The Indians will take it. After the season they have endured to this point, and certainly following a grueling game that pushed Cleveland’s stamina and roster to the limit, the Indians did not care how they found their way to the win column on Wednesday.
When Tigers reliever Al Alburquerque flinched on the mound in the bottom of the 13th inning, Ryan Raburn thrust his arms into the air in the batter’s box, grinning wide and turning to embrace the teammates pouring from the dugout. Cleveland was gifted with a bases-loaded balk that turned confusion into elation in an improbable 11-10 balk-off win over Detroit.
“A win’s a win,” said Raburn, still smiling long after the game’s strange ending. “I was hoping to be able to come through for the team there and put an end to it.”
Raburn did not even have to swing the bat.
The victory finished off a sweep of a three-game series with the American League Central-leading Tigers, cutting Cleveland’s deficit to 7 1/2 games in the division standings. That is still a considerable hill to climb for the Tribe, but slowing Detroit’s high-powered lineup and potent pitching was an encouraging step for a team trying to find its footing.
Cleveland’s win marked the first walk-off balk in the Majors since July 11, 2011, when the White Sox won in that manner against the Royals.
It took nine pitchers, 13 innings and 269 pitches in a game that lasted five hours and 16 minutes, but the Indians notched their first three-game sweep of the season against any opponent. Heading into this series, Cleveland had dropped five of six and was embarrassed in an overwhelming brooming at the hands of the A’s.
The Indians are now hoping they breathed some life into their season.
“This game is crazy,” Tigers closer Joe Nathan said. “These guys get swept and absolutely boatraced by Oakland before we get here. We’re playing as good as we’ve played all season before we get here. And who would’ve seen this happening? I don’t think anybody. But it’s a crazy game.”
No one inside Cleveland’s clubhouse was about to argue.
“I don’t even know where to start with that game,” Indians right fielder David Murphy said. “I don’t really know if that was a baseball game, or a marathon combined with a circus. I love the way we battled.”
That last sentiment was the main takeaway for the Tribe.
Many of Cleveland’s early-season issues arose on Wednesday afternoon, but the Indians kept getting off the mat.
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