Rays streak to home win on Choi’s walk-off HR

Ji-Man Choi hit a two-run walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays extended their home win streak to a franchise record 12 consecutive games with a dramatic 6-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night at Tropicana Field.

Choi hit a 0-1 fastball by reliever Brad Hand into the right-field bleachers for his eighth homer of the season, driving in Tommy Pham, who had extended the inning just before him with a weak ground single into right.

Jake Bauers also hit a two-run homer for the Rays. Jamie Schultz (2-0) picked up the win in relief.

Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley each doubled and had two hits and scored a run and Brandon Guyer had a two-run pinch-hit double for Cleveland, which lost for just the fourth time in its last 15 games at Tampa Bay. Hand (2-5) suffered his first blown save since coming from San Diego.

The Indians were in a position to win despite a rare poor outing by 18-game winner Corey Kluber, who recorded just five outs before getting chased, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk in the second inning. He was pulled after throwing a career-high 44 pitches in the inning.

It tied the shortest outing of the season for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who also went 1 2/3 innings when he allowed six runs in an 11-2 loss against the Cardinals at St. Louis on June 26.

The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the first when Brantley walked, took second on a wild pitch by Rays starter Diego Castillo, advanced to third on a groundout by Jose Ramirez and scored on a single to left by Edwin Encarnacion.

But Kluber, who struck out three of the first four batters he faced, then gave up a triple to Joey Wendle, who then scored on a single by Willy Adames. After Brandon Lowe struck out, Bauers made it 3-1 with his 10th homer of the season, a 411-foot drive to right-center. The Rays then loaded the bases with a double by Nick Ciuffo, a walk by Mallex Smith and a single by an infield single by Pham. Kluber then departed after hitting Choi to force in a run.

Cleveland cut it to 4-2 in the fifth on an RBI double by Ramirez, driving in Lindor, who had singled. The Indians then tied it in the sixth on a two-run pinch-hit double to center by Guyer.

Ramirez then scored the go-ahead run in the seventh for Cleveland when he was hit by a pitch by Chaz Roe, stole both second and third base, then beat Lowe's throw home on Yonder Alonso's grounder against a drawn-infield.