Cleveland Indians Lose 7-6 in Extras After Controversial Call

The Cleveland Indians fell to the New York Yankees 7-6 in 11 innings Saturday afternoon but not before a controversial call in the 9th inning costs the Tribe. The Indians battled back from a couple deficits but ultimately fell, dropping to 52-35 on the season. The Yankees moved to 43-44 with the extra inning victory.

In his final start before the All-Star game, Danny Salazar struggled going just 5 2/3 innings and allowing six runs. The final three came after he left but he looked just a tick off all day, allowing eight hits, two walks, and striking out five. The Yankees first got to Salazar in the top of the 3rd inning on an RBI single by Carlos Beltran that tied it at one before Didi Gregorius made it 3-1 Yanks with his 11th home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field. 

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The Yankees then scored another three runs in the top of the 6th after the Tribe took a 5-3 lead. After getting the first two batters out, Salazar allowed the next three batters to reach on a pair of singles and a walk, going over 110 pitches on the evening. Reliever Dan Otero then came in to face Brett Gardner who tripled to left field giving the Yanks a 6-5 lead. The bullpen would then put up zeros in the next four innings behind T.J. House, Jeff Manship, Bryan Shaw, and Cody Allen. Allen would even go a rare two innings, pitching the 9th and 10th. Unfortunately, though, Tommy Hunter (L, 2-2) allowed a two-out RBI double to Brian McCann in the 11th inning to give the Yanks the 7-6 lead and ultimately the win.

The Indians offense a decent day, pounding out 11 hits and scoring six runs, including a late run off the Yankees’ star bullpen. However, they also left 10 men on base.  The Indians were able to get to former Tribesman CC Sabathia for five runs in 5 2/3 innings. Carlos Santana got the scoring going in the 1st inning on an RBI infield single to score Rajai Davis and make it 1-0 Cleveland. After Mike Napoli added a second run in the bottom of the 3rd on an RBI single, Santana tied the game on an RBI double, his second hit with runners in scoring position on the afternoon. Jose Ramirez would then give the Tribe the lead with a single to score Napoli and make it 4-3 Indians.

Ramirez would get his second (of three) hits with runners in scoring position in the bottom of the 5th, scoring Francisco Lindor and making it 5-3 Indians. Ramirez would then play hero once more in the bottom of the 7th inning to tie the score at 6-6 on a 2-out RBI single to score Jason Kipnis off All-Star reliever, Dellin Betances. The game took a turn for the Indians though in the bottom of the 9th inning. After Lindor singled to lead off the inning off All-Star Andrew Miller, Mike Napoli walked to put runners and 1st and 2nd with no outs. Santana would then hit a slow grounder to the left side of the infield. On the play, shortstop Didi Gregorius attempted to field the ball barehanded but dropped it, making it look like the bases would be loaded with no outs for Jose Ramirez.However, on the play, Lindor ran into third baseman Chase Headley who was running towards the groundball as well though had no chance of actually fielding it. The umpires decided that Lindor interfered with Headley and called Lindor out.

However, on the play, Lindor ran into third baseman Chase Headley who was running towards the groundball as well though had no chance of actually fielding it. The umpires decided that Lindor interfered with Headley and called Lindor out. A controversial (and very wrong) call by the umpires that completely changed the complexion of the inning. Instead of bases loaded, there was one out and runners on 1st and 2nd. Andrew Miller was then able to get Ramirez on strikes before Aroldis Chapman came in to get Juan Uribe and end the inning. The Indians did get a runner on against Chapman (W, 3-0) in the 11th but Kipnis was picked off, ending any chance at a comeback.

Here’s the rule and play as shown by MLB.com’s Indians reporter:

The rule seems very clear and the video confirms that Didi, not Headley, was fielding the ball and thus, the umpires made the wrong call. No word on if the umpires misinterpreted the rule or if they ruled that Headley was the fielder. In any case, it was a play that cost the Indians big time…

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The Indians will look for redemption and a series split Sunday afternoon as Carlos Carrasco (5-2, 2.47 ERA) will go for the Tribe. The Yankees will look to avoid their first sub-.500 first half since 1995 and Masahiro Tanaka (6-2, 3.12) will take the hill. The Tribe will also look to maintain or extend their lead in the American League Central which fell to 6.5 after the Detroit Tigers won Saturday afternoon. First pitch tomorrow is scheduled for 1:10 pm and will be the last Tribe game until Friday after the four-day All-Star break.