CLEVELAND — On a winning streak that just won’t stop, the Cleveland Indians have posted shutouts, blowouts and routine wins.
All that was missing were a walk-off victory and extra innings.
“Check those two off,” closer Cody Allen said. “We’re checking all the boxes.”
And check this out: 22 in a row.
Jay Bruce hit an RBI double in the 10th inning — after Francisco Lindor tied it with a clutch double in the ninth — as the Indians rallied for their 22nd straight win to extend their AL record, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Thursday night.
Cleveland moved within four wins of matching the 1916 New York Giants for the longest streak in major league history.
A three-week romp through the league finally had some real drama to keep baseball’s longest winning streak in 101 years intact.
Even before the rally, Allen looked at his teammates in the bullpen and knew something special was about to happen.
“In the ninth, we were saying, ‘We’re gonna walk them off,’” said Allen (3-6). “We thought we were going to walk them off right there. You win enough games in a lot of different ways, you see what those guys are capable of.”
Allen and the Indians only had to wait a little longer until Jose Ramirez scored the winning run.
With the crowd signing “Jose, Jose, Jose,” Ramirez led off the 10th with a hard hit into right-center off Brandon Maurer (2-2) that he turned into a double with a head-first slide. After Edwin Encarnacion walked, Bruce, the recent arrival who hit a three-run homer in win No. 21 on Wednesday, ripped a 2-0 pitch into the right-field corner.
As Progressive Field shook like it usually does in October, Bruce reached second base and was quickly mobbed by his teammates, who doused him with ice water and talcum powder while tearing the front of his jersey.
“Kids these days are throwing everything,” Bruce said with a laugh. “You never know what you’re going to get hit with out there. It’s my first jersey rip off, for sure. They didn’t get it all, though.”
