2018 ALDS: 5 reasons the Cleveland Indians will upset the Houston Astros

3-headed closer in the pen

The bullpen has been the No. 1 thing to complain about this season. That seemed to change when Brad Hand was acquired at the trade deadline, but shortly after he came aboard, Cody Allen forgot how to effectively throw his curveball.

It looks like that’s changed, though, with Allen, who hadn’t allowed a run in 10 1/3 innings until having a rough outing Friday against the Royals.

Andrew Miller also seems to be healthy after dealing with knee and shoulder problems plagued him this year.

Ideally, the Indians will have a three-headed closer that will dominate the late innings. If all goes according to plan, just like in 2016, the Indians will be able to limit the damage the Astros powerful offense, while making enough offense of their own to knock out Houston.

Other key relievers include Adam Cimber. Should any members of the bullpen falter, Cimber may be the next man up in high leverage situations. His sidearm delivery and release point may do enough to throw Astros’ hitters off kilt.

Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger also factor into bullpen usage. Bauer may start Game 4, but there’s also the possibility he could help in the pen. His curveball would destroy Astros hitters late in gams and using him in these situations shouldn’t be out of the question.

Either way, there’s no time for the bullpen to figure things out. It’s now or never and the unit appears to be trending up entering October.