against very potent offenses (two runs, five strikeouts over five innings in Boston; one run in 5.1 innings, with six strikeouts and 12 ground-ball outs versus Toronto) to help Cleveland win both games he's started. A couple homers plagued Game 3 ALCS starter Trevor Bauer in his one outing (he still struck out six with no walks in 4.2 innings versus the Red Sox), but Miller was there to pick him up.

And after Miller, there was Allen. Combined, the two of them haven't allowed a run in the playoffs, while striking out 25 and walking four over 12.2 innings. Cleveland heads to Toronto undefeated in the postseason, having swept the AL East-champion Red Sox before taking the first two of the ALCS.

It's scary to think what the Indians would be like at full strength with fireballers Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco either following Kluber in the postseason rotation or giving Francona more high-end options out of the bullpen. But so far they haven't needed them, and Andrew Miller is the biggest reason why.