CLEVELAND — Following a 43-minute delay caused by incoming rain, the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees were only able to play 1.1 innings before heading to their respective clubhouses for another break at Progressive Field.
But not before the Indians were able to take a 1-0 lead.
After Carlos Carrasco tallied two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first, the Indians came to the plate looking to take an early lead while facing elimination in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series. A pair of back-to-back doubles off of Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka allowed Cleveland to do just that, with Jose Ramirez knocking in Cesar Hernandez to give the Indians a 1-0 lead in the pouring rain.
The game is expected to resume as quickly as possible with the tarp coming off at 8:25 p.m. ET.
Cleveland's early lead marked its first of the American League Wild Card Series after the Yankees won Game 1 of the best-of-three series on Tuesday by a score of 12-3. The Wild Card series comes as a part of MLB's expanded postseason, which included eight teams in both leagues squaring off in a best-of-three series played at the higher seed's home ballpark.
Winners in the Wild Card Series will then advance to the following MLB neutral site "bubble" locations, where they will take part in a traditional postseason format beginning with next week's Division Series:
- America League Division Series: San Diego, California, and Los Angeles, California
- National League Division Series: Arlington, Texas and Houston, Texas
- American League Championship Series: San Diego, California
- National League Championship Series: Arlington, Texas
- World Series: Arlington, Texas
Should the Indians win on Wednesday, it would force a winner-take-all Game 3 at Progressive Field on Thursday.