A sell-out crowd of 40,676 was waiting to explode.
The fans had flocked to Progressive Field to watch a 4th of July showdown pitting the Yankees against the Indians.
But, as the teams reached the 7th inning stretch, the Tribe had yet to give the partisan crowd much reason to cheer.
Josh Tomlin did carry a no-hitter into the 7th, but he promptly yielded 3 hits, including Nick Swisher's 2-run double.
Cleveland appeared destined for a disappointing defeat because the offense was lifeless and A.J. Burnett was twirling a shutout.
However, in the bottom of the 7th, the Indians staged a clinic.
The subject: working the count.
Grady Sizemore drew a 1-out walk, and Lonnie Chisenhall, after his foul pop down the left field line somehow dropped between Brett Gardner and Alex Rodriguez, also drew a free pass. Combined, Sizemore and Chisenahall forced Burnett to make 14 pitches. The next batter, Shelley Duncan, quickly fell behind 0-2, but he battled back and flaired a RBI single to right. Austin Kearns then stepped to the plate and stunned Burnett, and probably his own teammates as well, by hitting his 1st home run of the season, a 3-run shot that barely cleared the right field wall.
Curtis Granderson's solo homer pulled the Yanks to within 1 before Carlos Santana's 2-run belt removed all doubt.
The Tribe's All-Star closer, Chris Perez, tossed a 1-2-3 9th to notch his 20th save.
The dramatic rally made a winner out of Tomlin, who set a major league record on Monday night. The young righty became the 1st pitcher in baseball history since 1919 to work at least 5 frames in each of his 1st 29 career appearances.
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| Kearns (26) is congratulated following his clutch big fly |
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