Carlos Santana stared down Royals pitcher Luis Mendoza, anticipating a fastball with the count full and the bases loaded in the first inning on Tuesday night. As the baseball spun from Mendoza’s fingers, the Indians catcher picked up his right foot and prepared to swing.
It was a breaking ball that tailed down to the dirt and Santana — unfazed — stopped his momentum, drawing a bases-loaded walk. Sometimes a bat dropped to the dirt can be as effective as one slicing through the strike zone. Santana’s first-inning poise set an early tone for Cleveland in a 6-5 victory built around patience.
“Everybody in the ballpark is figuring fastball,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He had enough to lay off of it. That was huge.”
The Indians drew eight walks in the opener of this three-game series at Kauffman Stadium, using a passive approach to pave the way for their fifth consecutive win. The offense’s subsequent aggressiveness in a handful of key situations overcame a rough fifth inning for starter Corey Kluber and some late drama by Cleveland’s bullpen.
In the end, Tribe closer Chris Perez collected his second save in as many chances since returning from the disabled list, restoring some order to Cleveland’s embattled bullpen. With the win, the first-place Indians (45-38) have won 11 of their last 14 and 15 of their past 20 games. On the current road trip, the Tribe improved to 7-2 with two games to go.
“The guys are swinging the bats unbelievably right now,” said Kluber, who allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision. “It seems like every time they’re put in a hole — whether we put them in a hole or a team comes back after we’ve already had a lead — they’re so resilient.
“They’re never getting down after we give up runs. They’re just going right back out there and trying to get them back, get that lead back.”
In their latest victory, Cleveland drew at least eight walks for the seventh time this season. Only the Red Sox and A’s — eight apiece — had more such games in the American League, entering Tuesday. In June, the Indians led the AL with 107 free passes.
That patience came into play right away in Kansas City.
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