The Royals have experienced plenty of late-season magic over the past two years. Now the Indians want a turn. On Tuesday night, Cleveland continued its march toward an American League Central title with a 2-1, walk-off win over Kansas City.
Brandon Guyer played the role of hero, sending a fly ball deep into the right-field corner for a pinch-hit RBI single off Royals reliever Joakim Soria, setting off the on-field party at Progressive Field. The win was the 11th in walk-off fashion this year for Cleveland, which improved to 50-26 at home and 42-22 against AL Central foes.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Indians setup man Bryan Shaw said of Cleveland’s playoff push. “Any time you’re in a race, especially when you’re ahead like we are right now, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a little bit of a weight off your shoulders almost. In ’13, we had to win every single game to finish up the year to be able to make it.
Royals manager Ned Yost hinted it was just more bad luck for Soria as the winning hit, which scored Coco Crisp from third, landed fair by maybe two inches.
“Again, there is a lot of weird stuff going on [for Soria],” Yost said.
For the first time this season, Soria waved off reporters approaching his locker afterward.
With the win, the Indians maintained their seven-game lead over the second-place Tigers, who beat the Twins, with 12 games to play. The Tribe trimmed its magic number to six to clinch its first division crown — one worn by Kansas City last year — in nine years.
Indians starter Josh Tomlin — pitching more under a microscope in the wake of injuries to Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco — turned in a quality start, limiting the Royals to one run over 6 2/3 innings. The righty’s lone misstep came in the fifth, when Alex Gordon singled to left to drive in Salvador Perez. Tomlin ended with three strikeouts and no walks.
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