INDIANS GO EXTRA DISTANCE TO EXTEND STREAK TO 22
The Cleveland Indians’ American League record winning streak has been a near month-long run of dominance, strangely bereft of drama and almost entirely without adversity. Thursday night, aiming to stretch their streak to 22 games, the Indians finally found the odds against them — and learned they were good enough to overcome them. Down to their final strike in the bottom of the ninth inning against Kansas City Royals closer Kelvin
Herrera, All- Star shortstop
Francisco Lindor smoked a double off the left-field wall, scoring the tying run and sending the game to extra innings. One inning later, Jay Bruce lashed an RBI single to score Jose Ramirez and the Indians moved a notch higher in the record books with their 22nd consecutive win, a 3-2 heart-stopper at Progressive Field. It was the first walk-off victory in a streak that began Aug.
24. Heck, coming into the game, the Indians had trailed for just five of 189 innings. Those stats mattered little in the ninth, down
2-1 and apparently ready for their late-summer magic to be done. It was only appropriate that Lindor was at the plate — he came into the game batting .370 with a team-high nine home runs in the streak. He did not disappoint, going the other way off Herrera with a wall-banging double that scored pinch-runner Erik Gon
zalez with the tying run as a Progressive Field crowd of 30,874 erupted. And it was only appropriate that MVP candidate Jose
Ramirez would lead off bottom of the 10th inning off Brandon
Maurer. Already 3-for-3 with a walk, Ramirez lashed a pitch into right-center field. Ramirez roared out of the batter’s box and challenged Royals center fielder Lo
renzo Cain, stretching it into a double as he slid headfirst. After an Edwin Encarnacion walk, it was Bruce’s turn, and he lashed a ball down the right-field line. Fireworks erupted. Teammates mobbed Bruce, and the streak lived on.