Millennial Merritt puts the boots to veteran Bautista
Caroline Szwed | CBC Sports | Posted: October 19, 2016 10:46 PM | Last Updated: October 20, 2016
Jays slugger's 'shaking in his boots' comment comes back to haunt him
Cleveland starting pitcher Ryan Merritt's boots remained steady in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Prior to Wednesday night's game, Jose Bautista challenged the 24-year-old rookie, saying "he's going to be shaking in his boots."
Bautista's comments quickly came back to haunt him as the rookie went 1-2-3 in the first inning against Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion.
First round to Merritt:
Not a great way for Bautista, who turned 36 Wednesday, to spend a birthday.
Considerate as ever, the 24-year-old pitcher had a present in mind for Joey Bats: throwing mesmerizing stuff that didn't go over 90 mph.
The kid remained cool throughout the game and proved that Bautista's trash talk only fuelled his fire. Fans took every opportunity to make reference to Merritt and his unshaken boots.
If you haven't been following Cleveland's Twitter account throughout the ALCS, you've been missing out. It only took the team moments to capitalize on Bautista's comment:
Bautista was unable to connect on any of Merritt's pitches.
Merritt's teammates put their best foot forward and stepped up to support their pitcher.
And with Cleveland's Game 5 win, Merritt's boots will now be walking all the way to the World Series.