Indians 8, Red Sox 7: Two rallies, one big victory

CLEVELAND — All’s well that ends well, as far as the Indians were concerned Thursday night at Progressive Field.

Facing a five-run deficit after two innings, Cleveland rallied to take the lead, only to watch closer Kerry Wood blow the save and the advantage in the ninth inning.

Unfazed, the little Indians, stocked with young and inexperienced players in the lineup, rallied again in the bottom of the inning to turn back big bad Boston and split the four-game series with an 8-7 win.

Russell Branyan’s two-out, tworun single was the difference in an improbable win for the home team.

“It was a very nice win,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “I’m extremely proud of the way my kids went about it. Not too many times you’re going to be losing 5-0 against a guy like (Boston starting pitcher) Jon Lester and come back.”

Things began as poorly as possible for the Indians, who watched their most consistent starter Mitch Talbot allow four runs in the opening inning, thanks in large part to three errors from third baseman Andy Marte.

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Marte became the first Cleveland player to commit three errors in an inning since Frank Duffy accomplished the dubious feat in 1972, when he botched a grounder from Kevin Youkilis before doing the same three batters later and compounding things by throwing wildly to first and allowing the runners to move up.

Talbot lasted just four innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits, but avoided his third loss in five starts thanks to the comeback kids.

While Talbot was scuffling, Lester was rolling early, striking out four of the first six batters he faced in two perfect innings.

But the left-hander, who had never lost to the Indians in six career starts and was riding a personal seven-game winning streak — the longest winning streak in the American League this season — showed his mortality.

Cleveland scored three times in the third, then three more in the sixth to take a 6-5 lead and chase Lester.

That set the stage for the late-game heroics for both teams, Boston’s rally arriving first in the top of the ninth against Wood.

Wood, who has been shaky since leaving the disabled list, appeared en route to a routine save when he made quick work of the first two batters he faced, then got ahead 1-2 on J.D. Drew.

A strike away from the final out of the game, Wood hit Drew with a pitch, before falling behind 2-0 to Adrian Beltre, who deposited the right-hander’s next offering into the bleachers in leftcenter for a 7-6 Boston lead.

Wood’s goat horns were removed thanks to the Indians’ rally in the bottom of the inning.

“It’s huge,” Wood said. “Obviously I’m disappointed in what I did. I didn’t do my job, but it’s nice to get a walk-off win.”

Just as the Red Sox did, the Indians forged their final comeback against the closer, Boston’s Daniel Bard, who has been filling for Jonathan Papelbon (bereavement list).

Trevor Crowe drew a leadoff walk, then moved to third on a double down the left-field line from Shin-Soo Choo. Austin Kearns walked to load the bases, bringing Branyan to the plate.

Branyan did not start, pinch hitting for Marte in the seventh, but he finished things, muscling a 2-1 offering into right field for the game-winning hit, as the Indians stormed the field in celebration. Boston played the shift on the lefthanded hitting Branyan, who was just able to get the ball over second baseman Dustin Pedroia to score Crowe and Choo. “We were joking that, well, I went right into the teeth of the shift,” Branyan said. “All these guys, these young kids, deserve a lot of credit. It was a heck of a win.”

Providing some comedic relief was a pair of fans wearing LeBron James jerseys that ran onto the field in the eighth inning, one of them with a sign and the other throwing chalk into the air to mimic the two-time MVP’s pregame ritual.

One of them went down before police got to him, while the other tried to leap into the stands but was thrown back onto the field. Both were hustled off the field in handcuffs by two officers apiece.

It’s a shame they weren’t around for one of the Indians’ biggest victories of the season.