LDN - Sports

Royals complete three-game sweep of Indians

[June 16, 2016] KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Salvador Perez is hot and so are the Kansas City Royals.

Perez hit a three-run homer and Ian Kennedy pitched effectively into the seventh inning as the Kansas City Royals topped the Cleveland Indians 9-4 on Wednesday night to sweep the three-game series.

"I'm just trying to do my job," Perez said. "I got a fastball, actually it was a good pitch, but I hit it hard. I thought it was out, but we play at The K (Kauffman Stadium), so you never know."

The Royals have won five straight games to move into a first-place tie with the Indians in the American League Central after enduring an eight-game losing streak.

Perez's three-run homer capped off a four-run fifth. He hit a game-winning two-run homer in the eighth inning Tuesday and is hitting .420 in his past 16 games.

Kennedy (5-5), who lost to the Indians 7-1 on June 4, allowed four runs on five hits, including a pair of two-run homers, in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two before Luke Hochevar relieved him after 113 pitches.

"I made a couple of mistakes, but it was great they put big runs on the board for me," Kennedy said. "As the game wore on, I just tried to attack the zone more. My fastball command was pretty good."

Michael Martinez homered in the seventh after Kennedy walked Tyler Naquin.

Corey Kluber (6-7) was charged with eight runs, matching his career high, in five-plus innings, allowing nine hits, walking one and striking out six.

"Very disappointing," Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis said of the series. "We swept them at home and they return the favor. I thought this entire series was more on the position players. I think the pitching staff did an outstanding job. You can't ask for much more from the pitching staff.

"You've seen their home record (22-7). This is a tough place to play. They've got the fans behind them and they're chasing us. So it should have been three games that were very important to us and we didn't take care of business. Today with Kluber we gave them more than 27 outs and you just can't give a good team like the Royals that."

The Indians used four pitchers in the sixth when the Royals batted around and scored three runs. Kluber gave up singles to Christian Colon and Drew Butera to start the inning and was replaced by Dan Otero, who faced two batters and yielded singles to Whit Merrifield and Alcides Escobar on three pitches. Jeff Manship walked Cheslor Cuthbert with the bases loaded to force home Merrifield for the final run of the inning.

The Royals jumped on Kluber for two runs in the first. Eric Hosmer lined a double to right, scoring Whit Merrifield. Merrifield has scored a run in nine consecutive home games, the longest streak by a Royal since Johnny Damon scored in 12 straight games, July 30-Aug. 27, 2000.

Lorenzo Cain, who was batting in the cleanup slot for the sixth straight game, then drilled a double to left to bring Eric Hosmer home.

Kluber pitched out of trouble created by his infield in the second. Jason Kipnis committed a throwing error that allowed Reymond Fuentes to reach first to begin the inning. Next a fielding error on third baseman Michael Martinez permitted Christian Colon to reach first.

After Drew Butera's sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third, Kluber retired Merrifield on a fly ball to second baseman Kipnis and struck out Escobar.

[to top of second column]

Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) connects for a one run double in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Indians tied it in the fifth when Michael Martinez beat Hosmer to the bag for an infield single with two outs. Rajai Davis deposited a 1-2 Kennedy pitch over the left-field fence for his seventh home run to make it 2-2.

After Davis' home run, rookie right fielder Reymond Fuentes dropped Kipnis fly ball to the warning track for a two-base error, but Francisco Lindor flied out to left to end the inning.

The Royals scored four runs with two outs in the fifth to grab a 6-2 lead. The big blow was Perez's three-run homer. Perez hit the game-winning two-run homer Tuesday with two out in the eighth. Drew Butera, who led off the inning with a bloop double to center, scored the first run of the inning on a Kluber wild pitch.

"We really made it hard on him (Kluber)," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "They got a couple in the first inning and after that, he was settling down and missing some bats. We just made it so hard in between making some errors and not making some plays.

"He was fighting for everything and we were making it harder on him. That's tough. It was a tough night all the way around. We didn't play very well. And I think that's on me. They weren't prepared to play tonight and I guarantee you that will change."

NOTES: The Royals designated 2B Omar Infante for assignment, opting to eat almost $14 million of his contract. Infante had not started a game since June 2 and was hitting .239 with 10 extra-base hits in 39 games. Whit Merrifield and Christian Colon will get the bulk of the playing time at second base. The Royals signed Infante to a four-year $30.25 million contract before the 2014 season. "It's a mistake you don't like to make. You don't like to spend unnecessarily," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "I'm the one accountable, ultimately, for the people that we sign. It's unfortunate we released him with a year and a half left on his contract. You don't want things to end that way." ... LF Alex Gordon, who is on the disabled list with a broken wrist, took batting practice on the field for the first time since his injury. Gordon hit some in the fountains and said he is "pain free." He could be going out soon on a minor league rehab assignment. ... The Royals recalled LHP Brian Flynn, who was 2-1 with a 3.04 ERA in nine outings, including four starts, with Triple-A Omaha. Flynn will be used out of the bullpen. ... 3B Juan Uribe was not in the lineup for the third straight game after suffering a testicular contusion Sunday.

Back to top