Gruesome, bloody finger forces Trevor Bauer out of ALCS Game 3

Cleveland Indians pitcher threw 21 pitches before exiting

Media | Indians starter Trevor Bauer leaves Game 3 with bloody pinky

Caption: Bauer couldn't make it out of the 1st inning as a result of his cut pinky finger opening up

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The Blue Jays were hoping a drone injury might be just the "circumstance" the Toronto Blue Jays needed to shake up the ALCS.
But after a 4-2 loss to Cleveland in Game 3 of the ALCS, it's the Jays who are hurting.
Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer, originally scheduled to pitch Game 2 on Saturday, injured his pinkie repairing his drone last week, forcing the team to push him back to Game 3 on Monday.
But the extra days' rest weren't enough to prevent the wound from becoming a gruesome, gushing mess on the mound.

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MLB rules state that a pitcher cannot attach anything to either hand, including tape or glue, so Bauer started the game with just 11 stitches to hold his finger together.

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Bauer threw 21 pitches with the injured hand, including one 95 mph fastball.

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But it quickly became apparent that Bauer wasn't going to make it out of the first inning, no matter how hard he tried to make it seem like everything was okay.

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"When I went out there, I mean — first thing I saw was blood on the rubber," Cleveland manager Terry Francona told the Canadian Press. "I figured that wasn't a real good sign that things were going well. It was bleeding pretty good."
"There was kind of a puddle forming below him on the mound," added second baseman Jason Kipnis.

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Bauer issued two walks, had one strikeout and threw nine of his 21 pitches for strikes before exiting.
He was replaced by right-hander Dan Otero.
"It was all scabbed up. It just started bleeding today," Bauer explained to the Canadian Press. "Lot of bleeding throughout the [warmup]. It hadn't been bleeding for two days, which was nice, but I guess the scab scratched or whatever."
"That was the loudest standing ovation I've ever gotten after an outing," he joked. "I guess I enjoyed the claps and them cheering since I was injured."
The injury quickly drew comparisons to Curt Schilling's bloody sock(external link) in the 2004 ALCS, the result of a torn tendon. Schilling would pitch through the injury and help his Red Sox win Game 6 of the series, en route to a come-from-behind series victory over the New York Yankees and later, the World Series title.

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But when it comes to wounded heroics, not much compares to Kirk Gibson's dramatic game-winning home run in the 1988 World Series on two injured legs.

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