Final
Indians, Royals continue set at Kauffman Stadium
Apr 20, 2011 - 2:37 PMVideo
Masterson has pitched into the seventh inning in winning all three of his starts and has allowed just one run in each outing. On Friday against Baltimore the sinker-balling right-hander held the Orioles to four hits and a run in seven innings to lower his earned run average on the year to 1.33.
"Throwing strikes is the biggest thing," Masterson said of his successful start. "Getting that first strike in there allows you to work on expanding the zone."
Masterson has struggled, though, against the Royals, posting a 1-2 mark to go along with a 4.45 ERA.
The Indians may need another solid outing from Masterson tonight if they are going to win this series. After taking the opener, Cleveland came up just short on Tuesday, as Jeff Francoeur's RBI single in the fifth inning proved to be the difference in Kansas City's 5-4 triumph.
Down 5-0, the Indians pulled within a run and had the bases loaded in the ninth on Joakim Soria, but he struck out Carlos Santana on three pitches to end the game and notch his fifth save of the season.
Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar both had two hits and an RBI for the Royals, who avoided a season-high third straight loss. Gordon is now riding a 13- game hitting streak.
"Tonight was a phenomenal game," said Kansas City manager Ned Yost. "(Gordon) did everything. Stole bases, got base hits. Big base hits. Diving plays in the outfield. Assists in the outfield cutting down big runs at the plate. He just did it all."
Bruce Chen (3-0) gave up two runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts over seven strong innings to record the win.
"Sometimes he's slow to the plate. Sometimes he's quick. He's just hard to time," Marson said of Chen.
Jeanmar Gomez (0-1) surrendered five runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 frames for Cleveland, which recalled the right-hander from Triple-A Columbus earlier Tuesday.
The Indians lost for just the third time in their last 15 games.
Heading to the hill for Kansas City tonight will be righty Luke Hochevar, who has won his last two starts. Hochevar was brilliant against the Seattle Mariners on Friday, as he allowed just a run on one hit in seven innings to run his record to 2-1, while lowering his ERA to 4.21.
Hochevar is 3-5 lifetime against the Indians with a 5.16 ERA in eight games.
Cleveland was 10-8 against the Royals last season.
- CLEVELAND: 7
KANSAS CITY: 5
Final
Apr 20 11:25 PM - Jeff Francoeur two-out, two-run Home Run (3) to left scored Melky Cabrera. Mike Aviles due up.
Guardians 7, Royals 5 Bot 9, 2 OutsApr 20 11:22 PM - Melky Cabrera doubled to left scored Chris Getz. Runner on second with none out and Alex Gordon due up.
Guardians 7, Royals 3 Bot 9, 0 OutsApr 20 11:15 PM - Carlos Santana singled to center scored Asdrubal Cabrera. Runner on first with one out and Travis Hafner due up.
Guardians 7, Royals 2 Top 9, 1 OutApr 20 11:02 PM - Grady Sizemore walked. Runners on first and second with none out and Asdrubal Cabrera due up.
Guardians 6, Royals 2 Top 7, 0 OutsApr 20 10:10 PM - Travis Hafner doubled to left scored Shin-Soo Choo. Runners on second and third with two outs and Orlando Cabrera due up.
Guardians 4, Royals 2 Top 6, 2 OutsApr 20 9:44 PM - Shin-Soo Choo doubled to center scored Asdrubal Cabrera Runner on third with two outs and Carlos Santana due up.
Guardians 3, Royals 2 Top 6, 2 OutsApr 20 9:40 PM - Asdrubal Cabrera singled to second. Runner on first with two outs and Shin-Soo Choo due up.
Guardians 2, Royals 2 Top 6, 2 OutsApr 20 9:38 PM - Matt LaPorta doubled to left scored Michael Brantley. Runner on second with none out and Jack Hannahan due up.
Guardians 1, Royals 2 Top 6, 0 OutsApr 20 9:30 PM - Mike Aviles singled to center. Runners on first and second with two outs and Kila Ka`aihue due up.
Guardians 0, Royals 2 Bot 1, 2 OutsApr 20 8:23 PM - Alex Gordon tripled to right scored Melky Cabrera. Runner on third with one out and Billy Butler due up.
Guardians 0, Royals 1 Bot 1, 1 OutApr 20 8:20 PM - CLEVELAND: 0
KANSAS CITY: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Apr 20 8:11 PM
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