CLEVELAND -- Seth Smith struck as quickly as an approaching storm to give the Colorado Rockies a win they thought they already had.
With lightning flashing, thunder rattling and rain falling, Smith hit his second homer of the game to snap a ninth-inning tie as the Rockies held Cleveland hitless into the sixth, blew a lead, then beat the Indians 4-3 Tuesday night.
"This was a huge character game," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "To hold a first-place team hitless, give up the lead, and win like that is huge."
Smith connected off Cleveland closer Chris Perez (2-3), hitting a 2-2 pitch into the right-field seats for his eighth homer of the season and fourth career multihomer game.
"I just tried to drown everything out and focus," Smith said. "In the outfield, I wondered if I'd get hit by lightning. At bat, I just tried to put a good swing on a pitch."
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It was the first homer allowed by Perez in nearly a year. He had worked 60 1/3 innings over 62 outings since Cincinnati's Joey Votto took him deep last June 27.
"It was a hanging slider," Perez said. "I just didn't come through. It happens."
Smith's shot made a winner of Matt Belisle (5-2), who worked one inning. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 22nd save in 24 chances -- though it was far from easy.
"We felt like this was a win we should have already had. It's never nerve-wracking -- unless you don't get it done," said Street, who yielded a two-out triple to Cord Phelps, then walked Asdrubal Cabrera.
"That was sort of an unintentional intentional walk," Street said. "He's their best hitter after they pulled [Travis] Hafner earlier."
With pinch-hitter Austin Kearns at the plate, Cabrera stole second, a move Tracy feared.
"They flip a single out there, we lose," he said.
Cleveland could not get another key hit for its 10th last at-bat at Progressive Field this year as Street struck out Kearns on a 2-2 slider.
Jason Giambi had three hits for the Rockies, who have won six of seven and moved over .500 for the first time since they were 24-23 on May 24.
Cleveland's offensive woes continued. Since taking a seven-game lead in the AL Central on May 23, the Indians are 9-18 and have scored two or fewer runs 14 times.
Jhoulys Chacin held them hitless into the sixth. Cleveland's bats came alive against Colorado's bullpen in the eighth.
Trailing 3-1, Hafner lined an RBI single off former teammate Rafael Betancourt. With runners on first and second, Belisle got two outs before Travis Buck snapped an 0-for-24 streak with an RBI single to right for a 3-all tie.
In 6 2/3 innings, Chacin walked six, including two with one out in the sixth before Shin-Soo Choo grounded an RBI single up the middle on a 1-1 pitch for Cleveland's first hit to pull the Indians to 3-1.
Smith connected for a two-run shot off Mitch Talbot with two outs in the top of the sixth. Jonathan Herrera's two-out RBI single put Colorado ahead 1-0 in the fifth.
Chacin was lifted after giving up a two-out triple to Lou Marson in the seventh.
The Indians had a chance early against the right-hander, loading the bases with two outs in the third on three consecutive walks. Chacin came back to strike out Hafner on a 3-2 sinker. He got 10 outs on grounders and struck out seven.
"He was marvelous, except for a couple speed bumps - those walks," Tracy said. "He made potentially 40 more pitches and I was facing a real difficult decision. I've got a 23-year-old with a strong future and I may have to take him out with a no-hitter. That's the last thing I wanted to do."
Chacin, 3-0 with a 1.01 ERA in June, said he felt strong even after making 115 pitches.
"I lost my focus with those walks," he said. "They got the hit and I still wanted to put up zeroes."
Talbot worked out of a second-inning jam by getting the Rockies to pound the ball into the ground. Giambi doubled and went to third on a single by Smith. The crafty right-hander then got Ty Wigginton to hit a one-hopper back to him. The pitcher checked Giambi at third and threw to second for the out, then got Charlie Blackmon to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Talbot allowed three runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Notes
- There has never been a no-hitter at Progressive Field, which opened in 1994.
- Hafner has 24 RBI and is 17 for 33 (.515) with runners in scoring position.
- Indians manager Manny Acta reiterated his support of RHP Fausto Carmona and OF Grady Sizemore, but admitted the Indians must start getting better production from both former All-Stars. Sizemore grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. Since May 27, he has hit only .188 (16 for 85). Carmona is 1-5 with a 9.73 ERA since May 19.
- Tracy plans to rest 1B Todd Helton on Wednesday to give the 37-year-old an extra break with Colorado off Thursday.
- Rockies LHP Rex Brothers, who pitched Sunday and Monday, was unavailable.
- Rockies RHP Esmil Rogers (strained muscle in back) played catch in Denver. He's been on the DL since May 2.
