Mike Aviles watched the baseball drop into center field before thrusting his left arm into the air. When the Indians second baseman reached first, he removed his helmet, slammed it to the ground and disappeared into a mob of teammates.
For the first time this season, the Indians got to party on their field.
“We needed that,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
Aviles’ single off reliever Casey Fien in the ninth inning Wednesday night lifted Cleveland to a 4-3 walk-off win over the Twins at Progressive Field. Fireworks exploded over the stadium as the crowd roared and Cleveland’s players stormed the field in celebration.
There have been plenty of ups and downs in the first six weeks of this season, making this kind of victory one that the Tribe savored. Right-hander Danny Salazar continued Cleveland’s recent run of solid starting pitching, the Indians’ defense played a critical role in keeping Minnesota at bay and the Tribe enjoyed its first walk-off win of 2014.
The players agreed with their manager.
The Indians needed that kind of win.
“Definitely,” Tribe closer John Axford said. “We haven’t had one of those moments yet, so it’s great to have that, enjoy it, come together and everyone laugh, yell, scream, throw water, whatever it is that we do. It’s fun to have those moments.”
Salazar set the tone for Cleveland (15-19), which has enjoyed a recent surge from its starting staff.
The Indians’ rotation has spun a 1.29 ERA over the past five games, including Salazar’s 6 1/3-inning, seven-strikeout performance against the Twins. The righty surrendered only one run in his first six frames, but Francona pulled him from the game with runners on second and third base and one out in the seventh inning.
Tribe reliever Bryan Shaw surrendered a run-scoring single to pinch-hitter Danny Santana and then gave up a sacrifice fly to Brian Dozier, allowing Minnesota to pull the contest into a 3-3 tie. That effectively erased Cleveland’s work against Twins starter Ricky Nolasco, who yielded a two-run double to Michael Brantley in the third and a solo homer to Yan Gomes in the fifth.
“They were making some hard outs,” Francona said of the Twins. “We got a point where I thought Shaw could get them and would get them, and he didn’t. That’s on me.”
Cleveland was fortunate that its defense kept Minnesota in check.
In the third inning, Indians center fielder Nyjer Morgan made a leaping, highlight reel catch to rob Josmil Pinto of extra bases. Morgan jumped and crashed into the wall in left-center, but landed on his feet with his glove raised high in the air. Salazar pointed at the center fielder, who strutted away from the wall, pointed back and flexed in the outfield.
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