Raburn lifts Indians with HR in 11th

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Ryan Raburn’s three-run homer in the 11th inning off Jason Frasor gave the Cleveland Indians a wild and sloppy 11-8 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

After Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santana singled off Frasor (0-2), Raburn pulled a 2-1 pitch onto the home-run porch in left to rescue the Indians, who blew a 7-1 lead and nearly lost to a Texas team that committed three errors and had three wild pitches.

As he neared home plate, Raburn flipped his helmet high into the air and was pummeled by his teammates who doused him with water as Cleveland’s fans celebrated.

It was the seventh walk-off win this season for the Indians, who began a crucial stretch of 14 of 17 games at home.

Bryan Shaw (1-2), Cleveland’s fifth reliever, stranded the go-ahead run at third in the 11th, and the Indians stayed within three games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central.

The Indians were in control, lost it and then needed Raburn’s dramatic homer to avoid a haunting loss.

Ian Kinsler had four RBIs and Nelson Cruz homered for the Rangers, who lost for the 10th time in 13 games.

Michael Bourn drove in three runs and Nick Swisher homered for Cleveland, which just returned from a disappointing trip to Minnesota and Seattle. The Indians were thrilled to be back at home, where they play their best ball.

Despite some inconsistent play, Cleveland is still close to the Tigers, and the Indians are hoping to avoid a repeat of their collapse last season, when they went 5-24 in August and fell from contention.

Down 7-1 in the fourth, the Rangers kept chipping away and caught the Indians in the eighth.

Texas scored one run in the fifth, two in the sixth and seventh and the Rangers tied it on Kinsler’s two-out, two-run single off Joe Smith.

David Murphy singled leading off, and one out later, Smith hit Elvis Andrus on the leg. Leonys Martin sacrificed and Kinsler fell behind 0-2 in the count before pushing a single through the right side to score Murphy and Andrus.

Texas’ comeback cost Indians starter Corey Kluber what appeared to be a routine win. He allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings, leaving with an 8-4 lead.

The Baseball Hall of Fame won’t be asking for any artifacts from this game. The teams combined for five errors and four wild pitches — three by the Rangers.

General manager Chris Antonetti said before the game that he would like to add a reliever before the July 31 trading deadline.

Indians closer Chris Perez was sharp, though. He pitched two perfect innings, the first time he’s gone that long since May 29, 2010.