Game 160

September 29, 2017 – Ramirez Knocks 90th Extra-Base Hit

Chicago was in town to start off the final series of the regular season. While the Tribe had long clinched the Central Division crown, they were locked in a fight with the Astros for home-field advantage and looking for their 101st win of the season. 

Trevor Bauer took the hill for the Tribe with 189 strikeouts on the year. He would have to have a career night to join Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco with over 200 Ks for the season. Mike Pelfrey was slated to pitch for the White Sox. 

Bauer got right to work, striking out Yolmer Sanchez to lead off the game and Jose Abreu to end the top of the first. The Tribe loaded the bases against Pelfrey before Carlos Santana’s line out to deep left ended the threat. 

Bauer pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the second, but all of the outs came on batted balls. 

Jason Kipnis was aboard with a walk to lead off the bottom of the second. After a Yandy Diaz strikeout, Kipnis stole second with catcher Roberto Perez at the plate. Perez eventually drew a walk, and then Francisco Lindor lined out to left for the second out. 

Austin Jackson poked a two-out RBI single over the second base bag and into center field. Jose Ramirez drove a double down the left field line that scored Perez and Jackson. Edwin Encarnacion reached on an error and Jose was able to come around and score during the confusion. Jay Bruce blasted a homer into deep left-center to cap off the 6-run inning. 

Bauer collected two more strikeouts in the top of the third, while the Indians scored four more in the bottom of the frame, including a bases-clearing double by Encarnacion.

Yolmer Sanchez was the first White Sox to reach base, and he did so in a big way. He lead off the top of the fourth with a home for the Sox only run of the day. He notched three more strikeouts before being relieved by Joe Smith in the top of the seventh. 

With a nine-run lead the Tribe relievers cruised to a Friday-night victory and held on to home field advantage. 

The Indians narrowly missed being the fourth team in MLB history to have three starters with 200 strikeouts for the season. Kluber (265) and Carrasco (226) far surpassed the mark, with Bauer falling just short at 196. 

Jose Ramirez’ two doubles (55 on the year) gave him 90 Extra-base. That put him 4th in Indians history for Extra-Base Hits He trailed only Albert Belle (103 in 1995), Hal Trosky (96 in 1936) and George Burns (94 in 1926).

Baseball Reference Box Score

Game 147

September 14, 2017 – Lindor Keeps the Streak Alive with 2-out Single Off the Wall

The Indians entered this Thursday night game riding a twenty-one game winning streak. Sports talk radio was abuzz with debate about whether a win would place the Tribe in sole possession of the longest winning streak. Either they would pass up the 21 win streak of the 1935 Cubs. Or they would still be chasing the 1916 Giants, who went 26 games without losing. The Giant’s streak included a tie. 

Josh Tomlin was matched up with Jacob Junis for this run at history. The Tribe got behind early as the Royals got to Tomin in the top of the second inning. He walked Eric Hosmer to lead off the inning, and then Salvador Perez lined a single into right field that advanced Hosmer to third. Mike Moustakis grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, but Hosmer came home to score. 

Abe Almonte lead off the Indians’ half of the third with a line drive double down the right field line. With two outs, Lonnie Chisenhall looped a double into right. Almonte dug for home and came around to score. Chisenhall attempted to stretch the play into a double, but was thrown out at second to end the inning. 

In the top of the sixth, Tomlin gave up a double to Whit Merrifield. Lorenzo Cain hit into a fielders choice that put Merrifield out at third. Melky Cabrera grounded one weakly down the first base line. Carlos Santana charged the ball and flipped it to second to get Cain at second. Eric Hosmer slapped a double down the left field line that scored Melky from first. 

Andrew Miller returned from the injured list to pitch the top of the seventh. He allowed two hits, but got Alex Gordon to hit into an inning-ending double play to get out of trouble. One of the more incredible facts about the streak is that the Tribe won 21 games straight without their best relief pitcher. 

The Indians offense could not get anything going against Royals reliever Mike Minor in the seventh. They loaded the bases against Ryan Butcher in the bottom of the eighth, but consecutive pop-foul outs by Jay Bruce and Carlos Santana ended the threat. 

Kelvin Herrera got Yandy Diaz to ground out to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Naquin slapped a single through the left side of the infield. Francisco Mejia grounded to second and Naquin was forced out. Erik Gonzalez came on to pinch run for Mejia. The Indians were down to their final out, and Francisco Lindor was hitless on the day so far. Lindor came to the plate looking to keep the Indians’ hopes–and the streak–alive. 

