Sometimes all it takes is one swing of the bat — or a drag bunt. And sometimes, the most unlikely of heroes can make a victory extra-special.
When it happens two days in a row, it can signify a season that is headed toward being extra-special.
After Ezequiel Carrera drove in the winning run on Friday night with a drag bunt base-hit in his first career at-bat, Travis Buck came through this afternoon with his first home run as an Indian — a two-run blast off of Homer Bailey with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to erase a Cincinnati lead — and the Tribe won their second straight over the Reds with a 2-1 victory that gave Josh Tomlin his sixth win of the season in seven decisions.
Before Buck’s blast, it was looking grim for Cleveland, after the Reds grabbed the lead in the top of the seventh when Orlando Cabrera misplayed a potential inning-ending double play into an RBI ground out from Scott Rolen that scored Brandon Phillips.
But in the bottom half of the seventh, Asdrubal Cabrera led off with a single, and after Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana were retired, Buck came through.
Tomlin went seven innings and surrendered that one slightly-tainted run, giving up only three hits, walking one and fanning three, in dropping his ERA to 2.42.
Vinnie Pestano pitched the eighth for the Tribe, allowing one hit but striking out three, and then in the ninth, Chris Perez allowed a lead-off walk but then got Phillips to bounce into a double play. After again putting a man aboard with another walk, Rolen struck out to end the game, giving Perez his 12th save of the season.
Bailey was the hard-luck loser for the Reds, dropping to 3-1 on the season with a 2.08 ERA.
Tomorrow this first inter-league match-up of the season will conclude with a 1:05 start. Carlos Carrasco is slated to go for the Indians against the Reds’ Edinson Volquez.