Cleveland Baseball Insider

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

CLEVELAND-- The 14,240 fans that braved the cold (32 degrees at game time to be exact, the coldest first pitch ever recorded at Progressive Field) got to

Ashley Bastock

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

CLEVELAND-- The 14,240 fans that braved the cold (32 degrees at game time to be exact, the coldest first pitch ever recorded at Progressive Field) got to witness a walk-off Indians win on Sunday as they topped the Kansas City Royals, 3-1.

The deciding at-bat came from Yan Gomes, (who recorded the Indians' last walk-off hit in Game 2 of their 2017 ALDS) as he sent a fastball into the bleachers.

With the win, the Tribe improve to 4-5 on the year and will welcome the Detroit Tigers to town tomorrow for a four-game set. For now, here are three takeaways from the first walk-off win of the year.

1. Walk-0ff Gomer

Yes it was the first walk-off win of the year for the Tribe, and what a way to do it. All afternoon, balls hit to left field had been dying because of the wind and cold, but Gomes' swing had just enough behind it to send the ball into the bleachers.

The homer came on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, on a 96 mph four-seam fastball low in the zone:

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Sunday was Gomes' fourth career walk-off plate appearance, and his third home run. As his at-bat went on, Gomes said he felt like he was getting Royals pitcher Brandon Maurer right where he wanted him.

"Right there you’re really just trying to keep the line moving, man," Gomes said. "As the at-bat went on, I felt like I was getting more and more on him. Once you’re 3-2 you’re just trying to get shortened up trying to get a good pitch. The more I kept fouling off, I was like man I’m getting on him, I’m getting on him. And then I got something maybe a little lower and put a good swing on it."

Along with the walk-off, Gomes also caught Jorge Soler stealing in the fourth and picked off Mike Moustakas in the sixth to record two assists as well. 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. 3. Cloudy with a chance of Sunshine Mike Clevinger did not factor into the decision as the Indians were down 1-0 when he exited the game in the eighth inning. His final line was four strikeouts, two walks, nine hits and one earned run through seven and one-third innings. Of his 110 pitches, 73 were strikes. The innings and total pitches were both career highs for Clevinger. "It's early, but it's definitely a step in the right direction," Clevinger said when asked about his start. "That's been the biggest goal this offseason, was to feel confident and comfortable and strong going into that 100 pitch count." Cody Allen got the win on the mound after pitching the ninth inning and recording two strikeouts.

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BONUS: Bradley Zimmer's throw

In case you missed in, Bradley Zimmer made a pretty incredible throw in the third inning, as he threw out Kansas City's Jon Jay at the plate to end the inning. Watch it above.

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Ashley Bastock
ASHLEY BASTOCK

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