CLEVELAND _ Cody Allen is trying to shift the avalanche in a positive direction. Because right now, it's all coming down on him and he's struggling to find his footing again.
Allen appeared to be well on his way to an easy 1-2-3 seventh inning with the Indians holding a one-run lead in Wednesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins. Indians manager Terry Francona said afterward that the plan was hopefully to have Allen and Brad Hand cover the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. It was all going to plan. Then Allen, again, couldn't find the plate.
He walked Logan Forsythe. He gave up a single to Eddie Rosario. He walked Miguel Sano on four pitches to load the bases. He had two strikes on Robbie Grossman, but he couldn't finish it. Grossman singled to right field to score two runs and give the Twins a 4-3 lead. It was Allen's fourth outing in his past five in which he's given up at least one earned run.
It has been a tough stretch that has had Indians fans calling for his release on Twitter, which, of course, is far from a reasoned and measured response to the game.
Allen didn't feel as though he made any good pitches, including the first two outs he recorded. He was just off, as he has been lately.
"It's extremely frustrating," Allen said. "But the only thing I can do is show up tomorrow and try to be better. Just keep working, keep grinding. Just show up tomorrow ready to compete. Mentally, put myself in a good spot and go out there and try and be better."
It hasn't been one main mechanical issue for Allen, something that could be an easily fixable issue. It has been his command. It has been his breaking ball. The finish on his fastball hasn't been there. On and on.
"It's been a number of things this year," Allen said. "The feel really hasn't quite been there. So, we'll make some adjustments. Sometimes it can literally be one pitch that locks you in and then you go. That's why you gotta kinda keep grinding, grinding, grinding. You go out there one time, make a couple really good pitches and you're able to follow that up and take it out there the next time. The same way that momentum or things can snowball you in the wrong direction, they can definitely go in the right direction, too. That's the goal."
The Indians won't be running away from Allen anytime soon. This isn't a bullpen asset that Francona will toss aside after a rough couple of weeks. Especially considering the entire goal with every member of the roster is singular: be ready for the postseason. The Indians have a commanding lead in the division and are likely either going to be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the American League. As long as they are healthy and ready to go by Oct. 4, anything that happened before that is secondary. So, Allen has more than a month to get back on track and find his command again.
The same logic goes for Andrew Miller. Certainly, the news that he was heading to the 10-day disabled list with a shoulder issue wasn't a great sign for the Indians. But it also doesn't seem to be anything the team is overly concerned with at this point. Miller received a cortisone shot and will be down four to five days.
There isn't much cause for concern for the statuses of Miller or Allen in August. It's all about being ready for October. Right now, the back end of the Indians' bullpen appears to again be in a bit of chaos. Luckily for the Indians, they don't have some division rival breathing down their necks and threatening their October status. That affords them the luxury of quickly getting Miller the cortisone shot now and knowing he should have plenty of time to ramp back up for the postseason.
"We've talked about this being like a spring training type thing," Miller said when meeting with reporters after Wednesday night's game. "We're so happy with the way my leg felt. I think the idea is to try to keep going through it. At the same time, we've got to look at the end of the schedule and be smart about it and kind of came to this conclusion. All in all, it's a positive. Everything looks good. It stinks to miss time. I feel like I need to get out there and get reps and I want to be a part of this, but I think we still have plenty of time for that. Minor setback."
Miller repeated that he was happy with how his lower half feels, something that's bothered him nearly the entire season. Perhaps the time down can be a positive.
"I think if anything maybe it's a blessing for the knee, I don't know," Miller said. "I don't think I needed that, but it is what it is. I'll still be back in time to get plenty of outings and ideally be as good as can at the end of this, and that's what's important."
