CLEVELAND – The Indians drew their second sellout crowd of the season to Progressive Field on Saturday, and none of the fans left disappointed – unless they were cheering for Cincinnati.
For the second straight day, the Indians turned back the Reds, getting another quality outing from Josh Tomlin and more late offense to win 2-1. They secured the series in their first interleague matchup.
A crowd of 40,631 watched it all unfold, as the Indians improved to a major league-best 28-15 overall and 17-4 at home.
“The crowd that showed up today saw an outstanding ballgame,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose team rallied late for the second consecutive day as Travis Buck hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to overcome a 1-0 deficit. “Both Josh and (Reds starter) Homer Bailey were fantastic. It was fun watching those two.”
For the most part, the game was a pitching duel between Tomlin and Bailey, neither giving ground over the first six scoreless innings.
Tomlin bent first, allowing a run in the top of the seventh. But it was Bailey who broke in the bottom of the inning by surrendering the game-changing homer to Buck.
“I was just trying to go out there and match him inning to inning and give us a chance to win late,” said Tomlin, who allowed a run on three hits over seven innings to improve to 6-1 with a 2.41 ERA in nine starts. “I was able to locate my pitches pretty well and had the hitters off-balance for the most part.”
The six wins equal the most in the majors, as Tomlin continued his impressive streak of pitching at least five innings in each of his 21 career big league starts dating to last year – the only Cleveland pitcher in history to accomplish as much.
Tomlin allowed a hit to the first batter he faced, but Bailey was perfect through 32⁄3 innings before a bloop single from Shin-Soo Choo ended the bid.
Bailey still stifled the Indians, retiring the side in order in the fifth and sixth before Cleveland finally broke through in the seventh.
A leadoff single from Asdrubal Cabrera was followed by two straight outs before Buck, who was recalled from Triple-A Columbus earlier in the week and was in the lineup at designated hitter in place of an injured Travis Hafner, landed the big blow.
It was another contribution from a different player, something that has helped fuel Cleveland’s fast start this season.
“We continue to find a new hero on a daily basis,” Acta said.
For one of the few times this season, the Indians can give an assist to the fans, who turned up to create an electric atmosphere.
Reliever Vinnie Pestano felt it in the eighth inning when he preserved the one-run lead after allowing a leadoff single to Ryan Hanigan. With Hanigan at first, Pestano struck out the next three batters, leaving the mound to a raucous roar from the hometown fans.
“That was the biggest crowd I’ve ever thrown in front of,” said Pestano, who is in the midst of his debut season in the big leagues. “They get your adrenaline going. I could feel my heart beat out there. I thought it was going to pop.
“The Tribe at home late. The seventh, eighth and ninth inning. That’s when we score, so stick with us.”
Closer Chris Perez followed Pestano to the mound and, despite walking two, was able to hold Cincinnati scoreless in the ninth, touching off one more celebration from the crowd when he struck out Scott Rolen to end the game.
“It’s amazing the energy you get in this stadium,” Acta said. “Some of the guys that were here in 2007 came to me and said, ‘This is it. This is how it was in 2007.’”
Indians fans will remember that 2007 was the last time their team qualified for the postseason. They may have even more to celebrate when this regular season is complete.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
