Indians vs. Blue Jays: Keys for Each Team to Win ALCS Game 2

The Cleveland Indians struck first in the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, engineering an impressive 2-0 victory Friday at Progressive Field.

It was a continuation of a so-far unblemished postseason, which began with the Indians winning 3-0 against the Boston Red Sox in the division series.

For their part, the Jays ran into a wall after blasting past the AL Wild Card Game and sweeping the Texas Rangers in the ALDS. 

What can we glean from Friday's action, and what are the keys for each club to claim Game 2, set for Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on TBS?

Limber up your commenting muscles and find out.

Blue Jays: Rediscover the Power Stroke

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The Blue Jays muscled their way through the AL Wild Card Game and the division series thanks in large part to the long ball.

Toronto hit 10 home runs in its first four playoff clashes. Edwin Encarnacion launched three, including his walk-off blast in the wild-card play-in against the Orioles and two more against Texas.

Bat-flipping savant Jose Bautista has hit a pair, and five other Jays cracked one apiece.

Fence-clearing wasn't on the agenda in the Jays' Game 1 flop in Ohio. Now, they need to rediscover their collective power stroke posthaste if they plan to get back in the series. 

The good news? That should be doable in MLB's fifth-most homer-happy yard, per ESPN's Park Factors statistic. 

Indians: Get Something from Josh Tomlin

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The postseason is a time when anything can happen.

Just ask Josh Tomlin, who earned a start in Game 2 for the Indians thanks (?) to a drone injury.

The Indians' presumed Game 2 starter, Trevor Bauer, is dealing with a 10-inch, drone-induced cut on his right little finger, per Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com.

It was his drone, if that makes you feel any better. (It shouldn't.)

That opens the door for Tomlin, who posted a 4.40 ERA in 174 regular-season innings. 

He earned a win in his first career postseason start, yielding four hits and two earned runs in five innings in the ALDS against Boston.

Tomlin went 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA in two starts against Toronto this year, and lost six of his final eight regular-season decisions. 

It's unreasonable for the Tribe to expect an epic outing. But they'll need something at least akin to his ALDS performance.

Blue Jays: Enjoy Life on the Road

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The Indians tied the Rangers for the best home record in the AL at 53-28. 

The Jays, however, were no slouches south of the border. Toronto's 43-38 road record was second-best in the Junior Circuit, behind only the Red Sox's 46-35 mark.

The Blue Jays lost two of three games at Progressive Field in the regular season and now sit at 1-4 at after their Game 1 defeat.

This club, however, should not be afraid of an away game.

The screaming Canadians help, but Toronto can win anywhere.

Indians: More Francisco Lindor

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Shortstop Francisco Lindor broke out in 2015 when he combined exemplary defense with surprising offense to finish second in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

He backed it up in the 2016 regular season, hitting .301 with 15 homers, 78 RBI and 19 stolen bases. He's doubled down in the playoffs, going 5-for-16 with a double and two home runs.

That includes a two-run shot that was the difference in Game 1 against Toronto.

"There's a lot of guys doing it, but he's doing it with ease," said Lindor's keystone partner, Jason Kipnis, per CBS Sports' Mike Axisa. "He makes it look pretty effortless."

If the 22-year-old can continue his effortless act, the Indians' chances in Game 2—and the series—will spike accordingly.

Blue Jays: Ride J.A. Happ

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J.A. Happ put together a quietly exemplary season for Toronto, going 20-4 with a 3.18 ERA in 195 innings. He got a win in the ALDS against Texas, but coughed up nine hits in five innings.

Now, the 33-year-old lefty can gild his 2016 campaign with a strong Game 2 showing.

It's a tiny sample, obviously, but Happ struck out 11 hitters in seven frames while allowing only one earned run in his lone start against the Indians in 2016.

As a whole, current Cleveland hitters own a .232 average and anemic .286 slugging percentage against Happ, per ESPN.com.

That doesn't guarantee anything. But it suggests the Jays can hope for a quality start in Game 2.

Indians: Don't Overplay the Bullpen Aces

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The Indians bullpen has logged 13 innings so far this postseason. Of those frames, 9.2 have gone to lefty stud Andrew Miller and closer Cody Allen.

That trend continued Friday, when Miller and Allen got the final eight outs after ace Corey Kluber's exit. 

It's possible the Miller/Allen tandem will maintain for the remainder of this series and beyond. But all pitchers, no matter how durable, wear down eventually. 

At a certain point, other members of the relief corps—Dan Otero, Zach McAllister, Jeff Manship—must chip in, especially with the non-Kluber starters unlikely to go deep.

The Indians, recall, lost rotation cogs Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar to injury. As Sports Illustrated's Ben Reiter noted, "Cleveland's depleted rotation means that there is little chance that the next three games [of the ALCS] will be nearly so clean" as Game 1.

That means the pen will be key, and Miller and Allen will require some backup.

All statistics current as of Friday and courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.