Lindor worked Herrera into a 2-2 count. Down to his final strike, Lindor laced one into deep left field. Alex Gordon raced to the base of the 19-foot wall and made a leaping attempt, but was unable to make the catch. Gonzalez raced around to score the tying run, and Lindor ended up on second. Austin Jackson grounded out to end the inning and send the game to extras tied at 2-2. 

Cody Allen needed only eighteen pitches to retire the Royals in the top of the tenth. Over the course of the streak Cody Allen did not allow a single run. His ERA was perfect from August 12th through this game. 

Jose Ramirez lined Brandon Maurer’s 1-1 pitch into right-center and never hesitated in pushing for second. He narrowly beat the throw and was safe with a double to get things started in the bottom of the tenth. Maurer had Edwin Encarnacion behind in the count 0-2, but EE hung in and drew a seven-pitch walk.

Jay Bruce stepped to the plate and laced one into the right field corner. Ramirez raced around from second to score the winning run and give the 2017 Indians a place in history. 

During the streak, the Tribe outscored their opponents by a combined score of 140–36 in an unprecedented run of dominance. 

Baseball Reference Box Score 

Game 136

September 3, 2017 – Jose Ramirez’ Five Extra Base Hits Tie MLB Record

The Indians entered this game riding a 10-game win streak. The Tribe had a nine game lead in the division and were wrapping up a weekend series in Detroit against the lowly Tigers. Josh Tomlin was set to pitch against recent call-up Chad Bell. 

In the top of the first, Jose Ramirez stepped in against Bell with two outs. He lined the 3-1 pitch to deep left field where it hit the yellow line at the top of the wall. Mikie Matouk jumped and attempted to catch the live ball, but ended up tipping it over the wall and out for a home run. The Tribe manufactured two more runs in the bottom of the second courtesy of RBIs by Roberto Perez and Francisco Lindor. The Indians had a 3-0 lead in the early going. 

After recording the first two outs in the bottom of the second, Tomlin gave up three consecutive singles to Candelario, McCann, and Jacoby Jones. Jones’ single plated Candelario to cut the Indians lead to 3-1. 

Ramirez doubled once again to lead off the top of the third inning. He advanced to third on an Encarnacion groundout and then scored on Carlos Santana’s fielder’s choice. 

Jose doubled down the left field line in the top of the fifth and chased Bell from the game. 

In the top of the sixth, after a Greg Allen strikeout, Lindor homered off Zac Reininger. Austin Jackson followed with a single to left. Ramirez stepped to the plate and lined one sharply to the right field corner. Again, it just cleared the wall and bounced off the railing for Jose’s second home run of the game. 

NIck Goody replaced Tomlin to get the final out of the sixth and then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. 

Jose led off the top of the eighth with his third double of the game–a well-hit ball that bounced behind Jacoby Jones’ and off the wall in dead center.He joined only nine other players that have recorded five extra-base hits in a nine-inning game. The list includes two other Indians. Lou Boudreau in Game 81 of 1946 where he hit a homer and slapped four doubles in a loss at Fenway. Kelly Shoppach hit two homers and three triples in a 14-12 loss to the Tigers in Game 106 of 2008.

Gio Urshella came in to pinch run for Ramirez. Encarnacion doubled to drive in Urshella and make it a 9-1 game. 

The Indians would add another two runs, but Encarnacion never had the opportunity to shoot for a sixth extra base hit and sole possession of the record. Jose had 14 total bases–one short of Lonnie Chisenhall’s club record from Game 64 of 2014. The win was the eleventh of the streak that began with Game 126.

Baseball Reference Box Score

Honorable Mention – September 24, 1903 – Bill Bradley Hits for the Cycle

In a 12-2 victory over the Washington Senators, third baseman Bill Bradley hit for the cycle–with an extra double. One of the finest hitters of the deadball era, Bradley’s accomplishments are largely lost to history but he is remembered as one of the luminaries of early Cleveland baseball along with Nap Lajoie, Addie Joss, and Elmer Flick. 

SABR Biography 

Game 120

August 19, 2016 – Naquin Walkoff Inside-the-Park Home Run

After a walkoff win the night before, the Blue Jays came to town for a weekend series. The Indians matched up Trevor Bauer with Francisco Liriano. The Jays were hanging to a fractional game lead in the east with a formidable hitting lineup, while the Indians were out ahead of the Tigers by seven games going into the weekend. 

