CLEVELAND _ After blowing the three-run lead they took into the seventh inning Tuesday night in an eventual loss to Toronto, it seemed it would be a good long while before the Yankees topped that for worst loss of the season.
Cameron Maybin and Aaron Hicks saved them from topping it five days later.
After blowing all of the five-run lead built in the second inning, then Aroldis Chapman and Didi Gregorius teaming to blow a one-run edge in the bottom of the ninth, Hicks' RBI double brought in Maybin in the 10th to allow the Yankees to escape with a 7-6 victory over the Indians in front of 29,028 at Progressive Field.
The win kept the Yankees (40-24) from a three-game sweep at the hands of the Indians (33-32) and completed a 2-4 trip that started with a series loss to the Blue Jays.
Maybin started the 10th-inning rally against veteran left-hander Oliver Perez with one-out double and came in on Hicks' two-out liner to center.
Stephen Tarpley, called up earlier in the day when Domingo German landed on the injured list with a left hip flexor strain, recorded his first career big-league save with a perfect bottom half.
Luke Voit got things going in the ninth with a single with one out against Cleveland right-hander Adam Cimber. Gary Sanchez doubled and, after an intentional walk to Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier hit a sacrifice fly to center to make it 6-5.
Chapman allowed a leadoff single to Jose Ramirez in the bottom of the ninth, then threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt for an error. Roberto Perez walked and was replaced by pinch runner Tyler Naquin. But Jake Bauers, who homered to tie it in the eighth, bunted a softly liner to Voit for the first out. Chapman settled, retiring Kevin Plawecki on a fly out and inducing a grounder off the bat of Francisco Lindor. But Didi Gregorius, who had the day off but was inserted for defense, booted it, which brought in Ramirez to tie it at 6.
Frazier, who has done significant damage to his trade value of late, according to a dozen opposing team executives and scouts polled over the last seven days, boosted it a bit at the plate, finishing a solid trip offensively, going 2-for-3 with a walk Sunday.
Tommy Kahnle and, to a far lesser extent, Adam Ottavino brought the Indians back.
Kahnle, who brought a 1.48 ERA in 28 games, came on in the sixth with a 5-0 lead and Leonys Martin hit the first pitch he saw to right-center for his eighth homer. Oscar Mercado singled with one out, a wild pitch moved him to second and Carlos Santana's RBI single made it 5-2. Mike Freeman, who replaced Jason Kipnis in the field in the top half of the sixth, then took a 2-and-0 fastball opposite field to left, his first homer making it 5-4.
Bauers, who came in hitting .211 with six homers, tied it with two outs in the seventh off Ottavino, hammering a 3-and-0 fastball to center. It was the first run allowed by Ottavino since April 22, a span of 18 appearances.
Shane Bieber struck out the side in the first on 12 pitches _ getting DJ LeMahieu on a slider, Aaron Hicks on a curveball and Voit on a fastball. That gave Bieber 95 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings this season.
And that concluded the dominant portion of the afternoon for Bieber, who did retire the first two batters of the second then completely unraveled.
Frazier singled with two outs and Brett Gardner jumped on a first-pitch fastball, driving it an estimated 430 feet to right-center, his ninth homer making it 2-0, the third straight game here the Yankees surged ahead 2-0 in the early innings.
Unlike the previous games, they added on.
Gio Urshela, who started his career with the Indians, walked and Maybin improved to 11 for his last 26 with a single. Up came LeMahieu, who, naturally, delivered an RBI single to center to make it 3-0 and improved the second baseman to 27-for-54 with 32 RBIs with RISP this season. Bieber's 35th pitch of the inning resulted in a Hicks walk and pitch No. 36, his last, resulted in Voit scalding a fastball to right, the two-run double making it 5-0. '
The Yankees did not add on again, not until the ninth.
