Naquin helps Indians into 1st
INDIANS 2, CARDINALS 1 (12)
ST. LOUIS — Tyler Naquin hit a go-ahead double in the 12th inning, then Yadier Molina made a baserunning blunder and got trapped for the final out Saturday to give the Indians a 2-1 win over the Cardinals.
A day after getting 20 hits in a rout, the Indians totaled just five in winning their fourth in a row to move into first place by themselves in a tightlypacked AL Central with the White Sox and Twins on their heels.
Naquin doubled off Alex Reyes (1-1) to drive in pinch runner Mike Freeman, who started the inning at second base. That was the Indians’ only hit after the eighth inning.
Molina, who grounded into an inning-ending double play in the 11th with runners on first and second, began the 12th at second base as the automatic runner under MLB’s extra-inning rule.
The slow-footed Molina moved to third on a wild pitch by Brad Hand, and stayed there when Dexter Fowler grounded out.
Matt Carpenter followed with a grounder that first baseman Carlos Santana fielded near the bag. He touched the base for an out, then bobbled the ball for a moment.
Molina was partly down the line toward home, and Santana cut across the diamond with the ball. Molina put up his hands, appearing to indicate he thought Carpenter’s grounder was foul, and was easily tagged out in a rundown to complete a double play.
The Cardinals had the bases loaded with two outs in the tenth inning, but Nick Wittgren (2-0) escaped the jam.