Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Indians hurdle five-run deficit, top Yanks
CLEVELAND — Yan Gomes singled home Austin Jackson from second base with none out in the 13th inning as the Cleveland Indians rallied from five runs down to stun the New York Yankees 9-8 Friday and snatch a 2-0 lead in the AL division series.
Jackson drew a leadoff walk in the 13th from Dellin Betances and stole second. Gomes went to a full count before pulling his bouncer just inside the third-base bag, easily scoring Jackson. The Indians poured out of their dugout to mob Gomes, who ended the 5-hour, 8-minute thriller.
The Indians overcame an 8-3 deficit, a terrible start by ace Corey Kluber and a potentially serious injury to slugger Edwin Encarnacion. Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the sixth to rally Cleveland, right after a close call on a hit-by pitch that the Yankees didn’t challenge.
The Yankees had their chances late, but they stranded the go-ahead run at third in the ninth and 10th — and had pinch-runner Ronald Torreyes picked off second in the 11th by Gomes from the behind the plate.
Cleveland will try for a sweep in Game 3 Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
Jay Bruce connected for a solo shot in the Cleveland eighth that made it 8-8. As they’ve done so many times in a season becoming more special by the day, the defending AL champions battled back and can now put the Yankees away in New York — just as they did in the 2007 ALDS.
Josh Tomlin, who had been scheduled to start later in the series, pitched two perfect innings for the victory.
Aaron Hicks hit a three-run home run off Kluber and Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird hit tworun shots for the Yankees, who may have caught a bad break before Lindor’s home run.
Down 8-3, facing New York’s vaunted bullpen, the Indians came back.
New York starter CC Sabathia was lifted with one on and one out in the sixth for Chad Green, another one of the Yankees’ flame-throwers who got an out before Gomes doubled. Green came inside and Lonnie Chisenhall was awarded first by plate umpire Dan Iassogna on a hitby pitch.
TV replays showed the ball slightly change direction — it appeared to hit the knob of Chisenhall’s bat.
Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said there wasn’t enough evidence within 30 seconds to justify a challenge. He said the team later saw a slow-motion replay suggesting he should’ve contested the call, but it was too late.
Lindor then stepped in and hit a towering shot off the inside of the right-field foul pole to make it 8-7, triggering a seismic celebration.
As Lindor rounded the bases with Cleveland’s first postseason slam since Jim Thome in 1999, Progressive Field shook the way it did last November when Rajai Davis hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning of Game 7 off Aroldis Chapman, then with the Cubs and now closing for the Yankees.
When Lindor reached the plate, he wrapped his arms around Jason Kipnis waiting in the batter’s box.