The Indians finally looked fed up Sunday. Cleveland was tired of losing, tired of answering questions about last August and undoubtedly tired of losing ground in the standings.
Manager Terry Francona had certainly seen enough, going as far as calling a team meeting Saturday night. Inside the Cleveland clubhouse, the manager had a simple message for a group of players searching for direction after a nightmarish week.
“It was just basically how we want to play the game,” Francona said. “It’s not always going to be perfect, but we have to fight through frustration.”
The Tribe did something about it Sunday afternoon, staging a frantic rally to complete a 6-5 comeback victory against the Angels. Ignited by Michael Bourn and powered by three late home runs, the win electrified a Progressive Field crowd that had gone numb and energized a clubhouse that had been subdued of late.
Cleveland needed any kind of win. The argument could be made, however, that the Indians really needed this kind of win. The Tribe overcame a rough day on the mound from Justin Masterson and a sloppy showing from the defense behind him, and showed the signature heart that came to define the team early this season.
The Indians were in a five-run hole after four innings and did not let it bury them mentally.
“We just didn’t give up,” Bourn said. “We were down five — it’d be easy to fold. We didn’t fold. We kept our heads up and kept grinding it out.”
The late push woke Cleveland (63-55) from its six-game losing streak and avoided a winless week.
It was the kind of slump that stirred memories of Cleveland’s 8-24 August a year ago.
Back on Monday, when the Indians began their recent slide, it was closer Chris Perez who blew a save in the ninth inning against the Tigers. It was fitting that Perez was on the mound Sunday against the Angels. The closer collected the three outs required to pick up the save, his 18th of the year, and seal a win that acted as a sigh of relief.
“That was just a much-needed win,” Indians first baseman Nick Swisher said. “Not only for us, but for our fans, too.”
Bourn initiated the turnaround.
Facing Angels starter Jerome Williams, who surrendered just one hit to the first 18 batters he faced, Bourn sent a pitch into center field for a two-out single in the sixth inning. Swisher followed by belting an 0-1 offering arcing high to left-center, where the ball carried just over the 19-foot wall for a two-run home run.
Williams then issued a walk to second baseman Jason Kipnis, setting the stage for shortstop Mike Aviles, who was not even supposed to play Sunday. That changed in the third inning, when starting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was ejected from the ballgame by home-plate umpire Vic Carapazza for arguing balls and strikes.
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