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The Indians scored all of their runs in an eighth-inning uprising that lifted them to a 5-3 victory over the Royals in the series finale Sunday at Progressive Field.
Cleveland had just four hits through seven innings, scoring five times in the fifth, sparked by Shelley Duncan’s three-run home run.
The win left the Indians in front of the last-place Royals by 1 1/2 games in the Central Division standings.
CLEVELAND – Manny Acta is fond of telling people that baseball is the greatest game in the world because, according to the Indians manager, anything can happen on any given night.
Anything such as the offensively challenged Indians beating up on reigning American League Cy Young award winner Zack Greinke.
That was the surprising scenario that played out Saturday night at Progressive Field, with Cleveland throttling Greinke and the Royals 7-1 to pull a half-game in front of Kansas City and out of the Central Division cellar.
“We swung the bat well,” Acta said of his club, which has ranked at the bottom of the league in the majority of offensive statistics for the bulk of the season. “We were able to get to their best guy, one of the best pitchers in the game. Just about everybody contributed offensively for us.”
Greinke entered the night with a personal five-game winning streak against the Indians, winning two of his three starts this season, while allowing no more than three runs.
It appeared Cleveland was in for more of the same from KC’s ace, who struck out four of the first seven batters he faced, but the Indians turned the tables after the second inning.
The Indians scored three times off Greinke in the third, then chased him from the game with four in the fourth. In all, the right-hander allowed seven runs on 11 hits over 32/3 innings.
“(Greinke) was throwing a lot of strikes early,” said Indians center fielder Trevor Crowe, who had one of Cleveland’s RBIs in the big fourth inning. “I think he just started to make a couple mistakes and we got on a roll.”
“The guys didn’t change their approach,” Acta said. “They didn’t try to do too much against him and it worked.”
It was the most runs the Indians have ever scored off Greinke in his 27 career appearances (22 starts) against them. Of their six doubles on the night, five came off Greinke.
It was a virtual offensive explosion from the Indians, who got hits from everyone in the lineup except cleanup hitter Travis Hafner.
The Indians got multihit games from four players – Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Jordan Brown and Luis Valbuena – Choo leading the way with a 4-for-5 performance that included a double and two RBIs.
Cleveland also pitched well, starter Jeanmar Gomez working a brief but effective outing, allowing just a run on six hits over five innings to snap a personal five-game losing skid and win for the first time since Aug. 1.
“He had to labor through five innings but he did a very good job of pitching around those jams he got himself into,” Acta said.
“I tried to forget about (the losing streak),” Gomez said. “I’ve been working on my change-up and slider. Both of them were good.”
It might have been Gomez’s final appearance, with the right-hander nearing his innings limit at 1732/3 between Triple-A Columbus and Cleveland. He is 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 11 starts for the Indians.
Though he wouldn’t confirm as much, Acta sounded as though Gomez would be shut down for the season. Gomez said he expected to pitch again, starting in the opener of a three-game season-ending series in Chicago on Friday.
With Gomez in the dugout, a foursome of relievers – Aaron Laffey, Joe Smith, Justin Masterson and Jensen Lewis – finished off the Royals in style.
Kansas City produced just one baserunner over the final four innings, Wilson Betemit, who was hit by a pitch from Masterson to lead off the eighth.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
• WHO: Cleveland vs. Kansas City
• TIME: 1:05 p.m.
• WHERE: Progressive Field
• PITCHERS: Carmona (12-14, 3.79 ERA) vs. Chen (11-7, 4.69)
• TV/RADIO: SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM
CLEVELAND — Maybe last place is where the Indians belong. It sure looked like it Thursday night at Progressive Field.
Facing the fourth-place Royals and unheralded starting pitcher Sean O’Sullivan, Cleveland played like a certified basement resident, dropping a 4-2 decision in the opener of a four-game series between the bottom two teams in the Central Division.
The loss left the Royals 1½ games ahead of the Indians in the standings and a bad taste in Indians manager Manny Acta’s mouth, following another offensively challenged night for his club.
“We continue to struggle offensively,” said Acta, whose team managed just five hits. “When you’re swinging the bat that way, it’s tough to play catch-up, and that’s what we had to do from the get-go.”
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All the credit for that goes to Indians starter Mitch Talbot, who was making his first appearance since Sept. 12.
Talbot, who missed a start with right shoulder inflammation, lasted just five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks. The right-hander surrendered a home run to the second batter he faced — Mike Aviles — in a two-run first inning for Kansas City.
Talbot allowed another run in the third before finding a groove in his final two innings of work, retiring the side in order in both the fourth and fifth.
“The good news is that he’s fine physically,” Acta said of Talbot, who also spent a little more than two weeks on the disabled list with a mid-back strain at the end of July. “He pitched like a guy that had been off awhile.”
“Physically, I felt great, probably better than 95 percent of my other starts this year,” Talbot said. “I feel great. I just don’t know where I’m throwing it.”
A three-run cushion was sufficient for O’Sullivan, who entered the night with a 2-6 record and 6.58 ERA with the Angels and Royals.
The right-hander allowed two runs on just four hits over six innings. It was the fewest runs he has surrendered in 11 starts for Kansas City since being acquired in a trade with Los Angeles.
“We continue to put too much pressure on our pitchers,” Acta said. “We need to break out and score some runs.”
The Indians’ best opportunity against O’Sullivan came in the third after Luis Valbuena drew a leadoff walk. He was erased when Lou Marson grounded into a double play, but Trevor Crowe singled and Drew Sutton followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. Shin-Soo Choo struck out to end the threat.
The Indians scratched for two runs in the seventh to close within a run, but reliever Tony Sipp gave the Royals an insurance run in the eighth, serving up a solo home run to the first batter he faced, Kia Ka’aihue, which provided the final count.
The Indians got a big night from Trevor Crowe, who was a late addition to the lineup when Michael Brantley was scratched with tightness in his left hamstring.
Crowe went 3-for-4 with a double and is batting .405 (15-for-37) with four doubles over his last 11 games. He also stole a career-high two bases, bringing his season total to 18.
Cleveland’s Vinnie Pestano made a positive big league debut in the ninth inning. The right-hander, who was called up from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game, walked one but pitched a scoreless inning.
The teams combined to go 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position, Cleveland going 0-for-6.
The Indians fell to 0-26 when they record five hits or fewer, while dropping to 4-49 when scoring two runs or fewer.
Kansas City leads the season series 8-7.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
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The Indians bid to get out of the Central Division cellar was dealt a blow in a 4-2 loss to fourth-place Kansas City at Progressive Field on Thursday.
Cleveland trailed 3-0 after six innings, starting pitcher Mitch Talbot allowing all of the runs over five innings of work.
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