"This doesn't really happen anywhere," Jay Bruce said, meaning a team so far up in the standings finding so much to play for on a nightly basis this close to the end of the season.

So in the interest of economy, baseball's hottest team decided improbably, unbelievably to send a crowd of 30,864 home with both.

Consider it payback for the "Let's Go Tribe" chant that erupted in the ninth before Lindor doubled home the tying run with two outs and two strikes.

The last song of the impromptu concert - "Cleveland Rocks" - followed Bruce's game-winning double into the right field corner against shell-shocked Royals reliever Brandon Maurer.

Francona saw it as an experience for the younger players called up in September to feel the ballpark rocking, a crowd hanging on every pitch.