Major League Baseball
NY Yankees 2, Cleveland 1
When: 7:10 PM ET, Saturday, August 5, 2017
Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Temperature: 73°
Umpires: Home - Angel Hernandez, 1B - John Tumpane, 2B - Sean Barber, 3B - Ted Barrett
Attendance: 34651

CLEVELAND -- The last time Aroldis Chapman was on the mound at Progressive Field, it did not go well. Pitching for the Chicago Cubs, Chapman got a blown save when he gave up a two-run game-tying home run to Cleveland's Rajai Davis in the eighth inning of Game 7 of last year's World Series.

Saturday night the stakes weren't nearly as high, but the drama was.

Chapman pitched a shaky ninth inning for the save as New York Yankees beat the Indians 2-1.

Chase Headley's solo home run in the eighth inning broke a tie as the Yankees snapped a four-game skid.

With one out in the eighth, Headley hit an 0-1 pitch from reliever Zach McAllister (1-1) over the wall in right field for his sixth home run.

"That was a huge hit by Chase," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

"When I hit it, I wasn't sure I got enough of it for it to get out, but fortunately I did," said Headley. "It's a big win for us. We haven't been swinging the bats great. Part of it is us, but part of it is Cleveland's pitching."

David Robertson (5-2) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to get the win. Chapman picked up his 14th save, but it was a bumpy ride.

Michael Brantley led off the Indians' ninth inning with a single, and Jose Ramirez hit a towering drive to left field that gave many flashbacks to Davis' homer off Chapman in the World Series.

"I thought it was going to hit the wall," Chapman said.

It didn't. Left fielder Brett Gardner made a leaping catch at the wall for the first out. Asked if he thought about Davis' Game 7 home run last year, Chapman said, "No. This was just another game."

Edwin Encarnacion, the next hitter, hit a soft liner into shallow right field, but second baseman Ronald Torreyes, with his back to the infield, made a diving catch for the second out.

Carlos Santana and Chapman then had an extended battle, during which Santana hit a ball off the right field wall that was only a foot foul. Chapman finally ended his 21-pitch inning by striking out Santana on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.

"The Indians are really good," Girardi said. "They saw plenty of Chappy last year. That was a tough at bat by Santana."

Cleveland's only run came on a solo homer by Santana off Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery in the second inning.

Both starting pitchers were outstanding. Cleveland starter Danny Salazar pitched seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits with three walks and a career-high 12 strikeouts. Salazar and three relievers combined for 15 strikeouts.

Salazar was strong throughout. In his last inning, the seventh, he struck out the side in order.

"It's good to see," said Indians manager Terry Francona. "Especially late in the game like that. When he's nearing the end of the game, his last pitch I think was 98 (mph), and there was some purpose behind it. That was good to see."

Montgomery yielded one run on three hits with seven strikeouts, but was removed from the game after five innings, and only 65 pitches.

"It was a tough decision to take him out, but that's how we're built," said Girardi.

"We talked about going to the bullpen early, but I was a little disappointed I was pulled," Montgomery said. "But the pen was great, we got the win, so the plan worked."

Gardner led off the game by drawing a walk. Salazar struck out Headley, but Aaron Judge singled to left, moving Gardner to second. Didi Gregorius bounced a double off the wall in center field, scoring Gardner with the first run of the game.

With one out in the bottom of the second, however, Santana hit a line drive that just made it over the wall in left field for a solo home run. Santana's 16th homer of the year tied the game at 1.

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Indians unveiled a statue of Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau outside of Progressive Field. Boudreau, who became the team's player/manager in 1942 at the age of 24, managed the Indians to their last World Series championship in 1948, the year he was also voted the American League's Most Valuable Player. ... Indians 2B Jason Kipnis will be activated off the disabled list Sunday. Kipnis has been on the DL since July 9 with a strained right hamstring. ... Indians OF Abraham Almonte was recalled from Triple-A Columbus, and RHP Adam Plutko was optioned to Columbus. ... Yankees' RHP Chad Green's 1.41 ERA leads all American League relievers. ... RHP Luis Severino, who will start Sunday for the Yankees, is undefeated in his last five starts, going 3-0 with a 1.36 ERA.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
NY Yankees   Cleveland
Jordan Montgomery Player Danny Salazar
No Decision W/L No Decision
5.0 IP 7.0
7 Strikeouts 12
3 Hits 4
1.80 ERA 1.29
Hitting
NY Yankees   Cleveland
Didi Gregorius Player Michael Brantley
2 Hits 2
1 RBI 0
0 HR 0
4 TB 2
.500 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
NY Yankees 5 1 10 .161 12 15 2 4 0 0
Cleveland 6 1 10 .182 14 12 1 0 0 0