CLEVELAND: Sometimes, celebrating is a contact sport. And because of it, Jason Kipnis is currently dealing with a sprained left ankle.
As the Indians clinched a World Series berth in Toronto, Kipnis went to embrace Francisco Lindor but accidentally stepped on his foot and rolled his ankle. Indians manager Terry Francona called it a “low” ankle sprain on Sunday, and said Kipnis is expected to be ready for Tuesday night’s Game 1 against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field.
“Some of the guys had a tough time getting through the celebration,” Francona said. “The good part is it’s not a high ankle sprain. You hear that all the time and I never know what it means but it doesn’t sound good.
“He’s going to be OK. Thankfully we had some time off, which is good. He’s not moving yet like he can, but I’m guessing with another 48 hours and 37,000 screaming fans, I bet he’ll be OK.”
Kipnis tweeted a picture of the moment he stepped on Lindor’s foot with a caption saying he should be “good to go” by Tuesday.
Letting it go
Indians pitcher Danny Salazar threw three innings of a simulated game in Cleveland on Sunday. He’s still not throwing his curveball but has been able to “let it go” a bit more. He remains a possible option for the Indians’ World Series roster, either as a starter or reliever.
It took time for Salazar to trust his throwing motion enough to not hold back.
“I was kind of scared to let it go,” Salazar said. “Even though I wasn’t feeling any pain, I was saying to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to let it go, this one.’ But then when I was doing my motion, I was holding back. In Toronto, it was different. It didn’t hurt the first time, so it didn’t hurt the second time. I was letting go really good. It feels good.”
The Indians have wanted to make sure Salazar was progressing with an eye on his long-term health. It appears as though he’s now under serious consideration for also making the roster, potentially as a Game 4 starting pitcher or an option out of the bullpen.
“We want to make sure that he’s 100 percent healthy. Then if he shows that, OK, then you take it another couple steps,” Francona said. “Is he commanding? Can he help you win? Can he pitch an inning? Can he pitch two? What role can he fill?
“Because of his side day the other day, it’s progressed to the point now where I think we need to take a good, long look, because he looks pretty healthy. So that’s what we’ll do.”
Champagne memories
Indians catcher Chris Gimenez brought home at least two empty champagne bottles from the ACLS-clinching celebration at Rogers Centre in Toronto. He said he has them from every round of the playoffs he’s been to and has all his teammates sign them with a silver Sharpie.
Besides the Indians’ division-clincher and playoff victories over the Red Sox and Blue Jays this season, his collection also includes bottles when he reached the 2013 American League wild card game with the Tampa Bay Rays and from last year’s playoffs with the Texas Rangers.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com.