Walk-off Gomer: 3 takeaways as Gomes’ 2-run shot lifts Tribe over Royals

2. Tying it all up

While Gomes’ walk-off would have been enough to win the game on it’s own, the Tribes’ eighth inning certainly put them in a better position to get a W as they tied things up.

Let’s back it up.

The first run of the game came in the fifth inning for Kansas City, as Jon Jay plated Cam Gallagher with an RBI triple to center that caused Cleveland’s Bradley Zimmer to crash into the outfield wall. Zimmer stayed in the game, but the Royals were on the board. The Indians answered in the eighth inning as Zimmer scored on a Jose Ramirez ground out to tie the game at one and pave the way for Gomes’ heroics in the ninth.

“I was even thankful that we were still playing. In the eighth, we had 75 feet of grounders, we tied it,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “So I was really happy then, because we’re sitting there with Cody (Allen) and we got Andrew (Miller) next. … We needed the win and we got a win. We obviously have some work to do offensively and we will. But, it’s nice to win a game like that.”

The run ended a 23-inning scoring drought, (the Tribe hasn’t scored since the first inning of the home opener on Friday) and was the longest since a 24-inning dry spell from Aug. 26-29, 2012.

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