Indians looking to overcome adversity yet again following loss of Carlos Carrasco

The Indians have had to overcome a great deal this 2016 season. They’re gearing up to do it again.

Suspensions to Abraham Almonte and Marlon Byrd. Essentially a season lost for Michael Brantley. Multiple injuries to Yan Gomes and an extended stay on the disabled list for Roberto Perez, as well. Danny Salazar’s struggle to stay healthy after a dynamite first half. It’s hardly been a clean season as they’ve handled multiple losses to the lineup, a few in the bullpen and the starting rotation.

And, now, the loss of Carlos Carrasco for the rest of the season and the postseason can be added to that list, after he sustained a non-displaced fracture in his pitching hand on Saturday.

The latest setback is a significant one, as the starting rotation for a potential playoff series is now riddled with question marks after Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer. What was the Indians’ biggest asset in a 5-game or 7-game series is now the biggest uncertainty on the roster.

The tone from the Indians’ clubhouse is that they’ve battled setbacks to this point in the year. Their focus is on doing it again.

“I think that up to this point, and it would be the same thing moving forward, it hasn’t been one of those things where we’ve felt sorry for ourselves because of whether it be for Brant’s injury or Yan’s or Danny’s or now Carlos’,” Kluber said. “I think it’s one of those things where guys maybe pull together because of it and everybody’s looking to carry their own weight and not necessarily try to shoulder more of a load or anything like that. It’s everybody trying to pull together. You can’t really quantify the heart, but I think there’s a lot of guys with big hearts in this clubhouse, too, and that counts for something.”

The loss of Carrasco, Brantley and Gomes for October, along with the questions surrounding Salazar’s health, have piled on one another. The Indians’ standing in their bid to win the American League Central division is holding steady. But they’ll enter the postseason having to make up for several losses.

Saturday’s game was a bit of a microcosm of what the Indians hope to accomplish. With Carrasco out after two pitches, the Indians’ bullpen rallied to throw 10 scoreless innings that led to Jose Ramirez’s walk-off single to beat the Detroit Tigers in one of the more meaningful individual games of the year.

“I was very proud of the way the team responded today,” said Jason Kipnis Saturday night. “The infielders knew right away what was going on. Word made it back to us about what happened with Carrasco. You can let something like that linger. You can let something like that deflate a team. You have [Justin] Verlander on the mound, their ace. It's Detroit. There are a lot of excuses that could have come into play, but I thought everyone did a great job.”

Francisco Lindor said it was one of his favorite games of the season, Carrasco’s injury notwithstanding. Other players echoed that sentiment. Fighting back from a tough spot has become somewhat of a rallying cry.

‘When Carrasco got hit, a lot of times [like that] it feels like you got kicked in the stomach,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “And then, the way Verlander was pitching on top of it? But, they played their ass off. That was fun to be a part of that. I bet you, if you ask everybody but Carrasco, it was a fun day. It makes you, when the day's over, you're tired, but you feel like, man, you really accomplished something. I just think that's kind of how we look at it.”

The Indians have been put in a position to fight, as they were with Brantley’s bat out of the lineup and the setbacks they’ve endured thus far to build a lead in the division. Their road to the World Series continues to become tougher—Carrasco’s injury is a major blow, especially paired with the absences of several other key pieces to the roster. It’s the hand they have been dealt.

“We don’t have a choice,” said Andrew Miller. “It is what it is. We can’t change the reality of the situation. We’ll just find a way to cope with it. We’re going miss him, obviously. I think everybody would. But we’ll find a way."