CLEVELAND — It took four hours and 25 minutes to complete, but it was well worth the wait for the Indians and the select few fans that stuck it out at Progressive Field on Tuesday night.
After riding a lengthy roller coaster of emotions on a chilly night, the Indians were able to celebrate in the end when Victor Martinez hit a three-run home run in the 11th inning off impenetrable Twins closer Joe Nathan to give Cleveland a warm and fuzzy 12-9 victory.
The Indians led by seven runs through three innings, squandered the advantage in the top of the eighth and then tied it back up in the bottom of the inning on a solo shot from Grady Sizemore.
With two on and one out in the 11th, Martinez ended the drama when he connected on a 1-1 fastball to right-center for the victory and his first career walk-off homer — just his second long ball of the year.
“It was a fantastic feeling,” said Martinez, who rounded the bases quickly before sliding into home plate and a waiting mob of teammates. “When I hit it, I was just hoping and watching.”
Nathan, who blew his seventh save of the season, made history as well, allowing his first career walk-off homer.
“It was great to see Victor do that against a great closer like Nathan,” said Indians manager Eric Wedge, who had been without his all-star catcher for much of the year thanks to mid-season elbow surgery. “He’s obviously had a tough year with the injuries, but it was great to see him come through for us.”
The win, Cleveland’s second straight over Minnesota, damaged the Twins’ hopes in their Central Division race with the White Sox, where they fell 2 1/2 games off Chicago’s pace. The Indians beat Minnesota for just the seventh time in 17 meetings this year.
It appeared the Indians were en route to a simple series-clinching victory when they scored four times apiece in the second and third innings to chase Twins starter Francisco Liriano.
It was a surprisingly effective effort for Cleveland, which saw seven of the nine players in the lineup with at least a hit through the first three innings against a pitcher that entered the game without a loss since rejoining the Twins’ rotation in August.
The Indians homered twice in the second — a three-run shot from Ryan Garko for Cleveland’s first runs, followed by a two-out solo homer from Asdrubal Cabrera.
The good fortune and the offense vanished after the early uprising as the Indians failed to score again until Sizemore’s game-tying homer off Eddie Guardado, while Minnesota began to solve Cleveland starter Zach Jackson.
Jackson allowed just a run through the first four innings, but the left-hander let the Twins back in the game by allowing four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth.
Jackson left with the lead, but was unable to secure his first win in seven starts since joining Cleveland’s rotation.
“He was really controlling the ballgame,” Wedge said. “It almost looked like he started trying to place the ball, instead of being aggressive.”
The Indians lost the lead with the entrance of reliever Rafael Betancourt, who failed in the eighth inning by walking the first batter he faced before allowing an RBI double to Justin Morneau that tied the game at eight. A sacrifice fly from Delmon Young gave the Twins their first lead since the opening inning, while the Indians were left to pick up the pieces.
“You see a lot of teams where that just crushes them,” Wedge said. “Our guys did a great job of not getting down and giving into it.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. 

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