CLEVELAND -- How do you win a game with only four hits? Easy: only give up three.

Francisco Lindor drove in what became the winning run in the third inning, and reliever Andrew Miller put on an overpowering display of pitching late in the contest as the Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.

Four pitchers combined on a three-hitter as Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The scene now shifts to Toronto for Game 3 on Monday night.

"Our backs are to the wall. That's pretty obvious," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons.

Cleveland's pitching has been sensational, holding Toronto to one run in 18 innings. In Saturday's win, relievers Miller and Cody Allen combined to retire the last nine batters in a row, seven on strikeouts.

"I know one thing, they pitched great," Gibbons said. "The pitching has been great on both sides."

Miller pitched the seventh and eighth innings and struck out five of the six batters he faced. He also pitched in the Indians' 2-0 win in Game 1 on Friday. In those two appearances, Miller pitched a combined 3 2/3 hitless and scoreless innings, facing 12 batters and striking out 10 with no walks.

"There's a reason we gave up what we did for him," said Indians manager Terry Francona of Miller, who was acquired in a trade with the New York Yankees in exchange for some top minor league prospects.

"We thought that he could be a guy that we could leverage in situations like we have. And it would make our bullpen that much better and give us a chance to keep playing. And that's exactly what he's doing."

The 6-foot-7 left-hander came in to start the seventh and struck out all three batters he faced. He retired the side in order in the eighth, with two more strikeouts.

Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin pitched 5 2/3 innings to get the win. Tomlin allowed one run on three hits, with six strikeouts and two walks. Allen pitched the ninth to pick up the save.

"(Corey) Kluber last night, one of the top guys in the game, and Tomlin, he's right up there at the top of command guys in baseball," Gibbons said. "He used his breaking ball a lot tonight. It was very effective."

Toronto starter J.A. Happ, a 20-game winner during the regular season, pitched five innings and gave up both Cleveland runs.

The Indians scored first on a solo home run by Carlos Santana leading off the second, the ball just barely clearing the 17-foot left field wall.

With one out in the top of the third, Darwin Barney singled. Tomlin retired Ezequiel Carrera on a groundout, but Barney advanced to second. Josh Donaldson then sliced a double into the right-field corner, scoring Barney with the tying run.

The Indians regained the lead in the third. With one out Rajai Davis, who led the American League with 43 stolen bases, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch.

"He can disrupt a game, and he does it very well," said Francona.

Happ retired Jason Kipnis on a fly out to shallow left field. But Lindor lined a single through the middle, scoring Davis and giving the Indians a 2-1 lead.

"That was big because you could see it was going to be hard to score today," Francona said. "It was just so hard to see (due to late afternoon shadows), and both pitchers were so good that every run was going to be so meaningful."

With a runner at first and two outs in the eighth, Bryan Shaw relieved Tomlin and got Troy Tulowitzki to hit a grounder back to the mound for the third out. Then Miller and Allen came on to end the game.

"Those guys have been great in the regular season and they continue to be good in the postseason," Tomlin said.

NOTES: Indians manager Terry Francona has not ruled out the possibility of bringing RHP Corey Kluber back on short rest to start Game 4 Tuesday in Toronto. Kluber pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 1 Friday. The Indians currently have RHP Mike Clevinger, a reliever, tentatively scheduled to start Game 4, which would turn it into a bullpen game for Cleveland. ... With LHP J.A. Happ starting Game 2 Saturday for Toronto, Francona went with right-handed hitting OFs Rajai Davis and Brandon Guyer in place of left-handed hitter Tyler Naquin and switch-hitter Coco Crisp. ... 2B Devin Travis was taken off Toronto's ALCS roster and replaced by 1B Justin Smoak. Travis, who missed two games in the ALDS against Texas with a bone bruise in his right knee, had to leave Game 1 of the ALCS in the fifth inning due to pain in the knee. He underwent an MRI exam on Saturday. If the Blue Jays advance to the World Series, Travis would be ineligible to be put back on the Toronto roster. INF Darwin Barney started at second base Saturday in place of Travis. ... Blue Jays manager John Gibbons tinkered with his lineup for Game 2, flip-flopping C Russell Martin and SS Troy Tulowitzki. Martin was dropped from fifth to sixth in the batting order and Tulowitzki moved up a spot to fifth.