One of the biggest names moved in front of the Aug. 1 trade deadline was All-Star reliever Andrew Miller, who was shipped from the Yankees to the Indians. On Saturday, he recorded his first save as a member of the Indians -- and it came against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium.
Fun!
(MLB.com video has the final out.)
Miller allowed a single while striking out two in order to preserve a 5-2 win for the first-place Indians. A Tigers win Saturday means they hold onto their two-game lead while a Tigers loss pushes it back up to three games.
Miller is the first pitcher to earn a save for the Yankees and against the Yankees in the same season in almost 30 years:
The Yankees are technically in the AL wild-card race, but in dealing Miller along with Aroldis Chapman and Carlos Beltran, the eyes are clearly on the future. Miller landed them Justus Sheffield (lefty pitcher in High-A, 3.46 ERA in 20 starts), Clint Frazier (Triple-A outfielder,No. 44 prospect in baseball before the season), Ben Heller (Triple-A pitcher, 1.64 ERA in 44 innings) and J.P. Feyereisen (Double-A pitcher, 2.57 ERA in 42 innings).
The Indians, though, greatly bolstered the back-end of their bullpen, and that kind of affect is felt throughout the entire pitching staff.
Win-win, and first of many Indians saves for Miller? Possibly. It was a fun little coincidence that the first one came in Yankee Stadium, though.