Cleveland Indians: Sensational Comeback Sustains Home Success

5-20-11     vs. Cincinnati     W, 5-4     27-15

     Any Tribe fan over the age of 30 fondly remembers the numerous dramatic victories staged at Jacob's Field during the 1990s.  The Indians' home venue is now known as Progressive Field, but that same magic continues to course through the ballpark.  On Friday night, Cleveland erased a 4-0 deficit and stunned the Reds in front of a large, energetic crowd.

     Matt LaPorta's throwing error and Orlando Cabrera's fielding miscue helped Cincinnati claim that early lead.  As a result of the poor defense, only 2 of the 4 runs were earned.

     Travis Wood took a no-hitter into the bottom of the 6th, but Austin Kearns' single to center field broke up the no-no.  Kearns' base-hit ignited the Tribe, and it was the 1st of 6 consecutive at-bats without an out being recorded.  When the dust finally settled, Cleveland had scored 4 times on a Michael Brantley single, a Shin-Soo Choo hit-by-pitch, a Carlos Santana walk, and a Shelley Duncan sacrifice fly, respectively.  Wood allowed all 4 runs, and he failed to retire a single hitter after his no-no was snapped.

     In the bottom of the 8th, Choo's 2-out double and an intentional walk placed runners on the corners for Ezequiel Carrera, a pinch-hitter making his major league debut.  Carrera surprised the Reds by bunting the 1st pitch he saw up the 1st base line.  Joey Votto fielded the ball, but he could not tag out the speedy Carrera. 

     The RBI bunt single gave the home team its 1st lead of the evening, and Chris Perez was summoned from the bullpen to seal the victory.  Perez worked around a lead-off walk because of Fred Lewis's bad baserunning.  Lewis did not tag up on a fly ball hit to the wall in right-center, and he was doubled off of 1st on a soft, broken-bat liner that was snared by Perez.

Carrera (right) drove home the eventual game-winning run in the 8th

     The Indians have won 6 of their last 8 home games, and all 6 of those victories have been of the last at-bat variety.

     The Tribe's thrilling triumph made this a great day, but all was not well in regards to injuries.  Prior to the contest, Travis Hafner was placed on the disabled list due to a strained oblique muscle, and Alex White's start was cut short by an injury to his middle finger.  It is unclear how serious White's condition is.