Scoring 15 runs in a baseball game is an impressive feat, and it seems even more impressive when a team scores them all in the game’s final four innings.
That’s exactly what the Indians did in Sunday’s series finale against the Royals, scoring a season-high 15 times — highlighted by a two-homer, five-RBI day for Carlos Santana — to avoid a sweep and snap a seven-game losing streak against Kansas City with a 15-4 victory.
The previous season high of 13 runs came against the Royals on April 15, and the last time the Indians scored 15 runs also was against Kansas City, on May 16 last season.
All this from the team that entered the day as the second-lowest scoring team in the American League.
“It’s baseball. It’s one of those things where you can struggle and struggle and struggle, and then have a day like today, and then go out and do the same thing the rest of the year,” said third baseman Jack Hannahan. “We’ve been capable of it. We’ve shown signs of it. We just haven’t put it all together, which is the frustrating part. But it’s always a good sign to come out and have an offensive day like we did today.”
The offensive output was even more remarkable considering Royals starter Jake Odorizzi, who was making his Major League debut, held the Indians offense almost completely in check through the game’s first five innings. The Indians couldn’t solve Odorizzi the first couple trips through the batting order, picking up just a pair of singles and a walk. But the third time around, Cleveland jumped on the Royals’ No. 1 pitching prospect in the sixth inning.
Trailing 1-0, Jason Kipnis lined a grounder past first baseman Eric Hosmer and all the way down into the right-field corner for a one-out triple. Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a base hit into right-center to score Kipnis and tie the game. Santana then launched the first pitch of his at-bat into the Indians bullpen in right field for a two-run homer, pushing the Indians into the lead. After one more hitter, Odorizzi was pulled from the game.
“It’s always an adjustment period the first time you face a guy with not a lot of video or report time,” Hannahan said. “So, we really didn’t know what we were kind of getting into.”
And while the Indians had scored as many runs in each of the previous two games in one inning, they were far from finished. Helped by some Kansas City fielding mistakes, Cleveland scored five more times in the seventh inning.
Two of the inning’s first three hitters reached base, and both attempted to steal to advance into scoring position. Royals catcher Adam Moore’s throw to third sailed into left field and allowed Shin-Soo Choo to come home and extend the Cleveland lead to 4-1.
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