It was a dramatic pitching matchup but in the end it was the bat of Francisco Lindor that had the Toronto Blue Jays on the losing end.
Lindor's two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth inning would be enough for the Cleveland Indians as they shut out the Jays 2-0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Corey Kluber would keep the Blue Jays off the scoreboard, tossing 6 1/3 shut out innings to get the win. Toronto's Marco Estrada, however, would go the distance with eight innings and two earned runs for a quality start in the hard-luck loss.
The Blue Jays had little trouble getting on base, with three Jays getting two hits each - Josh Donaldson, Michael Saunders and Edwin Encarnacion, who had the game's only double. Encarnacion became animated in the eighth inning and had to be restrained by Jose Bautista after being called out on strikes by home plate umpire Laz Diaz.
Lonnie Chisenhall would get three hits for the Indians, Lindor would end up with two.
The Jays will try to even things up Saturday afternoon in Cleveland. J.A. Happ will get the start for Toronto while Josh Tomlin gets the ball for Cleveland. First pitch is 4:05pm.