This is the time of year when one pitch, one at-bat or one inning can have a ripple effect on the postseason picture. Taking on a Royals team that refuses to go down quietly, it was one swift sequence that cost the Indians on Tuesday in their ongoing fight for an American League Wild Card spot.
Right-hander Zach McAllister continued Cleveland’s recent run of strong pitching until finally flinching in the sixth inning, causing enough damage to send the Tribe on its way to a 6-3 loss at Progressive Field. The Indians could not solve righty Jeremy Guthrie in the defeat, which pulled the series even with Wednesday’s finale left to play.
Right now, every moment matters.
“The games have changed,” Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall said. “We’re so close to having something big happen here at the end of September.”
The loss was only the second in the past seven games for the Indians (77-67), who remain 1 1/2 back in the Wild Card race due to the Rays’ loss to the Red Sox. The Royals, on the other hand, pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Tribe in the pack of teams trying to chase down Texas and Tampa Bay for one of the two Wild Card slots.
The tipping point on Tuesday night came in the sixth inning.
Following five strong innings, during which McAllister limited the Royals to a solo home run from Alcides Escobar, the right-hander worked Eric Hosmer into an 0-2 count to begin the sixth. Hosmer then proceeded to watch four straight balls sail by to draw a critical leadoff walk.
“I got ahead, did what I wanted to,” McAllister said. “And then I maybe nibbled a little bit too much and he didn’t chase any of them.”
Slugger Billy Butler stepped into the box next and delivered a double down the left-field line, giving Kansas City a prime scoring chance with the game caught in a 1-1 deadlock.
“He was very tough,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of McAllister. “Up until that point, he was pretty good.”
For the Royals, this was an evening for ending droughts.
Escobar’s home run off McAllister in the fifth inning halted the shortstop’s homerless run at 467 at-bats, which dated back to April 28. In the sixth inning, Mike Moustakas came to bat after Butler and snapped out of an 0-for-16 slump with a double down the right-field line, scoring two runs to put the Indians behind, 3-1. Salvador Perez followed with an RBI single that padded Kansas City’s lead.
It was a four-batter stretch that turned a strong effort into a disappointing one for McAllister, who exited charged with four runs on six hits and three walks in his five-plus innings. It was the third subpar outing in a row for McAllister, who has posted an 8.77 ERA over that span.
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