CLEVELAND — Nothing went right for the Indians over the first 5 1/2 innings at Progressive Field on Friday night.
Then nothing went wrong.
A series opener against the Reds that appeared earmarked as a loss for the home team wound up in the winning column, with the Indians producing another hair-raising victory — a 5-4 decision that snapped a two-game losing skid.
Cleveland trailed the entire game before tying it with a four-run sixth inning and winning it on a perfectly executed drag bunt from Ezequiel Carrrera, who scored Shin-Soo Choo in the eighth.
The last six wins at home have come in the last at-bat for the Indians, who own the best record in the majors (27-15) and a six-game lead in the Central Division standings.
“It started shaky but we stuck with it,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose team lost its starting pitcher Alex White to injury, committed two errors on double-play balls and didn’t have a hit through the first five innings. “It’s a very nice win, especially the way it started.”
Carrera was an unlikely hero to say the least.
The 23-year-old outfielder was promoted from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game and sat on the bench for 7 1/2 innings before delivering his first hit in his first big league at-bat on the biggest of stages.
“It’s unbelievable,” Carrera said. “First bunt, first RBI, we win the game.”
The eighth inning began harmlessly enough with Reds reliever Bill Bray retiring the first two batters of the inning before allowing a triple to Shin-Soo Choo and intentionally walking Carlos Santana.
Nick Masset relieved Bray with Shelley Duncan scheduled to come to the plate when Acta went to his bag of tricks.
Cleveland’s manager pinch hit Carrera for Duncan and Carrera made Acta a genius by placing a perfect drag bunt down the first-base line on the first pitch he saw before avoiding the tag and reaching safely as Choo crossed the plate with the go-ahead run.
“It was a perfect spot for (Carrera),” Acta said. “All you need is a hit. To bunt a ball, it doesn’t take experience or a different stadium. He’s done that his whole life. He executed it perfectly.”
Things did not go perfectly for White, who was in the midst of a promising debut season after replacing an injured Mitch Talbot in the rotation.
White, the Indians’ first-round draft pick in 2010, might be replacing Talbot on the disabled list after leaving with soreness in his right middle finger.
The right-hander appeared to sustain the injury on a slider to the first batter he faced in the third inning, Ryan Hanigan. Both head trainer Lonnie Soloff and Acta visited the mound before White continued, striking out Hanigan, but walking three and allowing two runs and leaving after the inning was complete.
He is scheduled to undergo an MRI today.
White might have been able to get out of the inning without a run crossing the plate but first baseman Matt LaPorta blew a potential double-play ball by misfiring to second base after fielding a grounder from Joey Votto. The boot, one of a season-high three errors from the Indians, scored two runs.
Cincinnati took a 4-0 lead in the sixth inning, another error — second baseman Orlando Cabrera — on a possible double play situation contributing to the runs.
Cleveland wasted no time atoning for its shoddy play, tying the game in the bottom of the inning as Reds starter Travis Wood inexplicably lost his touch.
The Cincinnati left-hander allowed just one baserunner through the first five innings on a leadoff walk to Santana in the second. But after retiring the first batter in the sixth, Wood unraveled, allowing three straight hits and walk before hitting Choo with a pitch and being removed.
Santana’s bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly from Duncan tied it at four.
It was the largest deficit the Indians have overcome all season, improving to a major league-best 16-4.
Cleveland didn’t win its 27th game until June 27th of last year in its 74th game.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
