Reaction: Cleveland Indians Crushed By Royals in Fourth Straight Loss

The Indians’ woes continued in a crushing 10-5 loss against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, as the Tribe dropped the second game of the series for their fourth straight loss. Trevor Bauer made a quality start, but finished with a no-decision after six innings. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks, but struck out just two batters. Meanwhile, Jeremy Guthrie pitched five innings and gave up six hits, three walks and four runs, while striking out three.

Key Moments

Second Inning

Alex Gordon got the scoring started early, with a solo home run to lead off the second inning. The Tribe answered in the bottom of the inning, when Brandon Moss and Lonnie Chisenhall reached on singles and advanced on a wild pitch. Both runners scored when Michael Bourn hit a line drive to right field, putting the Tribe up 2-1.

Sixth Inning

The Royals tied it up in the fourth inning, when Kendrys Morales singled and scored on an RBI hit off of the bat of Omar Infante. They added a run in the sixth inning, when Morales hit a two-out double and scored on Gordon’s single to right field. Once again, it was a short-lived lead because Cleveland responded in the bottom of the inning. Michael Brantley led off with a single, and Carlos Santana walked. The pair advanced on a passed ball, but they didn’t need the extra base after all. Moss hit a long home run to give the Tribe a 5-3 advantage heading into the seventh inning.

Seventh Inning

Scott Atchison had what might have been his roughest outing as an Indian on Tuesday, when he took over for Bauer at the top of the seventh inning. Salvador Perez singled to lead off the inning, and Infante doubled. Both scored when Alcides Escobar hit a double to right field. Marc Rzepczynski came on to replace Atchison, and almost escaped with a tie game, but there was an unusual play at first. Mike Moustakas hit the ball to first, and Santana flipped to Rzepczynski, who missed the bag. Rzepczynski started to argue with the umpire, then fired the ball to catcher Brett Hayes when he saw Escobar was heading home. Escobar kicked the glove of Hayes, knocking the ball lose and scoring. Later in the inning, Morales launched a three-run home run off of reliever Bryan Shaw to secure the lead, and Perez tacked on one final RBI single in the ninth inning to make it 10-5 in favor of the Royals.

The Positives

The rotation continues to be reliable, as Bauer turned in a quality start. While it certainly wasn’t his best effort, he was making his first start after being skipped over the weekend due to a case of food poisoning. Moss continues to heat up, going 2-for-4 with a home run. Brantley also went 2-for-5, keeping up his steady production.

The Negatives

The bullpen cost the Indians another win, and at this point, changes need to be made. The pitchers who were most effective last season are no longer lights-out, and they can’t be trusted in high-leverage situation. Shaw is unreliable, and Rzepczynski is struggling as well. Even Atchison has had enough rough outings to warrant concern. The team needs to consider other options, because with a struggling offense, they can’t afford to lose games late.

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Check It Out
– As a team, Indians’ catchers have allowed 23 stolen bases, the most in all of baseball. Other teams have had success in over 79 percent of their attempts. Tribe catchers have also allowed 10 wild pitches, with is tied with Tampa Bay for the fifth-highest total in baseball. While some of the blame lies with the pitchers, Cleveland will benefit greatly from the return of Yan Gomes.

– The Royals will send Yordano Ventura to the mound on Wednesday, and the Tribe will play behind Danny Salazar. Ventura is 2-1, with a 4.09 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 22 innings. Salazar, meanwhile, has made just two starts with the major league club, but is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA. Salazar has struck out 21 in 13 innings, and has looked like the pitcher the Indians hoped he would be for them this season.

– Ventura, who is currently appealing a seven-game suspension for his role in a Royals/White Sox brawl last week, has yet to exit a start on his own volition. He was ejected in each of his last two outings, and left his first two with minor injuries.

Next: Cleveland Indians: Should They Consider Calling Up Francisco Lindor?