Cleveland rookie pitcher Ryan Merritt was making just the second start of his career yesterday when manager Terry Francona sent him to the mound to face the Blue Jays in Game 5 of the ALCS. Before the game, Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista seemed confident in his team’s chances against the young starter:




Merritt didn’t go out there and throw a shutout, but he did manage to blank the Jays for 13 outs and hand a lead over to Cleveland’s dominant bullpen. He never really looked scared or nervous while doing it, either, which gave his teammates a chance to spike the football after the game:



Merritt was a little more diplomatic:


Too nice, Ryan! We need more burns!


Hell yeah.