Dramatic win extends Indians’ streak to 22

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians added a walk-off win to a streak that has had everything.

Jay Bruce hit an RBI double in the 10th inning as the Indians rallied for their 22nd straight win to extend their American League record, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-2 Thursday night to move within four wins of matching the 1916 New York Giants for the longest streak in major league history.

After blowouts, shutouts and oh-so-easy wins, the Indians, who tied it in the ninth on Francisco Lindor’s two-out, twostrike RBI double, went into extra innings for the first time during their run to keep the longest streak in 101 years intact.

Ramirez led off the 10th with a hard hit into right-center field off Brandon Maurer (2-2) that he turned into a double with a headfirst slide. After Edwin Encarnacion walked, Bruce, the recent arrival who hit a threerun homer in win No. 21 on Wednesday, ripped a 2-0 pitch into the right-field corner.

As a crowd of 30,874 made Progressive Field shake like it usually does in October, Bruce reached second base and was quickly mobbed by his teammates, who doused him with ice water and talcum powder while tearing the front of his jersey.

These Indians aren’t stopping for anything.

Down to their last strike in the ninth, they rallied to tie it at 2 off closer Kelvin Herrera, with Lindor delivering his clutch shot off the left-field wall, just above the leap of four-time Gold Glove winner Alex Gordon, to score pinch-runner Erik Gonzalez from first.

As Lindor’s ball caromed off the wall and rolled slowly across the grass in left field, the fans who have watched the Indians overpower teams for the past three weeks soon saw the AL Central leaders pull off their most dramatic win this season.

The Indians entered the day tied with the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the second-longest streak, and now trail only those ’16 Giants, who won 26 in a row — all at home.

The Giants won 12 straight, played a 1-1 tie and then won 14 in a row. But because the tied game was replayed from the start the next day, it didn’t technically count and therefore didn’t stop New York’s streak.