Indians walk-off Red Sox on Asdrubal Cabrera homer
By Matt Fisher
As most people were sleeping away, the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians were still fighting it out. The fact that the game had been rain delayed in the first place didn’t help matters. The teams could have made the game up on Thursday, a scheduled off-day for both clubs, but Boston was going to begin a 20-games-in-20-days stretch and didn’t want to extend that to 21-in-21.
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Nobody could blame them, but after a 12-inning affair, Boston probably would have liked to see it end differently. The Indians had fought from an early 2-1 deficit, thanks to a David Ortiz homer, and held a 4-2 lead after touching up starter Brandon Workman and reliever Chris Capuano for three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Indians starter Corey Kluber didn’t hold the lead very long, as Brock Holt drove in two in the next half inning. That set the stage for a long(er) night for the two clubs. Finally, after a clutch two-inning relief outing from Carlos Carrasco, the Indians got runners on the corners for Asdrubal Cabrera. Manager John Farrell decided to have Daniel Nava come in from the outfield to play first base, while original starting first baseman Brock Holt became a fifth infielder to not let any ground balls get through any holes. In the end, the Red Sox did not have to worry about Asdrubal Cabrera hitting a ground ball.
Carrasco, who struck out four without allowing a hit over his two innings of work, got the win at just after 2:00 EST, and the only problem for the Indians afterwards? They have an off day that’s two hours shorter.
There has been no word on whether Johnny Manziel, who was scratched from throwing the ceremonial first pitch due to the rain delay, stayed around to watch the explosive finale.