Carlos Santana nervously squatted down in front of the Indians’ dugout, waiting to find out whether he was the hero the offense desperately needed. After a long replay review, the umpires waved their fingers above their heads, signaling a home run, and Santana cheerfully danced his way down to the bench.

In the top of the 10th inning, Santana launched a three-run blast a Statcast-estimated 442 feet directly over the left-field foul pole to lift the Indians to a 6-3 victory over the Pirates on Tuesday night at PNC Park. The Tribe has now gone 11-0 in games in which it has scored three or more runs.

“We knew the ball was hooking, but it was hit so far over the pole that you couldn’t tell,” Indians acting manager Sandy Alomar Jr. said. “It could go either way. From what I saw, it looked like it was hugging the foul pole on the fair side and then away on the foul side, but it was too far up there to tell. But it seemed to me like it was a fair ball.”

• Box score

Santana took an enormous cut on a 1-0 fastball on the inside corner of the plate, and the ball rocketed so far and high that it was difficult to determine whether it stayed fair as it cleared the foul pole. Santana was visibly willing the ball to stay fair as he twisted and turned his body in a slow trot down the first-base line. The umpires on the field ruled it a home run, but the Pirates thought the opposite.

"I thought it was foul,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “They called it fair on the field. With the replay, they confirmed it or it stood. But from our angle, we thought it was a foul ball. [John Ryan] Murphy thought it was foul. [Erik] González thought it was foul. They called it fair.”

The Tribe collectively held its breath for two minutes and 35 seconds until the umpires made it official: the call on the field stood.

“I was in the middle of the dugout,” reliever Nick Wittgren, who tossed a scoreless ninth, said. “But looking where that ball hit, I definitely think it was fair. It was what, 440 feet, something like that? I mean, that's a fair bit away from the foul pole, and it hooked, what like 10 feet maybe? So I think it was fair.”

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Despite everyone’s opinions, the official ruling was a home run, and Santana may have caught the break he’s been searching for.

After carrying the Indians’ offense all last year, Santana's bat has been uncharacteristically silent to start the season. His Major League-leading 27 walks kept his on-base percentage as high as .415 entering the series opener in Pittsburgh. Now, the team can hope Santana's clutch three-run homer can be a turning point for the slugger, who had hit just one homer with a .179 batting average and a .254 slugging percentage heading into the game.

“Everybody knows I'm going to be patient and take a lot of walks,” Santana said. “But I see the ball great. I try to swing at my pitch, and I know I'm patient, but [I take it] one thing at a time. I know the team needs me, and I have to do my job and try to respond and help my team. I feel great.”

How badly does the team need Santana? The Tribe’s offense ranked the worst in MLB in average (.203) and slugging percentage (.330) prior to first pitch on Tuesday, and Santana has been one of the best hitters the club has had over the past decade. Since 2010, he’s recorded the most go-ahead hits of all Indians players with 138 -- 17 of which came in the ninth inning or later. However, through his first 22 games of the season, Santana had gone 3-for-21 (.143) with runners in scoring position.

Now, after Santana's two-run single to get the Indians on the board in the third and his moonshot in the 10th that handed them the win, he may finally be showing signs of digging out of his slump.

“It’s really good to see him get it back,” said Indians starter Carlos Carrasco, who allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. “The last four games, we’ve played really good baseball. We need to continue to do that. But just to see him get it back, it’s good.”