On Sunday afternoon, anticipated rain clouds disappeared, the sun came out, and the Indians rolled to a 15-3 rout of the Royals at Progressive Field. The win was essentially sealed by a relentless 10-run outbreak in the fifth inning, paving the way for the Tribe’s fifth win in the past seven games.
That is as many wins in one week as Cleveland had in all of August.
“It’s kind of a change for us now,” Indians utility man Jason Donald said. “Even though there’s so few games left, I think guys are kind of looking at this with a different lease for the remainder of the season. Today was certainly a great day for us.”
The victory also gave the Indians (67-92) their second straight series win — something the club had not done since taking sets against the Orioles and Angels from June 28-July 4. At that point in the season, Cleveland was still within a couple games of first place in the American League Central.
Tribe fans do not need to be reminded about the two months that followed.
The Indians are only trying to look forward.
“It’s always good to win games,” interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. said, “especially when you give young guys opportunities to play and they perform. You feel good about it and say, ‘That’s great for them.’ It’s something you can build confidence from.
“I think it’s very important to finish on a great note. Right now, the guys are playing hard. They’re pushing it. I think the offense and the pitching is giving us a chance.”
Rookie starter Zach McAllister (6-8) picked up the win for the Indians after holding the Royals (71-88) to three runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander blanked Kansas City for five innings before surrendering a two-run homer to Alex Gordon in the sixth, and later an RBI single to Tony Abreu in the seventh.
By then, Cleveland had built more than enough of a cushion.
“That was definitely nice to have,” McAllister said with a smile.
Royals righty Luke Hochevar (8-16) limited the Indians to one RBI single by Lou Marson through the first four frames before unraveling in the fifth. That’s when Cleveland unleashed a 10-run, six-hit outburst that staked the club to an 11-0 lead. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera highlighted the offensive explosion with a two-out grand slam.
Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Kipnis ignited the rally with back-to-back doubles, which were followed by a bunt single by Cabrera. Jack Hannahan doubled home a run two batters later, Casey Kotchman drove in a run with a fielder’s choice groundout, and Hochevar did some more damage by hitting Donald with a pitch with the bases loaded.
“In that fifth, when [Hochevar] did make a mistake,” Donald said, “it seemed like we always capitalized on it. The credit goes to all the guys who did the damage.”
After Choo used a two-run single to push Cleveland to a 7-0 lead, Hochevar bowed out of the ballgame with 4 2/3 innings logged. Kipnis then drew a walk from reliever Everett Teaford to load the bases. That set the stage for Cabrera, who drilled a 1-1 pitch over Progressive Field’s 19-foot wall in left for a grand slam, the shortstop’s 16th homer of the season.
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