Grand rally for Cleveland to win from 5 runs down
CLEVELAND — They’ve won this season with comebacks, walk-offs, blowouts, nail-biters. The Cleveland Indians’ latest win topped them all.
Yan Gomes singled home Austin Jackson from second base in the 13th inning as Cleveland rallied from five runs down to stun the New York Yankees 9-8 on Friday and snatch a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series.
Despite an atrocious start by ace Corey Kluber, losing slugger Edwin Encarnacion with a severely sprained ankle in the first inning and facing the possibility of playing their final game at home, the Indians, with some help from a call that went their way, continued a charmed season that is growing more and more special by the day.
“The tendency of this team is to never give up,” Kluber said. “Even when we were down 8-3, we didn’t believe the game was over.”
Jackson drew a leadoff walk in the 13th from Dellin Betances and stole second. Gomes went to a full count before pulling his bouncer inside the third-base bag, scoring Jackson and touching off another wild celebration inside Progressive Field to cap a 5-hour, 8-minute thriller.
Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the sixth to rally Cleveland, which will try for a sweep in Game 3 Sunday at Yankee Stadium. One batter before, a ball that came in close to Lonnie Chisenhall was ruled to have hit him, though later replays showed the ball slightly change direction, appearing 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. “There was nothing that told us he was not hit by the pitch,” he said.
Cleveland’s Jay Bruce hit a solo home run leading off the eighth to tie the game 8-8.
The Yankees had their chances late, but they stranded the go-ahead run at third in the ninth and 10th — and pinchrunner Ronald Torreyes was picked off second in the 11th.
Josh Tomlin, who was to start Game 4, pitched two perfect innings for the win.
Kluber wasn’t himself as the right-hander, who led the AL in wins and ERA, didn’t get out of the third inning after allowing Aaron Hicks’ three-run homer to go down 6-3. It was his shortest outing this season.
“I threw too many balls,” Kluber said. “And when I’d throw strikes, they were right over the plate.”