CLEVELAND — Yan Gomes singled home Austin Jackson from second base with none out in the 13th inning as the Cleveland Indians rallied from five runs down to stun the New York Yankees 9-8 Friday and snatch a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series.
Jackson drew a leadoff walk in the 13th from Dellin Betances and stole second. Gomes went to a full count before pulling his bouncer just inside the third-base bag, easily scoring Jackson. The Indians poured out of their dugout to mob Gomes, who ended the 5-hour, 8-minute thriller.
The Indians posted their biggest comeback win in postseason history, overcoming an 8-3 deficit, a terrible start by ace Corey Kluber and a potentially serious injury to slugger Edwin Encarnacion.
Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the sixth to rally Cleveland, right after a close call on a hit by pitch that the Yankees didn’t challenge.
New York had its chances late, but the Yankees stranded the go-ahead run at third in the ninth and 10th – and had pinch-runner Ronald Torreyes picked off second in the 11th by Gomes from the behind the plate.
Jay Bruce connected for a solo shot in the Cleveland eighth that made it 8-all. As they’ve done so many times in a season becoming more special by the day, the defending AL champions battled back and can now put the Yankees away in New York – just as they did in the 2007 ALDS.
Cleveland will try for a sweep in Game 3 Sunday at Yankee Stadium. Carlos Carrasco is set to start for the Indians against Masahiro Tanaka.
Josh Tomlin, who had been scheduled to start later in the series, pitched two perfect innings for the win.
Aaron Hicks hit a three-run homer off Kluber and Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird hit two-run shots for the Yankees.
Encarnacion was hurt trying to get back to second base in the first inning. The Indians said he has a sprained ankle and is undergoing further evaluation.
NLDS
CUBS 3, NATIONALS 0: Kyle Hendricks outpitched Stephen Strasburg, and Chicago opened the defense of its first World Series title in 108 years with a win at Washington in Game 1 of their National League Division Series.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo produced RBI singles in the sixth inning for the first two hits off an otherwise-dominant Strasburg. Hendricks was even better, giving up only two singles in seven strong innings.
Rizzo added an RBI double off reliever Ryan Madson in the eighth. Carl Edwards Jr. threw a perfect inning and Wade Davis finished the two-hitter for a save.
NOTES
DIAMONDBACKS: Coach Ariel Prieto has apologized and said it was a mistake for him to wear an Apple Watch in the dugout during the NL wild-card game against Colorado.
Major League Baseball spokesman Michael Teevan said the commissioner’s office is looking into the matter. Last month, the Boston Red Sox were fined by MLB for using an Apple Watch to relay signs to hitters.
Prieto said Thursday that he didn’t use the watch for any illicit purpose and it was on “airplane mode” during the game on Wednesday night.
That setting shuts off any of the watch’s communication abilities.
NATIONALS: The team says that assistant hitting coach Jacque Jones has been suspended with pay pending an internal investigation.
The team says the suspension is connected to a legal matter.
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