Is It Time To Panic Yet? Yankees' Lead Over Blue Jays Down To A Half-Game
CLEVELAND (CBSNewYork/AP) — Michael Brantley saw what his teammates had in mind and took off toward the safety of the outfield.
As he sprinted away, Corey Kluber pursued Brantley with a water gun and Francisco Lindor had two bottles.
Walk-off wins have been scarce this season, and the Indians wanted to celebrate this one in style.
Brantley's RBI single with one out in the 16th inning lifted Cleveland to a 5-4 victory over the skidding New York Yankees, who lost their fourth straight and had their lead over Toronto in the AL East trimmed to one-half game.
The Blue Jays beat the Athletics, 4-2, in Toronto.
Brantley hit a hard single off Branden Pinder (0-2) that first baseman Mark Teixeira couldn't handle and easily scored Jose Ramirez from second base, ending the 5-hour, 4-minute game and triggering just the second walk-off winning celebration by the Indians this season.
Following a slew of trades, the Indians have been sparked by the arrival of some new players and young ones finding their stride. Cleveland has won three straight and there's a noticeable change in the atmosphere in the clubhouse.
"It was a fun game to be a part of because we've been fighting all year to try to get a personality or identity," manager Terry Francona said. "And then all of a sudden we've got a bunch of new guys and we seem to kind of be finding it. They played with enthusiasm the whole night, even when it would get frustrating they kept playing and having fun doing it."
The clubhouse sound system was turned way up following the game as players dressed. After some tough months, maybe the final two will be better than expected.
Austin Adams (2-0) worked a perfect inning and combined with seven other Cleveland pitchers to record 16 strikeouts.
The Indians, who rallied to tie with two runs in the 10th off Yankees closer Andrew Miller, held the top four hitters in New York's lineup — Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Alex Rodriguez and Teixeira — to a combined 1 for 25.
Indians infielder Chris Johnson, who arrived in Cleveland last week in a trade from Atlanta, went 3 for 4 and is 7 for 8 in his two starts. Also, Abraham Almonte has been a pleasant surprise with his hustle.
The new faces have injected life into the Indians and rookies Lindor and Giovanny Urshela are gaining confidence with each game.
"The new guys have come in and swung the bat real well, so that helps," Francona said. "They're not coming in and searching and trying to figure out who their friends are or who they're going to hang out with or if they're going to play. So that helps a lot. Almonte has come in and played so hard. Everything he does is going 100 percent. It's kind of contagious."
The Yankees came in with their bats sound asleep, and Indians starter Carlos Carrasco kept them that way.
The Bronx Bombers were shut out in consecutive games over the weekend by Toronto, and Carrasco blanked them for the first five innings, running New York's scoreless drought to 31 innings — the club's longest since 1991 — before Stephen Drew opened the sixth with his 14th homer.
It was the first run allowed by Carrasco in 22 innings, and the right-hander was six outs from his 12th win before Carlos Beltran turned on one of his fastballs in the eighth to tie it 2-2.
Carrasco finished with a no-decision despite his third straight powerful outing. The right-hander has allowed only three runs and seven hits in his past 26 innings.
He got a spectacular defensive play from Urshela at third base in the fourth.
Gardner hit a ball down the line that Urshela stopped with a back-hand near the bag. In one motion, Urshela leaped and made a strong throw from foul territory across the diamond — a la Derek Jeter — to nip Gardner.
"That kind of looked like that Brooks Robinson game way back," Francona said, referring to the Hall of Fame third baseman's performance in the 1970 World Series. "That was a heck of a play. Especially with Brett Gardner running. That was some kind of play."
MARATHONS
The 16-inning game was the longest at Progressive Field since April 5, 2012, a 7-4 loss in 16 innings to Toronto.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Indians: All-Star 2B Jason Kipnis could be activated next week after being sidelined with what the team has described as "shoulder inflammation." Kipnis, who received a cortisone shot, took batting practice indoors and fielded grounders. Kipnis hopes the rest will help him avoid surgery.
UP NEXT:
Yankees: LHP CC Sabathia has racked up more career wins (51), starts (121) and strikeouts (702) than any pitcher in Progressive Field history. He pitched for the Indians from 2001-08, winning the AL Cy Young Award in '07. Sabathia, 4-1 against Cleveland, is coming off a strong outing — three hits in six innings — in a no-decision versus Boston.
Indians: RHP Danny Salazar will make his first career start against the Yankees. He'll be pitching on six days' rest after a loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 5. He received a no-decision despite allowing one run in six innings.
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