CLEVELAND -- Sometimes wins seem more relief than rejuvenating.
Which is the way it seemed Sunday in the third of the four-game series with Detroit, as the Indians won 9-6 -- but only after the bullpen blew a 6-1 lead in the seventh and eighth.
“That,” manager Terry Francona said, “would have been a tough one, to go home today with a loss.”
Because until the seventh so much had gone right. Emboldened by a team meeting following Saturday’s drubbing, a meeting led by team leader Jason Giambi, the Indians started strong, scoring four times in the first two innings and another in the sixth on Michael Brantley’s home run.
But in the seventh Joe Smith relieved Corey Kluber -- who had pitched very well -- and allowed one of Kluber’s and one of his own runs to score.
And in the eighth, Vinnie Pestano walked the leadoff hitter, mishandled a dribbler toward first and gave up a three-run shot to the porch that Torii Hunter admired for its importance in the game. A 6-1 lead suddenly had turned into a 6-6 tie.
“As soon as the ball left Torii’s bat, I think we were all thinking, ‘Damn,’” first baseman Nick Swisher said.
“It’s not a good feeling, Brantley said.
When Pestano gave up two more hits Cody Allen had to come in to get Victor Martinez with runners on second and third.
But even then the Indians showed a little bravado. As Francona and others stood on the mound, Francona said second baseman Jason Kipnis looked at him and said: “We’ll get a walk-off.”
It turned out not to be false, as Brantley hit his second home run (to go with a two-run double) in the bottom of the eighth following Swisher’s leadoff walk.
"Good teams pick each other up," Swisher said. "Bad teams pick each other apart."
Make no mistake, though, the Indians knew how perilously close they had come to a crushing loss. They also knew how much they needed to beat Detroit and how shaky the bullpen was and has been.
What was a given team strength when the season started has .. :
--Given up 127 runs in the seventh inning or later, 28th in the majors and second-to-last in the American League.
--A 4.47 ERA in those innings, also 28th in baseball.
--An overall ERA of 4.13, 23rd in baseball.
--Blown 17 saves (they had a save and a blown save on Sunday), which ties for highest in the AL.
Yes, Cleveland, there seems to be a problem.
“I’m not going to comment on what other guys are doing,” Pestano said. “I know that I’ve definitely had my struggles and I’m a big part of that.”
Hunter entered the game 0-for-7 against Pestano, and Pestano said he did what he always promises he won’t.
“I’ve always said I’m not going to get beat throwing my second-best pitch and that’s exactly what happened,” Pestano said after Hunter crushed a hanging slider. “I gave in.”
In the Indians last nine games, the bullpen ERA is 5.45.
Of course there have only been two quality starts in those nine games, which might have cause and effect.
Had the Indians lost Sunday, the bullpen and pitching would be much discussed. But in a game that had four lead changes, a blown save, five stolen bases and six home runs, the Indians didn’t let Detroit’s comeback deflate them.
Instead of a tough loss, they focused on an uplifting win.
And maybe its roots started with the gathering after Saturday’s game.
“Any time Jason GIambi talks, it’s good,” Francona said. “Not only do they listen but I listen. He’s got that kind of presence about him. Actually I was talking to G a lot during (Saturday’s) game about things, and I was glad he did it.”
Francona didn’t go into specifics about what Giambi said at the meeting -- “If they wanted you in there they’d have opened the doors,” Francona said casually -- but did talk generally.
“There’s a way to compete,” he said. “A way to fight back. Through all the ups and downs I think we’re one-and-a-half back. That’s not very far.”
Which proves the manager is aware of his team’s positioning, but not completely, which means he really does focus on the day-to-day thing. Because the Indians are two-and-a-half back.
But after two bad to the Tigers, the Indians have a chance to break even in the series. The starting pitcher for Detroit is Max Scherzer, who is 13-0, but the games are played for a reason.
“Like we were talking about (Saturday),” Swisher said. “We got nothing to lose, and if we go out there and play loose and play our type of baseball, stress-free, that's our best way of playing.”
