NEW YORK — Cleveland pitcher David Huff was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Alex Rodriguez and was recovering in a hospital when the Indians rallied from a big deficit to beat the New York Yankees 13-11 Saturday.
Huff was face down on the mound for six minutes and gave a thumbs-up sign to the crowd as he carted off the field. He was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where a CT scan was negative.
The Indians said Huff never lost consciousness, nor did he have memory loss. He was to remain at the hospital for several hours as a precaution.
The ball caromed off Huff's head into right field for an RBI double, a frightening scene that shook players on both sides. Rodriguez put both hands to his helmet as he pulled into second base, then headed straight toward the mound.
Down 10-4 in the sixth inning to CC Sabathia, the Indians came back to win in their highest-scoring game of the season.
Lou Marson hit three doubles, including a key shot off Joba Chamberlain (1-3) in a seven-run seventh, and Russell Branyan homered for the second straight day.
Rafael Perez (1-0) pitched an inning in a game that took 4 hours, 22 minutes. Kerry Wood, the last of 12 pitchers that teams combined to use, gave up an RBI double to Derek Jeter in the ninth but finished for his second save.
Yankees reliever Dave Robertson left in mid-game because of a mild lower back strain and is day to day. Huff, however, certainly was the pitcher that most everyone was thinking about.
With runners on first and second and one out in the third, Rodriguez hit a liner that struck above Huff's left ear. The crowd let out a collective "Oooh," as Huff fell — the fans would repeat the cry as they watched a replay during the nine-minute delay.
Huff's teammates and trainers from both teams ran to the mound. Rodriguez took a knee several feet behind the mound and slammed his helmet. He stayed there for about a minute with his head bowed before going to the Yankees dugout.
The left-handed Huff lay motionless on his stomach for more than a minute before trainers helped him onto his back. Oranged-shirted medics then rolled Huff onto a board and placed him in a neck brace.
Huff gave a thumbs up two times and fully extended his arm and waved to the crowd of 49,599, which in turn gave him a sustained ovation as he was driven through the center-field gate to a waiting ambulance.
Trailing 3-0, the Indians scored three runs off Sabathia in the fourth after the Yankees ace appeared spooked by a grounder that bounced off his foot for a single so soon after Huff was struck. The Yankees scored six runs off Huff's replacement, Aaron Laffey, in the bottom half and held a 9-3 lead.
But Cleveland scored runs in the fifth and sixth, then piled on seven more in the seventh against four relievers to take the lead. Marson and Jason Donald hit two-run doubles for an 11-10 lead and Trevor Crowe added an RBI single.
The Indians responded with three runs to tie it 3-all in the fourth, with help from Austin Kearns' grounder that hit off Sabathia's right foot and rolled between first and second to the grass in right field.
Sabathia raised his hands in disbelief, shook his foot and went back to work but struggled with his control.
Robinson Cano and Rodriguez drove in three runs apiece for New York.
Sabathia left after six innings, having given up five runs and seven hits. He has not won in five starts since May 3, leaving with the lead three times.
Notes
Jeter made his big league debut on May 29, 1995, at Seattle. He went 0-for-5. On Saturday, Jeter went 3-for-5 and tied Bernie Williams for second in Yanks history with his 449th double. … The Yankees honored six members of the Tuskegee Airmen, the United States' first black fighter pilot group in World War II. .. Cleveland's Travis Hafner, who has reached base in 19 straight games, was given the day off.