KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Trevor Bauer had just watched the
Royals score all their runs on four sacrifice flies in a 4-1 defeat,
and the Indians’ starter was asked what bothered him most about the
game.
The way Kansas City chipped away at him? The way the Cleveland hitters performed?
"That we lost," Bauer replied.
Care to elaborate?
"That we lost four to one," he said. "Next question."
No
surprise the Indians were feeling sour, though. In less than 24 hours,
they had dropped both of their games to an AL Central rival in an
abbreviated two-game set.
"They are a very difficult team to play," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "We have a
lot of respect on how good they are."
The
Royals, winners of four straight, tied a franchise record with four
sacrifice flies. They also became the second team to score all four runs
on sac flies since it became an official stat in 1954 — the Expos did
it in an 8-4, 14-inning loss to the Cubs on May 28, 1980, according to
STATS.
Yordano Ventura (4-5) allowed six hits while striking out
three without a walk to win back-to-back starts for the first time. The
only run he allowed came in the sixth, when Carlos Santana followed
consecutive singles to start the inning with an RBI single.
By
then, Bauer (1-3) had already allowed sacrifice flies to Jarrod Dyson,
Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar. Billy Butler added another off
reliever John Axford in the seventh.
The Indians loaded the bases
off Wade Davis with nobody out in the eighth, but two strikeouts and a
groundout ended the threat. Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his
19th save.
The Royals (33-32) moved over .500 for the first time
since May 18. They also jumped over Cleveland into second place in the
division.
"They’ve got great pitching, a great bullpen," Indians
DH Jason Giambi said. "They’ve got some guys that really swing the bat.
They played a good series against us, definitely."
Prior to the
game, Francona recalled with disdain the last time his club faced
Ventura — the young flamethrower’s debut last September. Ventura allowed
one run over 5 2-3 innings, and at one point threw a pitch to Yan Gomes
clocked at 102 mph.
"He’s got pretty special stuff," Francona said. "Kind of hope we don’t see that
today."
Turns
out he did. Ventura kept the ball down in the strike zone and forced
the Indians to chop into a series of groundouts. He retired seven
straight batters at one point, never allowing a ball to be hit out of
the infield.
"I went out there with the mentality to throw a lot
of strike," Ventura said through a translator. "Something good was going
to happen if I threw a lot of strikes."
Nobody was more
frustrated than Giambi. With the Royals shifting their infield, the
Indians DH grounded out to the exact same spot three straight times
before popping out.
"He’s got great stuff," Giambi said. "When he
locates like he did today, he’s tough. He really is. He’s got good mound
presence and attacks the strike zone."
The Royals scored their
first run when Dyson followed a double by Mike Moustakas and a single by
Escobar with a sacrifice fly in the third. Nori Aoki followed with a
single, and Infante hit his sacrifice fly to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.
Escobar’s
sacrifice fly came after a double by Salvador Perez and a single by
Moustakas in the fourth, and Butler added his sacrifice fly after
singles by Infante and Eric Hosmer.
That was enough to beat Bauer,
who has still never won in seven road outings. The Indians starter
allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 1-3 innings.
"That type of
energy and intensity we played with today, that’s the way we need to
play," Butler said. "Bauer was pitching really well. Every opportunity
we had we capitalized on."
NOTES: Lonnie Chisenhall had a pair of
hits for Cleveland, extending his hitting streak to a career-best nine
games. He’s had at least two hits in his last five. … Escobar has hit
in 10 straight games. … Indians OF/1B Nick Swisher (left knee) planned
to make a final rehab start Wednesday for Double-A Akron before joining
the team Thursday in Boston. Asked if Swisher would be activated
immediately, Francona said, "We’ll see."