The Cleveland Indians were down to their last strike in the bottom of the ninth on Thursday night, trailing 2-1 with their history-making win streak on the line. After 21 consecutive victories, their offense had finally sputtered. Their stellar defense wobbled just a little. A magical run that began way back on August 24 looked like it just might be over.
But wait a second. The Tribe had a runner on first and Believe-land’s poster child Francisco Lindor at the plate, batting from the left side. With two strikes, Frankie lashed an outside pitch to the opposite field. It screamed to the left field wall, just out of the reach of leaping outfielder Alex Gordon. Pinch runner Erik Gonzalez scored the tying run all the way from first as Lindor cruised to a jubilant stop with a double. Pinch hitter Austin Jackson grounded out to end the inning, but the heartbeat of the win streak was still beating like John Adams’ drum.
After Tribe closer Cody Allen shut down the Royals in the top of 10th, you could feel the momentum shift firmly in the Indians’ favor. The near-sellout crowd of 30,874 was on its feet, roaring “Let’s Go Tribe!” I could feel the energy radiating from my TV in Toledo. Optimism filled the air. And why not? Due up were red-hot Jose Ramirez, already 3 for 3 plus a walk in the game, followed by sluggers Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce.
Ramirez led off with a solid shot to right-center field. As Lorenzo Cain cut off the ball from the gap, Ramirez surprised most of us by not stopping at first. He slid in safely just ahead of the throw to second for a vital lead-off double. Encarnacion worked a walk. Then Bruce ripped a pitch deep down the first base line for a walk-off, game-winning, streak-stretching hit. Final score: 3-2. Hallelujah!
Ramirez’s aggressive base-running was an act of vengeance. In the sixth after drawing his walk, he attempted to steal second. Ramirez beat the throw as he over-slid the base yet kept his hand on the bag. Royals’ second baseman Whit Merrifield pushed Jose’s hand off the bag with his tag, yet the ump called him out. Even after going through the motions of a review (TV commentators Matt Underwood and Rick Manning informed us the rules say “pushing a runner off the base” is not a reviewable play, for some strange reason), the call stood. Of course, Encarnacion proceeded to immediately smack a single, which most likely would have scored Ramirez if he was awarded second on the previous call.
Other aspects of the game were a little off kilter for the Tribe most of the night, which seemed to be setting the stage for a loss. For instance, the Royals scored their second run to take a 2-1 lead in the sixth in a frustrating manner. After Merrifield led off the inning with a double, a spectacular play from Yan Gomes cut him down at third following a dribbler in front of the plate by Cain. Another fielder’s choice produced a second out with a runner on first, and it looked like the Tribe would get out of the inning. Then Eric Hosmer hit an opposite-field looping fly ball against the shift down the third base line. Left fielder Abraham Almonte came charging from about a mile away and slid at the line in an attempt to make the catch. The ball hit right at his glove, but Almonte couldn’t reel it in. With two outs, the runner on first was on his horse from the crack of the bat and scored the go-ahead run.
Overall, this was a well-pitched game. Tribe starter Josh Tomlin went 5.2 innings and gave up 2 runs on 6 hits while walking only one batter. Andrew Miller made his much-anticipated return from the DL to pitch a scoreless inning. Joe Smith, Nick Goody, Tyler Olson and Allen combined to keep any additional runs off the board.
Royals starter Jakob Janis also went 5.2 innings, surrendering only 1 run while scattering 7 hits and also walking one.
Yet the only fact that really matters is that the Tribe made history again with this scrapper of a victory. The Indians broke a tie with the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the second most consecutive wins in Major League history. The only obstacle that remains is the 1916 New York Giants’ streak of 26 wins in a row (even though that streak included a tie game).
Right now, breaking a record that’s stood for over a century actually seems attainable for this talented Tribe team. Just how fun is this miracle run?!
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