CLEVELAND -- After laboring through a season-high 46 pitches in the World Series opener Tuesday night, Andrew Miller didn't have a shred of an iota of a doubt that he would throw however many fastballs and sliders are required to give the Cleveland Indians their best chance to win Game 2 on Wednesday.
"It's the World Series," Miller said. "I'll be ready. I'm going to take advantage of the training staff here and all the gadgetry to feel good tomorrow. The most we can play is six more games. And I'll find a way to be a part of them."
Designated hitter Carlos Santana shares Miller's optimism and determination. He gave the Indians a scare when he suffered a cramp in his right calf in the fourth inning. But Santana stayed in the game, and he expects to be good to go Wednesday thanks to the magic of hydration and an ample supply of bananas. Second baseman Jason Kipnis -- the third Indian with potential availability issues -- was not at his locker stall after Game 1 while presumably undergoing treatment on his injured ankle. Unless he reports to the park on crutches, it's safe to assume how he feels about playing.
These are the 2016 Indians. They always show up, and they take an almost whimsical sense of pleasure in overcoming setbacks and proving people wrong. Now they've ridden the same thematic elements to eight of the 11 October victories they'll need to bring Cleveland its first World Series championship since 1948.
They'll try to continue their run of October dominance in Game 2 against the Cubs, while relying on the same formula that has allowed them to spring traps against favored teams for the better part of a month.
The atmosphere at Progressive Field was electric for the first Series game in the city since 1997, and it was everything that Indians fans hoped it would be. Corey Kluber dazzled the Cubs for six innings and combined with Miller and closer Cody Allen to strike out 15 Cubs -- tied for the second-highest nine-inning total in a World Series game.
In nine postseason games against Boston, Toronto and the Cubs, Cleveland's pitchers have crossed the threshold from impressive to remarkable. They've logged an aggregate 1.58 staff ERA (14 earned runs in 80 innings pitched), with 21 walks and 96 strikeouts against three of the deepest and most potent lineups in the majors this season.
Almost without fail, the Indians seem to find a new offensive protagonist every day.
Outfielder Brandon Guyer, an early August non-waiver-deadline pickup from Tampa Bay, led the majors with 31 hit-by-pitches during the regular season. So naturally, he took an 89 mph cutter from Jon Lester off the leg with the bases loaded to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Cleveland's young and energetic left side of the infield got into the act in a big way. Third baseman Jose Ramirez and shortstop Francisco Lindor became the third pair of teammates under age 25 to collect at least three hits in the same World Series game. They joined Goose Goslin and Ossie Bluege of the 1924 Washington Senators and Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury of the 2007 Boston Red Sox as the third duo to achieve the feat.
Catcher Robert Perez, he of the .183 regular-season batting average, had the biggest night of all with two home runs and four RBIs. Perez joined Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome as the third Indians player to produce a multihomer game in the postseason. He also entered an elite fraternity with Yogi Berra, Gene Tenace, Johnny Bench and Gary Carter as the fifth catcher to record a multihomer game in the World Series.
Their 8-1 postseason record notwithstanding, the Indians have grown accustomed to the national perception that they're the final speed bump in the Cubs' inevitable drive to a title. That sentiment was expressed loud and clear Tuesday when Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy posed a question during Cleveland manager Terry Francona's pregame news conference. The two men have a longstanding relationship and collaborated on the manager's 2013 book, "Francona: The Red Sox Years," so they have a tendency to cut through the niceties and get right to the point.
"Are you aware and in your room do your guys care that this event around the country is all about the Cubs?" Shaughnessy asked. "Do you feel like saying, 'We're here, too?'"
Replied Francona: "You've already been banned in Boston. Now you're banned in Cleveland."
Inspired by their manager's relentless honesty and good humor, the Indians have adopted a straightforward mindset that allows them to shrug off each bad thing that happens and see it as an omen for something good right around the corner.
It was evident in the fourth inning Tuesday, when Santana hobbled into second base on a single by Ramirez. He spent several minutes being tended to by the Indians' athletic trainer, and it looked for all the world like another case of the baseball gods piling on a team that has endured a series of devastating injuries this season.
Yet absolutely no one in the Cleveland dugout or bullpen was thinking bad thoughts.
"Honestly, we were out in the bullpen thinking, 'Coco [Crisp] is going to come in and hit a double in the seventh inning with three men on," Allen said. "Next man up. That's how it's worked."
The Indians are aren't afraid to express sentiments that might be left unspoken in other clubhouses. In the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped hints that they would try to take advantage of Lester's well-publicized issues throwing to bases. But all the Dodgers' posturing and dancing on the basepaths never amounted to much.
Not so for the Indians. In the first inning, Lindor singled with two outs and immediately stole second base. He attempted another steal in the third inning only to be thrown out by Cubs catcher David Ross.
"Not only does it bring excitement, but it also brings a little bit of a distraction for the pitchers," Indians center fielder Rajai Davis said. "Lindor was able to capitalize on that today with that stolen base early. I think he got into the head of Lester a little bit, and he lost his command for a few batters and we were able to take advantage of that."
The Indians will face another challenge in Game 2 when Trevor Bauer takes the mound nine days after exiting early with a blood-soaked right pinkie finger in Toronto. Miller, who looked rusty after an extended layoff, will have to pitch through some fatigue. Sometime during this series, a starter other than Kluber will have to make his mark, and Dan Otero and Bryan Shaw will have to join Miller and Allen in recording some big outs.
But the Indians are now conditioned to expect positive results. After injuries to Michael Brantley, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar and all the other obstacles they've encountered this season, they have every intention of seeing this thing through to the finish.
"We've had so much crap happen to us this season, every guy in here shows up the ballpark with the attitude, 'Try and figure out a way,'" Allen said. "You just try and find a way, and if you don't, so be it and you move on to the next day and try to find a way to do it that day.
"That's the motto we've had, and it's worked. That mantra doesn't just involve a few individuals. It involves everyone."