|
Indians tripped up by Royals
yahoo sports
CLEVELAND- Luis Mendoza pitched into the sixth inning and Kansas City’s
bullpen made a lead stand up, helping the Royals beat the Cleveland
Indians 4-2 Thursday.
Jeff Francoeur had a go-ahead single in a three-run fifth for Kansas
City, which snapped a 12-game losing streak with an 8-2 victory
Wednesday night. The Royals won consecutive games for the second time
this season.
The Indians, who were coming off a 7-2 road trip, fell to 2-6 at
Progressive Field.
Mendoza (1-2) was pulled with the bases loaded and no outs in the
sixth, but the Indians scored only one run on Travis Hafner’s sacrifice
fly. Relievers Tim Collins, Aaron Crow and Jonathan Broxton held
Cleveland in check the last four innings. Broxton pitched the ninth for
his second save.
Josh Tomlin (1-2) allowed four runs in 4 2-3 innings.
Broxton retired Jose Lopez to start the ninth, but Jason Kipnis
singled. After Aaron Cunningham flied out, Michael Brantley walked on a
3-2 pitch. Asdrubal Cabrera flied out to end the game.
The Royals broke a 1-all tie in the fifth with consecutive two-out hits
by Francoeur, Mike Moustakas and Brayan Pena. Alex Gordon, who went
into Wednesday’s game batting .167, had two hits and walk. He had three
hits Wednesday and raised his average to .213 the last two games. Billy
Butler, who homered twice Wednesday, had two hits and was hit by a
pitch.
Josh Tomlin (1-2) allowed four runs in 4 2-3 innings.
The fifth-inning rally started on one-out singles by Gordon and Butler.
Eric Hosmer’s flyball to deep right moved Gordon to third before
Francoeur’s broken-bat hit to left put the Royals ahead. Shelley Duncan
attempted to make a diving catch, but came up short.
Moustakas followed with a grounder through the right side that scored
Butler and finished Tomlin. Pena lined a single to right off Dan
Wheeler for the third run.
The Indians outscored the Royals 32-19 in a three-game sweep at
Kauffman Stadium earlier this month. Mendoza was the losing pitcher in
a 13-7 defeat on April 15 in Kansas City. He allowed nine runs - five
earned - and nine hits in four innings. This time he gave up two runs.
Tomlin was coming off a strong outing against Seattle in his last start
when he allowed one run and five hits in eight inning.
Kansas City loaded the bases with nobody out in the first, but scored
only one run.
The Indians tied the game in the third. Jose Lopez singled, went to
second on a groundout and took third on a wild pitch. Aaron
Cunningham’s single off the glove of third baseman Mike Moustakas made
it 1-1.
Cleveland had the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth when
Collins replaced Mendoza. Gordon caught Hafner’s drive in front of the
wall in left that scored Brantley. Collins struck out Duncan and
retired Jack Hannahan on a groundout.
Indians first baseman Casey Kotchman, who is in an 0-for-22 slump,
didn’t start Thursday. He’s batting .140 with two homers and four RBIs.
Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo missed his second straight game with
tightness in his left hamstring.
|
|
|
|
