Indians Win AL-Record 21st Straight Game
The Indians beat the Tigers 5-3 to win their 21st straight game, which is a new American League record and ties the 1935 Cubs for the longest win streak in Major League Baseball history.
The 1916 Giants went 27 games without a loss but had a tie mixed in.
To win their 21st straight, the Tigers jumped ahead in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Jeimer Candelario. But as has been the case throughout this remarkable win streak, the Indians didn't trail for long—Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first to give the Indians a 3-1 lead.
Edwin Encarnacion added to Cleveland's advantage with an RBI single in the third inning before the Tigers added two in the sixth to trim the Indians' lead to 4-3.
Some insurance came from an unlikely source when the normally light-hitting catcher Roberto Perez hit his sixth homer of the season. Unlikely heroes are going to have to step up if a team is to win 21 games in a row, and that's exactly what happened on Wednesday.
Things got a bit nervy in the top of the eighth. With a man on first and one out, Indians reliever Bryan Shaw got John Hicks to ground a ball back to the mound. It seemed a momentum-killing double play was possible, but Shaw fumbled while trying to take the ball out of his glove and everyone was safe. Andrew Romine then grounded a ball to the hole between shortstop and third, but Giovanny Urshela, who came on as a defensive substitute, made a diving play and threw out a runner at second. JaCoby Jones then grounded to Urshela again, who made a strong throw to first to record the third out.
In the bottom of the eighth, Carlos Santana hit a ball of the center field wall before trying making an ill-advised attempt to turn a triple into an inside-the-park home run—Santana was out by at least 25 feet.
Cody Allen came on to pitch a one-two-three ninth inning, and the Indians had secured their place in the record books.
The Indians have hit 41 home runs and, incredibly, only gave up 35 runs during the streak. The Indians shut out their opponents seven times, which is equal to or more shutouts than 18 teams have had all season.
