CHICAGO: The rabid crowd, euphoric over the Cubs’ first World Series game in Chicago in 71 years and jumping to its feet every time an Indians batter reached two strikes.
Home plate umpire John Hirschbeck’s erratic calls, missing strikes in the zone.
A stiff breeze blowing out of Wrigley Field.
On Friday, Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin wasn’t intimidated by any of that.
Tomlin pitched with his father in the stands for the first time since Jerry Tomlin underwent surgery in mid-August for a tangle of blood vessels on his spinal cord that left him paralyzed. The two hadn’t seen each other since Tomlin rushed back to Texas for the operation.
Tomlin looked forward to spending time with Jerry and his mother, Elana, the night before Tomlin started in Game 3 of the World Series. Tomlin’s parents sat behind home plate, Jerry, unsure if he will walk again, in a wheelchair.
The circumstances were set for a storybook night for the gritty Indians pitcher, whom manager Terry Francona stuck with through an 0-5 August, merely skipping one of Tomlin’s turns in September.
But Tomlin’s heartwarming tale was nearly spoiled. There were nail-biting moments, a crucial double play turned by the Cubs that changed the energy in the storied old park.
Then the Indians scratched out a run in the seventh inning with a Roberto Perez single, a bunt, a pinch runner and two pinch hitters. Coco Crisp, batting for Carlos Santana, delivered an RBI single to right field to break the scoreless deadlock and the Indians survived a dramatic ninth for a 1-0 victory.
Tomlin surely couldn’t care less that he didn’t get the win. The Indians prevailed and his dad was there, watching the Tribe take a 2-1 Series lead into Saturday night’s Game 4.
The Tomlins had to be anxious as they watched their son locked in a duel with Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks through four innings.
No batters on either side could get a ball up in the air to take advantage of the wind. The first fly ball in play was hit to center by the Cubs’ Willson Contreras in the fourth inning. That may have been a relief to Santana, the Indians’ regular designated hitter who started in left field for only the second time in his career so Francona could keep both his and Mike Napoli’s bats in the lineup.
Even when Hendricks departed with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth, the Indians couldn’t come through in their first big moment. Francisco Lindor, 2-for-2 against Hendricks, was batting .375 in the postseason. Right-handed reliever Justin Grimm had a 6.75 playoff ERA. Lindor battled back from an 0-2 count, but grounded into a 6-4-3 double play on a 3-2 pitch from Grimm.
With the possibility Tomlin could be brought back on short rest, Francona lifted him with two outs in the fifth. A television camera showed Elana waving goodbye as Tomlin walked to the dugout.
“Great family, great people. You see where Josh gets his work ethic and the type of guy he is,” closer Cody Allen said of Tomlin on Thursday. “We’re all excited to have Jerry and [Josh’s] mother in attendance. I’m sure it’s going to be a very proud moment for them.”
The Indians trust Tomlin, which probably can’t be said for Trevor Bauer after his drone incident. Tomlin, who doesn’t throw dominating heat, represents the Indians’ heart. In a clubhouse full of good guys, Tomlin still stands out.
“It’s well deserved,” Allen said of the Tribe’s trust in Tomlin. “Yeah, he had a stretch of starts in August where he didn’t pitch very well, but you take those away the guy was a borderline all-star at the break. He’s pitched his tail off in the postseason for us and he pitched well in September. He pitched some big games for us enabling us to clinch with six or seven games left.
“That trust ... he’s earned it over a long period of time.”
Even first baseman/designated hitter Napoli, who’s only known Tomlin for one season, respects him for “the competitor he is.”
“He’s not scared. He goes out there with 89 [mph] and hits corners, throws his cutter, control,” Napoli said. “He’s got a big heart. I guess I could put it that way, in a PG way.
“When you play behind somebody that you know cares so much and cares about his teammates, wants to do good, it’s nice playing behind them.”
That feeling is mutual, with Tomlin saying earlier this season after the Indians’ 11th walk-off victory of the season by the ninth different player, “The definition of team is in that clubhouse.”
The team had Tomlin’s back on Friday. In a tense, historic game, they came through for him and for each other. Though winning on Tomlin’s special night surely wasn’t vocalized, it didn’t seem like a coincidence.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.