CLEVELAND — The Indians drew their second sellout crowd of the season to Progressive Field on Saturday, and none of them left disappointed — unless they were Cincinnati fans.

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, while securing 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, Travis Buck hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning to overcome a one-run 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 win total equals the most in the majors for Tomlin, who continued his impressive streak of pitching at least five innings in each of his 21 career big league starts dating back 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 3 2/3 innings before a bloop single from Shin-Soo Choo in the fourth 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 at Progressive Field, while spurring on the home team.

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 lusty 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 heartbeat 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 the regular season is complete.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

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.