Smoke signals

• Heading into Saturday's game, Indians reliever Matt Albers had a 3.32 ERA in 52 games out of the bullpen. Dating back to Aug. 6, the right-hander has posted a 2.33 ERA to go along with a .224 opponents' batting average across 18 games (19 1/3 innings).

"Matty goes way under the radar," Francona said. "He's pitched some huge innings for us and he does it quietly. It doesn't go unnoticed by us."

• A Major League Baseball production crew has been following the Indians throughout their current series against the Astros, gathering behind-the-scenes footage and having a couple of players wear microphones for in-game audio. Cleveland will be featured in an episode of "Mission October," airing at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday on FOX Sports 1.

• Entering Saturday, the Indians' pitching staff had fashioned a 3.20 ERA (189 earned runs in 531 2/3 innings since the All-Star break, marking the second-best ERA in the AL in that span. Only Kansas City (2.96) had a better team ERA in the AL in the second half.