[jg2977]

Harry Doyle (measured, content, a little amused):
“Well folks… if you like offense, you got your money’s worth today in Cleveland. Ten innings, nineteen runs, twenty hits by the home team alone — and the Indians finally get themselves back into this League Championship Series.”
Bob Costas:
“It was, in many ways, a throwback postseason game — long, relentless, and unyielding. Cleveland scored in nine of the ten innings, never allowing the Rays to exhale, never allowing Tampa Bay to feel safe despite holding the lead multiple times.”
Harry Doyle:
“And that’s the key, Bob. Tampa Bay hit. They really did. Rod Francia hit three home runs, and yet somehow… it wasn’t enough.”
Bob Costas:
“Because Cleveland answered almost every blow. A run in the first. A run in the second. Again in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth — and then, finally, the moment that decided the afternoon.”
Harry Doyle:
“Mike Amero… bottom of the tenth… two men on… and he sends everybody home.”
Bob Costas:
“A towering three-run home run off the 21-year-old Basilio Buso, ending a game that had stretched more than three hours in cold rain. Jacobs Field erupted — not just in joy, but in relief.”
Harry Doyle:
“This crowd waited a long time for that one.”
Bob Costas:
“And before that final swing, Cleveland’s offense had been remarkably democratic. Holloway with four hits. Mendez with three. Barrios with three. Lira with three. Amero didn’t even have the loudest line until the last pitch was thrown.”
Harry Doyle:
“They just kept coming, Bob. No big rally early. No knockout punch until the very end. Just… pressure. Constant pressure.”
Bob Costas:
“Pitching became survival. Neither starter escaped unscathed. The bullpens were tested. Tampa Bay used four pitchers, and the last of them simply ran out of margin.”
Harry Doyle:
“And now the series changes tone. Tampa Bay still leads two games to one — but Cleveland finally has proof they can beat this team.”
Bob Costas:
“In October, sometimes that belief is as important as the score.”
Harry Doyle:
“Final from Cleveland: Indians 11, Rays 8 — and suddenly, this series has a pulse.”