Cleveland Indians avoid sweep, beat Rangers, 5-4, in 11 innings

Indians 5, Rangers 4 (11 Innings)

Box Score

Indians improve to 27-24

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The Indians came into tonight's game losers of their last three games (and four out of the last five), and earlier in the day found out that Marlon Byrd was done for the season thanks to a positive PED test. During the game the team had missed opportunities both on offense and on defense, allowed the Rangers to  tie the game twice in the last three innings of regulation, but it all turned out great because Yan Gomes (who didn't even start the game) got a base hit in the eleventh inning.

Trevor Bauer was assigned the task of stopper tonight, and pitched very well. He allowed four hits and three walks in seven innings of work, with two of the runs scoring on defensive plays that could have been made. In the first inning Prince Fielder skied a popup into foul territory in very shallow left field; Jose Ramirez ran to make the grab, but was in poor position to make the throw to the plate when Jurickson Profar tagged up. Ramirez uncorked a quick throw, but there was nothing on it, and Profar scored easily. In the third inning, with runners on the corners, Ian Desmond hit a ball back up the middle, but because Francisco Lindor couldn't quite reach second base while fielding the grounder, and that extra step cost the Indians the double play. Bauer's third run was entirely his own doing, as he grooved a pitch to Ryan Rua in the seventh inning.

Mike Napoli got the Indians on the board early by slamming his 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot, off former teammate Cole Hamels. Jason Kipnis plated a run with a double in the fifth, giving the Indians a lead that they'd hold until Rua tied it in the seventh.

The Indians took the lead in the eighth, with all the hits taking place after two men were out. Jose Ramirez hit a double up the left-center field gap, then Juan Uribe lined a go-ahead single into center field. But the lead didn't last, as a leadoff walk led to Cody Allen's first blown save of the year. Allen wasn't hit hard (a bloop single chased pinch-runner Hanser Alberto to third, and he scored on a ground ball up the middle), but even so, the Indians headed to extra innings.

Both teams made several late-inning changes, and as it turned out, those substitutions would turn out to be crucial later in the game. Jared Hoying pinch-hit for Ryan Rua in that ninth inning, and in the eleventh inning would head to the plate with two on and two outs. Terry Francona brought in Tom Gorzelanny, who had been called up because Marlon Byrd was placed on the Restricted List, to face the left-handed Hoying. Gorzelanny got Hoying to pop out to end the inning, and ended up picking up the win. Yan Gomes entered the game in the ninth inning for defensive purposes, and would come to the plate in the bottom of the eleventh after Lonnie Chisenhall hit an impressive double against Texas LOOGy Alex Claudio. Gomes failed to keep a bunt fair on the first pitch. He then just tried to hit a ball to the right side, and the ball snuck through the infield. Chisenhall scored the winning run, and the losing streak was over.