David Huff and the Indians were the comeback kids Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.
Not every victory deserves an airborne celebration, but certainly no one could blame Jason Donald (left) and Trevor Crowe for enjoying Saturday's 13-11 comeback win.NEW YORK -- It looked bad, really bad. Then it looked good, really good.
Saturday was that kind of day for left-hander David Huff and the Indians.
In the third inning, Huff was hit above the left ear by a line drive off the bat of Alex Rodriguez. Teammate Trevor Crowe said he feared for Huff's life.
Huff was driven off the field on a stretcher as 46,599 fans applauded his thumb's-up signal while strapped to a backboard. As Huff was on the way to New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center, the Indians were busy falling behind the Yankees, 10-4.
They each came back in style.
The Indians scored seven runs in the seventh inning to shock the Yankees, 13-11, in a game that promised to never end. It lasted 4 hours and 22 minutes.
Huff returned to the stadium in the eighth or ninth inning, but stayed in the trainer's room. When traveling secretary Mike Seghi saw him, he said, "You must really have a hard head."
Huff just smiled.
There was no such levity in the third when Huff lay face down on the mound while Rodriguez's liner was headed into right field for a RBI double. The ball was hit so hard that it was still traveling on a line after hitting Huff.
"That was really scary," said Crowe. "That's one of the few times on a baseball field I've ever feared for someone's life. A-Rod hit such a bullet and David didn't get his glove up at all. I think everyone that was gathered around the mound as very fearful something bad had happened."
The CAT scan was negative. Manager Manny Acta said Huff showed no signs of a concussion, but the Indians medical staff wanted to wait to see how he responded Saturday night before saying anything for certain.
"It was an eventful day," said Acta.
Jason Donald's two-run double put the Indians ahead, 11-10 in the seventh inning. The Indians trailed by scores of 9-3 and 10-4. They were facing CC Sabathia and looked thoroughly beaten.
"In the dugout, you could feel something was going to happen," said catcher Lou Marson, who had three doubles and three RBI. "We just kept talking about chipping away."
The Indians made it 10-4 on Austin Kearns' RBI single in the fourth. It was 10-5 on Marson's second double in the sixth.
In the seventh, with Sabathia gone after six innings, all the chipping away created a hole in the Yankees' bullpen.
David Robertson relieved Sabathia, but hit Crowe to start the inning. Crowe stole second, but Shin-Soo Choo flied out to left. Kearns made it 10-6 with his third single of the game. Robertson had to leave with back tightness and Sergio Mitre relieved. He walked Jhonny Peralta and was replaced by Damaso Marte to face pinch-hitter Russell Branyan.
Marte retired Branyan and manager Joe Girardi called for his fourth reliever of the inning, Joba Chamberlain. The hole was about to open.
Mark Grudzielanek singled home Kearns to make it 10-7. Matt LaPorta walked to load the bases. Marson, who had four doubles coming into the game, hit his third of the day to make it 10-9. Jason Donald put the Tribe ahead to stay with a two-run double to right. Crowe made it 12-10 with an RBI single.
The Indians believe Marson, LaPorta, Donald and Crowe are their future. They were a combined 7-for-17 with six RBI.
"That's what we're envisioning here," said Acta. "We want to see those kids blend and mesh someday and fight every single night against a good club like that one."
Aaron Laffey, with the Yankees leading, 2-0, relieved Huff with one out in the third. He retired Robinson Cano on a sacrifice fly and Marcus Thames on a grounder, but came apart in the fourth when the Yankees scored six runs to take a 9-3 lead.
"First and foremost I was worried about David," said Laffey. "It was a tough situation to go in. After the first two-thirds of an inning, I thought it was going to be an alright day. I was throwing strikes, but that completely stopped in the next inning."
Branyan stretched the lead to 13-10 with a second-deck homer to right with two out in the eighth. It was his second homer in as many days and his sixth of the season.
Kerry Wood, after two innings of scoreless relief by Chris Perez, pitched the ninth for his second save despite giving up an RBI double to Derek Jeter.