Francesa: Indians Are In 'Death Struggle' With Dangerous Yankees
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Heading into Game 5 of their American League Division Series, the Yankees are a dangerous team and the Indians are a vulnerable one, WFAN's Mike Francesa said Tuesday.
The Indians had the American League's best record this season and won a league-record 22 straight games at one point. They had the Yankees on the ropes after winning the first two games of the ALDS, but then lost the last two contests, including a 7-3 defeat Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
"Now they find themselves in a death struggle against a young team that right now is playing fast and loose and is a very dangerous opponent," Francesa said at the start of his show. "And make no mistake -- and no one knows that better than (Indians manager Terry) Francona right now -- make no mistake, the Yankees are a very dangerous opponent, and more than anything else, his team is not playing well. You got guys in that lineup not swinging the bats. Now their defense fell apart last night. They unraveled in that game last night.
"The Yankees got some big at-bats last night," he added. "They got some big hits. And they were aided obviously by a bushel of mistakes from a team that has not made mistakes."
Now that Cleveland has "hit a rough patch," they are completely reliant on pitcher Corey Kluber to carry them in Game 5 on Wednesday night, Francesa said. Kluber was disappointing in Game 2, allowing six runs on seven hits, including two homers, over just 2 2/3 innings.
"They need their ace," Francesa said. "They need the Cy Young winner to be what he was consistently all year and what he was not in his first start."
To listen to the full segment, click on the audio player above.
