Indians Beat Jays 2-1
Posted June 29, 2010 11:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Cleveland Indians got a rare home win against the Toronto Blue Jays thanks to a gutsy call by manager Manny Acta.
Hulking designated hitter Travis Hafner scored the go-ahead run on Jayson Nix’s suicide squeeze bunt in the sixth inning, leading the Indians to a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Monday night.
Acta’s decision to call for the bunt took everyone by surprise, including Hafner and the Blue Jays. So when the six-foot-three, 240-pound Hafner saw the sign from third base coach Steve Smith, he did a double take.
“You get the sign, you’re like, ‘Did he really just give me that?'” Hafner said. “Then he tells you. You just have to time it right. When he starts going home, you take off. Nix put down a perfect bunt.”
Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero was also caught off guard.
“You never really expect it, especially with Hafner running at third,” Romero said. “It was smart baseball by them. It was perfectly executed.”
The Blue Jays swept three games in Cleveland in May and had won six of their last seven in Cleveland before Monday.
