CLEVELAND -- It was a fitting way for the Indians' wildest game of the year to end.Ryan Raburn thrust his arms into the air in the batter's box, grinning wide after Tigers reliever Al Alburquerque was called for a balk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning. Cleveland's players poured from the dugout to meet Asdrubal Cabrera as he crossed the plate, completing an improbable 11-10 balk-off win over Detroit on Wednesday at Progressive Field. 
The victory also finished off a sweep of a three-game series with the Tigers, cutting Cleveland's deficit to 7 1/2 games in the division standings. That is still a considerable hill to climb for the Tribe, but slowing Detroit's high-powered lineup and potent pitching was an encouraging step for a team trying to find its footing.It took nine pitchers and 13 innings, but the Indians notched their first three-game sweep of the season against any opponent. Heading into this series, Cleveland had dropped five of six and endured an overwhelming brooming at the hands of the A's. The Indians proceeded to use their meeting with their rivals from the Motor City as a way to hopefully revive their season.Right-hander Zach McAllister, who has turned in a 9.51 ERA over his past six starts, struggled again in an abbreviated two-inning showing for Cleveland. Detroit struck for four runs in a first inning -- helped along by a throwing error by third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall -- that was highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of J.D. Martinez.After McAllister surrendered a leadoff home run to Victor Martinez in the third and then issued a walk, Cleveland manager Terry Francona turned to his bullpen. The Indians' lineup, meanwhile, did all it could to bail McAllister out in a clash with last summer's American League Cy Young Award winner, Max Scherzer.David Murphy delivered a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the first inning and the Indians piled on five more runs in the second. Through two frames, Scherzer had allowed half as many runs (six) as he had in 59 innings (12) entering his outing against the Tribe. Within Cleveland's second-inning push, Michael Brantley came through with a game-tying two-run single.With that hit, Brantley's hitting streak at Progressive Field reached 18 games, tying him with Roberto Alomar (2000) and Kenny Lofton (1996) for the longest such run by a Cleveland hitter in the stadium's history.In the third inning, Chisenhall led off by lofting a 2-0 pitch from Scherzer high over right field, where the wind carried it over the wall for his first home run of the season. That blast gave Cleveland a 7-5 lead, but Detroit was able to answer against the Tribe bullpen.Lefty Marc Rzepczynski yielded two runs in the fifth inning and John Axford was charged with another pair (one earned) in the eighth. The latter breakthrough by Detroit was aided by a missed-catch error by Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.With no outs and runners on first and second, Indians second baseman Mike Aviles gloved a grounder from Victor Martinez and quickly fired it to Cabrera. The shortstop missed the ball, which rolled into shallow left field to allow Ian Kinsler to score. J.D. Martinez added an RBI single up the middle off Axford to put the Indians behind, 9-7.Scherzer fought his way through seven innings, in which he was charged with seven runs on 12 hits en route to a no-decision. The right-hander was in line for an unlikely win until the ninth, when Detroit closer Joe Nathan coughed up a two-run blast to Murphy to pull the game into a 9-9 deadlock.In the top of the 13th, Detroit catcher Alex Avila drilled the first pitch he received from Josh Tomlin -- originally Cleveland's scheduled starter for Thursday -- over the wall in right for a go-ahead home run. Undeterred, the Indians rallied yet again in the bottom of the inning, when Brantley slashed a pitch from Phil Coke into left for a game-tying, RBI single.Three batters later, Raburn stepped to the plate with two outs and the bags full, looking to come through with a clutch swing at a critical moment. Instead, Alburquerque made an illegal turn of his hips on the mound and home-plate umpire Tim Timmons did not hesitate to call the balk, setting off a celebration as the plate for the Tribe.Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
The victory also finished off a sweep of a three-game series with the Tigers, cutting Cleveland's deficit to 7 1/2 games in the division standings. That is still a considerable hill to climb for the Tribe, but slowing Detroit's high-powered lineup and potent pitching was an encouraging step for a team trying to find its footing.It took nine pitchers and 13 innings, but the Indians notched their first three-game sweep of the season against any opponent. Heading into this series, Cleveland had dropped five of six and endured an overwhelming brooming at the hands of the A's. The Indians proceeded to use their meeting with their rivals from the Motor City as a way to hopefully revive their season.Right-hander Zach McAllister, who has turned in a 9.51 ERA over his past six starts, struggled again in an abbreviated two-inning showing for Cleveland. Detroit struck for four runs in a first inning -- helped along by a throwing error by third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall -- that was highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of J.D. Martinez.After McAllister surrendered a leadoff home run to Victor Martinez in the third and then issued a walk, Cleveland manager Terry Francona turned to his bullpen. The Indians' lineup, meanwhile, did all it could to bail McAllister out in a clash with last summer's American League Cy Young Award winner, Max Scherzer.David Murphy delivered a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the first inning and the Indians piled on five more runs in the second. Through two frames, Scherzer had allowed half as many runs (six) as he had in 59 innings (12) entering his outing against the Tribe. Within Cleveland's second-inning push, Michael Brantley came through with a game-tying two-run single.With that hit, Brantley's hitting streak at Progressive Field reached 18 games, tying him with Roberto Alomar (2000) and Kenny Lofton (1996) for the longest such run by a Cleveland hitter in the stadium's history.In the third inning, Chisenhall led off by lofting a 2-0 pitch from Scherzer high over right field, where the wind carried it over the wall for his first home run of the season. That blast gave Cleveland a 7-5 lead, but Detroit was able to answer against the Tribe bullpen.Lefty Marc Rzepczynski yielded two runs in the fifth inning and John Axford was charged with another pair (one earned) in the eighth. The latter breakthrough by Detroit was aided by a missed-catch error by Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.With no outs and runners on first and second, Indians second baseman Mike Aviles gloved a grounder from Victor Martinez and quickly fired it to Cabrera. The shortstop missed the ball, which rolled into shallow left field to allow Ian Kinsler to score. J.D. Martinez added an RBI single up the middle off Axford to put the Indians behind, 9-7.Scherzer fought his way through seven innings, in which he was charged with seven runs on 12 hits en route to a no-decision. The right-hander was in line for an unlikely win until the ninth, when Detroit closer Joe Nathan coughed up a two-run blast to Murphy to pull the game into a 9-9 deadlock.In the top of the 13th, Detroit catcher Alex Avila drilled the first pitch he received from Josh Tomlin -- originally Cleveland's scheduled starter for Thursday -- over the wall in right for a go-ahead home run. Undeterred, the Indians rallied yet again in the bottom of the inning, when Brantley slashed a pitch from Phil Coke into left for a game-tying, RBI single.Three batters later, Raburn stepped to the plate with two outs and the bags full, looking to come through with a clutch swing at a critical moment. Instead, Alburquerque made an illegal turn of his hips on the mound and home-plate umpire Tim Timmons did not hesitate to call the balk, setting off a celebration as the plate for the Tribe.Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
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