CLEVELAND -- Say it ain't so, Joe!
The Yankees had the Cleveland Indians down and seemingly out Friday in Game 2 of their American League Division Series.
Any time the Yankees are up five runs in the sixth, it should be game over with all those great arms that they have in their bullpen.
This could have been and probably should have been a Yankees victory that sent them back to New York tied in this best-of-five that nobody thinks they can win.
They blew it, losing 9-8 in 13 wild innings at Progressive Field.
Blame some of the Yankees' great relief options ... Chad Green, David Robertson and losing pitcher Dellin Betances.
Blame lovable utility infielder Ronald Torreyes for coming off the bench to run for Frazier at second base with nobody out in the 11th inning and getting picked off.
Blame third baseman Todd Frazier for two early errors that contributed to three Indians runs.
And blame the manager.
Before the Indians ended this five-hour, eight-minute marathon on a walk-off hit by Yan Gomes, Yankees manager Joe Girardi blew a chance to prevent the blowup by passing on using his manager challenge.
Just before Francisco Lindor hit a sixth-inning grand slam off Green to turn an 8-3 Yankees lead into a one-run game, pinch-hitter Lonnie Chisenhall reached on a questionable hit by pitch to load the bases with two down.
Television replays seemed to indicate that Green's 1-2 pitch clipped the knob of Chisenhall's bat as well as his arm, and because Sanchez caught the ball, plate umpire Dan Iassogna could have ruled this an inning-ending strikeout.
Sanchez yelled for manager Joe Girardi to use his replay challenge, but Girardi opted against it and Chisenhall took first base.
Lindor promptly cleared the bases with a homer just inside the right flag pole to pull the Indians to within a run at 8-7.
Two innings later, the game was tied 8-8 when Game 1 hero Jay Bruce hit an opposite-field homer over the high wall in left-center field off Robertson.
From there, reliever Tommy Kahnle, Aroldis Chapman and Betances got the Yankees through 12.
But after working two scoreless innings, Betances issued a leadoff walk in the 13th to Austin Jackson, who stole second two pitches later to put the winning run in scoring position with nobody out.
Gomes then ended the game on a line single to left that ended a 10-pitch at-bat.
So now the Yankees must win three in a row to take the series from a club that is 35-4 in their last 39 games.
Not many people gave the Yankees a chance in Game 2.
Beat Indians ace Corey Kluber?
Good luck.
This is a stud righty who is going to win the AL Cy Young, a guy who faced the Yankees twice in the regular season and manhandled them both times.
"His stuff was pretty good," Girardi said in his office three hours before the first pitch. "Today's a new day."
Was it ever.
Kluber's command was off and he was pummeled to his worst start in five years, six runs allowed over 2 1/2 innings.
With the game tied 3-3 in the third, Aaron Hicks hit a three-run homer to end Kluber's day.
The next inning, Greg Bird homered with a runner on facing Mike Clevinger to make it an 8-3 game.
Earlier, Sanchez belted a two-run, first-inning homer off Kluber, but the Indians were up 3-2 by the second inning thanks to two errors by Frazier and a slow start by left-hander CC Sabathia.
NOTABLE
-- Only two Yankees postseason games have lasted more innings.
-- Aaron Judge was 0-for-3 with three walks and a strikeout. He's now 0-for-7 with five strikeouts for the series.
-- Frazier was 3-for-4 at the plate, but he ignited the Indians' two-run, first-inning rally by letting Lindor's leadoff grounder get by him for an error and his wild throw in the second led to Cleveland taking a short-lived 3-2 lead.
-- Winning pitcher Josh Tomlin worked two scoreless innings. The righty had been scheduled start Game 4. If the series lasts that long, the Indians will use someone else.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday: Cleveland Indians at Yankees, ALDS Game 4, if necessary, 7:38 p.m., Fox Sports 1. RHP Carlos Carrasco (18-6, 3.29) vs. RHP Masahiro Tanaka (13-12, 4.74).
Monday: Cleveland Indians at Yankees, ALDS Game 4, if necessary, TBA, Fox Sports 1. TBA vs. RHP Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98).
Wednesday: Yankees at Cleveland Indians, ALDS Game 5, if necessary, TBA, Fox Sports 1. RHP Sonny Gray (10-12, 3.55) vs. RHP Corey Kluber (18-4, 2.25).
Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.