All it took was 1 mighty swing of the bat to end more than 48 hours of frustration. Travis Hafner belted a walk-off 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th, and the Indians snapped a 2-game losing streak.
The 1st 8 innings of this game only added to the frustration. Shin-Soo Choo and Michael Brantley each hit solo homers as the Tribe built up an early 2-0 advantage. However, the Mariners quickly battled back. Carlos Peguero's 1st major league homer pulled the M's to within 1, and Seattle then proceeded to score 3 times in the 7th. Justin Smoak hit a 2-run homer, and Brendan Ryan's infield RBI single gave the visitors a 2-run cushion.
Seattle's rally came at the expense of Fausto Carmona. The Tribe's ace carried a no-hitter into the 5th before Peguero's gopher ball shifted the momentum toward the Mariners. Fausto pitched 7 2/3 frames, and he allowed all 4 runs.
Attempting to secure the victory, Brandon League entered the contest in the last of the 9th and received a rude welcome as Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera hit back-to back doubles to left field. Arguably, the 2 doubles could have been 2 outs because Peguero failed to run proper routes to either of the 2 line drives. As a result, the Indians were suddenly trailing by only 1 run. Choo advanced Cabrera to 3rd base on a groundout, but Carlos Santana's groundout into the teeth of a drawn-in infield did not score Cabrera. Hafner, though, saved the day by lofting his aforementioned game-winning blast over the wall in center, and the Progressive Field crowd of 33,774 roared its approval.
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| Hafner's game-winner capped an improbable comeback |
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