CLEVELAND _ A four-run rally in the sixth inning by the Tampa Bay Rays led to a 5-3 loss for the Indians on Saturday night, but the lasting impression as it pertains to their postseason chances probably had more to do with the introduction of the new guy.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Indians showed new addition Josh Donaldson on the Progressive Field videoboard, prompting a standing ovation separate from the action on the field. Donaldson, now the biggest storyline for the Indians over the final month of the regular season, smiled and waved to his new fans.
Donaldson was expected to arrive in Cleveland in the early afternoon but didn't make it until closer to game time.
The Indians (77-58) have a commanding lead and will easily win their third consecutive American League Central crown, barring a disastrous September of historic proportions. How they configure their lineup, and the readiness of several key players _ Donaldson, Trevor Bauer, Cody Allen and Jason Kipnis, to name a few _ will take precedence over the next several weeks.
As for the game, the Indians led for much of the night until a sixth-inning rally was all the Rays (72-63) ended up needing. With starter Shane Bieber (8-3) still on the mound after five scoreless innings and holding a two-run lead, the Rays finally cracked the code.
Brandon Lowe led off the inning with a single and Joey Wendle followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Matt Duffy tied it with a two-run double to right field and, two batters later, Tommy Pham laced a double to center field to put the Rays on top 3-2.
Keven Kiermaier capped the rally with an RBI single to right field.
Earlier, the bottom of the order gave the Indians a 2-0 lead against Rays starter Blake Snell (17-5). Brandon Guyer reached on an error, and Melky Cabrera and Yan Gomes followed with back-to-back RBI doubles.
Gomes also did his part defensively to hold off the Rays by erasing two runners from the base paths. First, he nailed Willy Adames attempting to steal second base in the second inning and he then picked Ji-Man Choi off second base in the fourth after a double.
Reliever Jon Edwards, who had his contract selected by the Indians before Saturday's game, pitched in a major-league game for the first time since 2015 after missing the last two seasons because of reconstructive elbow surgery. The Rays loaded the bases against Edwards on two walks and a single, but he escaped the jam by inducing Jesus Sucre to ground out to third.
In the ninth, Lowe rocketed Josh Tomlin's first pitch of the night off the right-field foul pole for a solo home run.
Kipnis, who is now in limbo after the trade to acquire Donaldson, pinch-hit for Guyer in the bottom of the inning and dropped his bat with some extra style after he drilled a solo home run off the right-field foul pole. That made it 5-3, but Rays reliever Adam Kolarek induced Yonder Alonso into a weak groundout to end the game.
