CLEVELAND — Designated hitter Travis Hafner has ripped 183 home runs for the Indians, but his latest might be the biggest of them all.
Travis Hafner celebrates hitting the winning grand slam Thursday in the ninth inning in a 5-4 win over Toronto. (AP photo.)
Hafner blasted a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning Thursday night, giving the Indians an incredible 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Tribe trailed 4-0 with one out in the ninth, but stormed back for the win on an RBI single by Asdrubal Cabrera and Hafner’s 12th career slam. Both hits came off Toronto reliever Luis Perez.
“There is nothing like it, it’s awesome,” a beaming Hafner said. “It’s the most fun you can have in baseball. I love walk-offs and I love grannys.
“I got a scouting report on (Perez) from Michael Brantley, so I was just looking for something I could drive. I guess I got it.”
Hafner drilled the first pitch he saw from Perez (1-2, 3.94 ERA) into the right-field stands, where it landed 395 feet from home plate — and set off a wild celebration by the 18,816 fans at Progressive Field.
It marked the first time Cleveland has won a game on a walk-off grand slam when trailing by three runs since Ron Lolich turned the trick April 22, 1973.
“That was just an amazing comeback at the end,” manager Manny Acta said. “We had all the right guys up that inning and we got the big one when we needed it.
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“Travis is a force in our lineup. That’s the reason why we were whining when we didn’t have him in the National League games (where there is no DH). This was really something tonight.”
The Tribe started its winning rally with Frank Francisco on the mound, but forced him out after loading the bases on a single by Travis Buck, a double by Matt LaPorta and a walk by Jack Hannahan.
Perez entered and struck out leadoff hitter Brantley, but he had no answer for Cabrera and Hafner. Cleveland matched its largest comeback of the season at four runs and rallied for its 20th come-from-behind victory in 2011.
And most importantly, the Indians maintained their 1 1⁄2-game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central Division.
“Everyone believes we have a chance when the ninth inning comes around,” Hafner said. “We’ve got great clubhouse chemistry, so to celebrate with all these guys on the field after a walk-off, it’s amazing.”
Tribe reliever Tony Sipp (4-1, 2.80 ERA) was one of the beneficiaries of Hafner’s heroics, recording the win despite allowing a run in his lone inning of work.
That run came on the MLB-leading 29th home run of the season by Toronto third baseman Jose Bautista, whose 430-foot blast landed three-quarters of the way up the bleachers in left field.
Cleveland starter Zach McAllister also caught a break and avoided taking the loss in his big league debut. The right-hander needed a whopping 94 pitches to get through four shaky innings, allowing three runs (two earned), five hits and three walks.
“I just didn’t have the command that I wanted out there, and that hurt us,” said McAllister, who was returned to Triple-A Columbus following the game when the Indians called up infielder Luis Valbuena. “To be in the dugout at the end for what happened, though, was fun to watch.”
There was one scary moment for the Tribe, coming in the second inning.
Rookie third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was hit in the head by a pitch from Toronto starter Carlos Villanueva. The baseball struck his right ear flap before glancing off his nose and cheek bone, leaving him with a facial contusion that forced him out of the game.
Acta said Chisenhall’s left eye was swollen, but there was no immediate concern that he had suffered a concussion. Chisenhall missed time at Triple-A Columbus earlier this season with a concussion.
“Lonnie is going to see a specialist at noon (today), but we think he’s going to be OK,” Acta said.
Rafael Perez, Chad Durbin, Frank Herrmann, Joe Smith and Sipp combined for five innings of one-run relief for Cleveland, which committed two errors (by Asdrubal Cabrera and McAllister) and made three other fielding mistakes.
Villanueva, who began the year in the bullpen, deserved a better fate. The righty tossed six scoreless innings, scattering six hits and striking out seven.
Marc Rzepczynski and Jason Frasor followed and kept the Indians off the scoreboard heading into their final at-bat.
After stranding nine men in the first eight innings, Hafner made sure they didn’t add to the total.
“Before that, it was eight innings of the most boring baseball we’ve had all year,” Acta said. “I thought it would be a wasted night. But these guys, they’ve done it so many times, the game is never out of reach.”
Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com.
