On ugly night for Andrew Miller, he has just enough to save Indians in Game 1

CLEVELAND – Andrew Miller has been a Cleveland Indian for not quite three months, and yet he’s made the typically unglamorous role of set-up relief into appointment viewing.

The fans who gave him the loudest ovation of almost any player before Tuesday’s Game 1 of the World Series expect dominance. The greatest athlete in town, LeBron James, interrupted his postgame interview after the Cavaliers’ season-opening win to watch him pitch.

So it was a shock when Miller relieved starter Corey Kluber in the seventh inning to protect a three-run lead and was, in fact, quite human.

“It was a grind,” Miller said after he pitched his way out of a mess mostly of his creation. “It wasn’t pretty. I’d like to be sharper than I was. I know I will be sharper."

Magic formula: Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller dominant in Game 1 World Series win over Cubs

Indeed, the Indians’ 6-0 Game 1 victory featured an opportunistic two-run first-inning rally, two late home runs from Roberto Perez and a record-setting strikeout feat from Kluber.

As for Miller? Well, consider that he’d struck out 21 batters in 11 2/3 playoff innings, allowed just seven baserunners and claimed MVP honors in the American League Championship Series.

On this night, he needed a season-high 46 pitches – just 26 of them strikes – to wheeze through two innings.

And when he ended up walking a seventh-inning tightrope – a walk and a single producing a bases-loaded, no-out situation after Kluber departed – it left teammates and fans agape.

“We’re not used to him walking guys,” says center fielder Rajai Davis. “We’re used to him striking ‘em out.”

Fortunately for Cleveland, he still has that trump card.

Summoned to protect a 3-0 lead in the seventh, Miller walked Kyle Schwarber and yielded a single to Javier Baez, and suddenly, a Cubs lineup rendered impotent by Kluber had the tying runs on base.

Pinch hitter WIllson Contreras helped out by skying a fly ball to shallow center field for the first out. Miller then leaned on his slider to punch out shortstop Addison Russell for the second out.

One out from escape, Miller confronted a familiar face. David Ross, the 39-year-old catcher who’s retiring after this season, was Miller’s batterymate on the 2013 World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

Now, Miller and Ross squared off with a World Series game on the line.

“Even he would say you can pitch to him,” says Miller, “but if you throw something in his wheelhouse, it’s going to do some damage.”

Said Ross: “I’ve caught Andrew before. I know how good he is. I knew I had my work cut out for me.”

Miller fell behind 3-1, then coaxed a slider over the plate to fill the count. It figured another slider was coming.

Miller yanked this one, missing his spot and pulling it out of the strike zone, ball four if Ross could hold up.

The venerable catcher could not, however, offering an ugly half swing. For a second, it wasn’t immediately evident whether it was a called or swinging strikeout, but Miller pounced off the mound, uttering a two-word expletive in relief.

“It worked,” he said, the best compliment he could pay his execution of the night’s most important pitch.

Said Ross: “I’d like to have that one back.”

Corey Kluber sets World Series strikeout record

The inning was over, but Miller’s struggles were not. A one-out walk and two-out single in the eighth again brought the tying run to the plate. This time, it was Schwarber, making just his fourth plate appearance since April after a miracle return from reconstructive knee surgery.

Once again, a swinging strike on a slider saved Miller.

“It’s a plus-plus pitch for a reason,” said Schwarber. “I can hound myself for not getting a knock against Miller that at-bat with two guys on, but it’s baseball. I just missed it. Whatever.”

Miller’s thoughts exactly. He said he’d be available for Wednesday’s Game 2 despite his season-high workload. And he was ready to turn the page on a night he was the key player out of tune.

“We got it done,” he said. “That’s all that matters.”

Gallery: Scenes from Game 1 of World Series