Didi Gregorius had two hits, including a solo homer, and scored twice as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 on Thursday night.
Chase Headley added two singles and drove in the go-ahead run for the Yankees, who improved to 3-4 on their 10-game trip. Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits and an RBI apiece.
Cleveland, which leads the American League Central, lost its second straight home game after 13 wins in a row at Progressive Field. It had the potential winning run on base with two outs in the ninth, but Tyler Naquin was thrown out on a close play at first.
Naquin was initially awarded an infield single — off the glove of first baseman Mark Teixeira — before the call was overturned on a challenge by New York manager Joe Girardi. Second baseman Starlin Castro's throw to pitcher Aroldis Chapman nipped him to the bag.
The Yankees scored three times in the sixth inning to take a 5-2 lead. Headley and Ellsbury had RBI singles, while Rob Refsnyder delivered a sacrifice fly that chased Indians starter Trevor Bauer (7-3).
Headley drove in Castro with a hit to right field, thanks to Girardi's first successful challenge. Castro was ruled out at home, but the replay showed that he slid under the tag of Indians catcher Chris Gimenez.
Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova (6-5) stopped a two-game losing streak and earned his first road victory since June 3, at Baltimore. He struck out six in 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs, in the opener of the four-game series.
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Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller followed and combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Chapman gave up two hits in the ninth before picking up his 17th save.
Naquin, a rookie, and Jason Kipnis homered in the third to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead. New York tied the game in the fifth when Gregorius belted his career-high 10th home run and Gardner had an RBI single.
Bauer suffered his first loss since May 21, surrendering five runs in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander was 4-0 with a 1.81 ERA in his previous eight outings, including five shutout innings of relief on July 1, at Toronto.
Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez, who has 695 career home runs, was not in the lineup for the second straight game. The three-time AL MVP is batting .220 with eight homers and 28 RBIs.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: DH Carlos Beltran (right hamstring tightness) did not play the field as Girardi attempts to manage his injury. Beltran was initially hurt on June 29, against Texas.
Indians: RHP Zach McAllister (right hip discomfort) was placed on the 15-day DL. He allowed four runs in 1/3 of an inning Wednesday in a 12-2 loss to Detroit.
UP NEXT
Yankees: RHP Chad Green earned his first major league win in his last outing, going six innings in a July 3 start at San Diego.
Indians: RHP Corey Kluber is 1-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three career starts against the Yankees. He last faced them on Aug. 9, 2014.
