Yankees outlast Indians, rally late | Rapid reaction

The Yankees beat the Indians, 7-4, thanks to a few late runs and a not-so-great effort from Cleveland ace Corey Kluber.

CLEVELAND — The next time Luis Severino and Corey Kluber see each other it will be at Monday’s All-Star Game. 

Neither much looked the part of an ace Thursday. Considering the Yankees and Indians boast two of the most frightening offenses in baseball, their struggles weren’t the most shocking.

So it was up to the bats, and for the Yankees, they came through late in a 7-4 win over the Indians at Progressive Field on Thursday night.

Aaron Hicks’ eighth-inning RBI double was the backbreaker. It came on Kluber’s 114th and final pitch of the night, a full-count rocket over the center fielder’s head and off the wall. It scored Didi Gregorius from first base to put the Yankees ahead, 5-4.

They never trailed again. 

What it means

The Yankees improved to 61-31. The Indians fell to 50-42 and remained well ahead in the American League Central.

The Yankees started the day 3 1/2 games behind in the AL East the surging Red Sox, who had entered Thursday winners of nine straight.

The Yankees won their second straight game. They haven’t won more than two in a row since winning four straight games from June 18-21.

What pitching duel?

Severino gave up four runs in five innings. Kluber went 7 1/3 innings, but surrendered six runs on eight hits, nine strikeouts and two walks.

Four Yankees relievers combined to hold Cleveland scoreless over the last four innings.

For Severino, it was his first time surrendering more than three runs in a start since the Red Sox rocked him for five runs in five innings April 10 at Fenway Park. The previous time Severino faced the Indians, he had shut them down, surrendering just three runs in seven innings in Game 4 of the AL Division Series.

Severino, his command uncharacteristically off, gave up nine hits and one walk while striking out only one. It was by far Severino’s lowest strikeout total of the season. HIs previous lowest was five, which he had done three times.

Back and forth

After Hicks’ double in the eighth, he stole third base on reliever Oliver Perez and his slow delivery to the plate. That put him in position to score easily on Greg Bird’s sacrifice fly to left field and increase the Yankees’ cushion to 6-4.

Gardner’s second homer of the game clanked off the right field foul pole. It was a solo job and it came off lefty reliever Tyler Olson, a former Yankee. That put the Yankees ahead, 7-4.

The Yankees weren’t without chances earlier.

In the fourth, they had the bases loaded with no outs, but after Austin Romine struck out, Neil Walker got a serious dose of bad luck. He hit a screaming line drive down the first base line, which Yonder Alonso snagged. He immediately tagged first with Andujar well off the bag to end the inning.

The Yankees fell behind quickly, 2-0, when it was clear Severino wasn’t at his best. Two pitches into the game, Francisco Lindor ripped a double, and then Jose Ramirez singled him in with one out. Edin Encarnacion followed in the next at-bat with a solo shot, his 21st of the season.

They made it back in the third. Brett Gardner’s line-drive home run made it over the right-field walk in an eye blink, scoring Miguel Andujar to tie it at 2-all.

The Yankees fell back down when Yonder Alonso clubbed an RBI single to bring home Michale Brantley, but in the fourth, Gregorius’ solo shot to deep center field and Greg Bird’s RBI, line-drive double to right field brought in Giancarlo Stanton, who had singled.

Also in the fourth, Aaron Hicks put down what appeared to be a sacrifice bunt, meant to move Stanton from first base to second. But Cleveland catcher Yan Gomes made a bad throw to second base, the ball skipping into center field. Hicks was safe, Stanton went to third, and Gomes go the error.

It was 4-3 Yankees until Ramirez torched a 99-mph fastball from Severino for a solo homer to right field.

Next

Yankees righty Domingo German (2-4, 5.06 ERA) vs. Indians righty Shane Bieber (4-1, 3.47 ERA) at 7:10 p.m. at Progressive Field.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.