Bauer got in trouble early, walking Michael Saunders in the top of the first. With two outs, Russel Martin sent a line-drive home run over the left field wall. The Indians found themselves in an early 2-0 hole. 

Liriano allowed only two hits through five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, Jason Kipnis got aboard with a line drive single to right field. With Lindor at the plate, Kipnis advanced to third on a passed ball that skipped away from Russel Martin. Mike Napoli drove Kipnis home with a single to left to cut the lead in half. 

The Jays bullpen showed up in a big way. For the second straight night, Naquin entered the game as a pinch hitter. He replaced  Brandon Guyer in the 7th inning for the matchup, as Joaquin Benoit came on to pitch for Liriano. Benoit pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, and Jason Grilli faced only four batters in the eighth to hold on to the 2-1 lead. 

After Jeff Manship retired the Jays side in order in the top of the ninth, Roberto Osuna came on to pitch for the Jays. 

After Carlos Santana popped out, Jose Ramirez stepped in. He took Osuna’s 0-2 pitch deep down the right field line and over the wall to tie the game at 2-2. 

Naquin battled through a series of fastballs and nearly struck out on Osuna’s fourth pitch–which he barely tipped. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Osuna lost one out over the plate, which Naquin squared and drove to deep center. 

For a moment it was unclear if the ball would be a home run, off the wall, or caught by a leaping Michael Saunders. 

As Saunders was leaping at the wall, Melvin Upton Jr. had slipped hustling over from second. Upton eventually ended up with the ball, but not before doing the splits and facing away from home plate. 

Greg Grant captured this moment in a legendary tweet

As Upton attempted to hit the cutoff man from the seat of his pants in right, Naquin was rounding third. Mike Sarbaugh gave him the green light, and Tyler dug for home. It was clear that there would be a play at the plate, but nearly as clear that he would be successful. The Indians bench had cleared well before  Naquin touched home and struck his now-iconic pose. 

The victory put the Indians 20 games over .500 for the season and set the tone for one of the great post-season runs in team history. It also put Naquin firmly into the Rookie of the Year discussion. He went on to finish third in the voting behind Michael Fulmer of the Tigers and Gary Sanchez of the Yankees

This was the first time in MLB history that a game-tying home run was followed by a game-winning inside-the-park home run.

Baseball Reference Box Score

Game 119

August 18, 2016 – Naquin Completes the Comeback with a Pinch-Hit Walkoff

No, not that Tyler Naquin Walkoff. The White Sox were wrapping up a mid-week series at Progressive Field. The Indians had just activated Danny Salazar from the 15-day DL to start against the Sox’ Carlos Rodon. 

Salazar walked three of the first four batters he faced, then Justin Morneau drove a bases-clearing double into left-center. Morneau was left on base, but the Sox were out to an early 3-0 lead. 

Salazar did not return for the top of the second. Kyle Crockett pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Mike Clevinger took the mound for the top of the third and held the Sox scoreless through the top of the seventh. 

The Tribe started climbing back in the bottom of the fifth when Carlos Santana led off with a double and then was driven in by a Jose Ramirez single. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Roberto Perez slapped a leadoff single into right field. Jason Kipnis bounced one into the stands for a ground rule double that put Perez on third. Francisco Lindor slapped a single into short right field to make the score 3-2 Sox after six. 

After Dan Otero replaced Clevinger in the top of the seventh, JB Shuck bunted Tim Anderson from second to third. Omar Narvaez poked a grounder through the left side of the infield to give the Sox an insurance run. 

Rajai Davis made it a 4-3 game with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, and Jose Ramirez tied it with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless ninth inning to hold the tie. 

In the bottom of the ninth, Abe Almonte led things off with a double into center field. Terry Francona signaled to Roberto Perez to bunt Almonte over to third. However, Jacob Turner’s first pitch to skipped away from Narvaez behind the plate for a passed ball that put Almonte on third. 

Now in a swing-away situation, Terry Francona decided that he could do better than Roberto Perez, who was hitting .108 at the time. He called on Tyler Naquin as a rare mid-at-bat pinch hitter. 

On Turner’s first pitch to Naquin, he lofted a fly ball to deep center. Almonte was able to tag and score the winning run for a walkoff sacrifice. 

