Joe Maddon Expects Indians To Go To Bullpen Early In Game 6 -- Maybe Very Early
(CBS) Down 3-2 in the World Series, the Cubs have all hands on deck for Game 6 on Tuesday night. Manager Joe Maddon will treat the contest like the elimination game it is, and he expects Indians manager Terry Francona to do the same, even though Cleveland has some margin for error.
In regards to that, Maddon expects Francona to turn to the Indians bullpen early on -- and possibly really early. Right-hander Josh Tomlin will start, but ace reliever Andrew Miller and the rest of the Cleveland bullpen is fully rested.
"They have a really well-rested bullpen with Miller tonight," Maddon said in an interview on the Spiegel and Goff Show on Tuesday. "So I don't Tito being extremely patient with Tomlin. You could even see Miller in the fourth inning tonight. I don't think that's beyond possible. That's why it's so important to strike early and grab the lead."
Tomlin flummoxed Chicago's hitters in Cleveland's 1-0 win in Game 3, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball. Despite a favorable night for hitters in which the wind was blowing out, the Cubs couldn't touch Tomlin, who gave up 36 homers during the regular season, the third-most in the majors.
Maddon deviated a bit from coach-speak when discussing Tomlin on Tuesday, expecting his Cubs hitters to get to Tomlin if they have the right approach.
"He's given up a lot of homers," Maddon said. "He was throwing really good the other night. You don't know what it's going to look like tonight. We just have to be ready to hit the ball well when it's in our area. He's able to locate, he's a tough guy. He's like their Kyle Hendricks -- he doesn't throw really hard, but he pitches well. The difference with him is he's more of a fly-ball pitcher than Kyle is. So for us, it's just a matter ... of we just have to get the ball on the right part of the plate and do some damage with it."
Listen to Maddon's full interview with Spiegel and Goff below.