Edwin Encarnacion walked to put runners on first and second, and Bruce, a recent arrival from the New York Mets, ripped a 2-0 pitch into the right-field corner.

Bruce reached second base and was quickly mobbed by his teammates, who doused him with ice water and talcum powder while tearing the front of his jersey and Progressive Field shook as if the Indians had just won a play0ff game in October.

The Indians, down to their last strike, rallied to tie it at 2-2 off Royals closer Kelvin Herrera, with Lindor delivering his shot off the left-field wall, just above the leap of four-time Gold Glove winner Alex Gordon, to score pinch-runner Erik Gonzalez from first.

Lindor's ball caromed off the wall and rolled slowly across the grass in left field, and hometown fans who have watched the Indians overpower teams for the past three weeks soon saw the AL Central leaders pull off their most dramatic victory this season.

The Indians entered the day tied with the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the second-longest Streak, and now only trail those 2016 Giants, who won 26 in a row -- all at home.