Francona later said, “Tyler Naquin was sitting over there by the bat rack for a couple of days, ready to hit. …We didn’t have to go find him. He was ready, and it showed.”

Baseball Reference Box Score

Game 113

August 12, 2016 – Indians Steal Eight Bases on way to 13-3 Win

The 2007 Indians were my favorite team to watch pitch. The 1995 team was my favorite to watch at bat. The magic of the 2016 squad came on the basepaths. Rajai Davis, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and plenty others were always pushing to take an extra base. 

Carlos Carrasco was pitching against the Angels’ Tyler Skaggs on this hot August Friday night. Carrasco got off to a rocky start, giving up a solo home run to Kole Calhoun and an RBI single to Albert Pujols that scored Mike Trout. The score was 2-0 before the Indians came to bat. 

Rajai Davis drew an 11-pitch walk to lead off the game, then stole second on Skaggs second pitch to Jason Kipnis. On the very next delivery, Rajai broke for third and arrived safely. Kipnis poked a line drive single into left to send Davis home. WIth two outs, Kipnis stole second but Jose Ramirez struck out to end the inning. 

Carrasco got into a groove and threw a 1-2-3 second inning. Brandon Guyer lead off the bottom half of the second with a solo home run that tied the game at 2-2. 

Pujols put the halos ahead once again in the top of the third with a grounder to third that scored Kole Calhoun. 

Jose Ramirez singled to right to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Ramirez swiped second with Brandon Guyer at the plate. After Guyer fouled out, Ramirez stole third with Abe Almonte at bat. Almonte knocked a line drive into center field to score Jose and tie things up at 3-3. 

The Tribe pulled away in the bottom of the fourth with four runs on five hits. Rajai got his third steal of the night and Ramirez his third as well.

The Indians added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Lindor got the club’s eighth steal of the night. 

Brian Shaw and Zach McAllister both pitched 1-2-3 innings in relief as the Indians would continue to pile on toward a 13-3 victory. 

When asked what made Skaggs so easy to run on, manager Terry Francona said simply, “You’ve got a lanky left-hander on the mound whose young,”

The Indians had not had eight stolen bases in a game since Game 128 of 1917. Right fielder Braggo Roth stole four bags in that contest against the Washington Senators. Joe Harris added two steals along with one each from Tris Speaker and Bill Wambsganss.

Baseball Reference Box Score

Game 9

April 16, 2016 – Couple Getting Frisky in Upper Deck Goes Viral

On a perfect 54° and sunny Saturday afternoon for early-season baseball, one couple temporarily stole the show from the big-leaguers.

In an odd April interleague matchup, the New York Mets came to Cleveland for a weekend series. The announced crowd of 20,165 was solid for an early Spring weekend, but several outfield upper-deck sections were closed.

Josh Tomlin gave up a home run on the third pitch of the game to Curtis Granderson, but then gained his composure. For the Mets, ace Matt Harvey struck out the side in the bottom of the first. Both offenses struggled through the fifth inning.

Around the middle of the 4th inning, Twitter user @savannah3marie posted a photo of a couple in the very top row of a closed seating section in right field with the caption “S/O [shoutout] to the people having sex at the Indians game!”

photo credit @savannah3marie

While the amorous event went largely un-noticed in the ballpark (except for the lone security guard in the photo), it lit up the internet.

Headlines making the most of middle-school metaphors appeared across the web such as “Couple Photographed Scoring Home Run in Nosebleed Seats”, “Couple Covered All the Bases in the Middle of an Indians Game”, and “Fans Ignore Game, Have Sex in Stands Instead” appeared across the web.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Indians took the lead on a double by Jose Ramirez and a single by Juan Uribe, followed by another three runs in the bottom of the 6th and two runs in the bottom of the 7th.

Brian Shaw pitched the top of the 8th and allowed the Mets back into the game, giving up a three-run home run to Yoenis Cespedes and a solo home run to Neil Walker.

Shaw was pulled in favor or closer Cody Allen who recorded the last four outs of the game and sealed the Indians victory.

News Channel 5 later followed up with Cleveland Police. No one was cited in relation to the incident, so it is unclear whether Granderson, Cespides, and Walker had the only home runs in the ballpark that day or not.

Honorable Mention: April 8, 2018 – coldest game in Indians history, Yan Gomes walkoff HR