GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (94-64) at KANSAS CITY (68-90)

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (4) AT KANSAS CITY (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLEVELAND 3RD: J Michaels singled to center. K Shoppach sacrificed to
pitcher, J Michaels to second. G Sizemore flied out to center. A Cabrera
walked. L Rivas ran for A Cabrera. T Hafner doubled to deep left, J Michaels
and L Rivas scored. R Garko struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: B Duckworth relieved L Hochevar. F Gutierrez reached on
infield single to second. A Marte doubled to deep left, F Gutierrez to
third. C Gomez grounded out to second, F Gutierrez scored, A Marte to
third. J Michaels walked, A Marte out at home attempting to advance on play.
K Shoppach singled to right, J Michaels to second. B Francisco safe at
first on error by third baseman A Gordon, J Michaels to third, K Shoppach
to second. L Rivas grounded into fielder's choice to third, K Shoppach out
at third. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: A Gordon flied out to center. J Huber reached on infield
single to shortstop. P Phillips lined out to center. T Pena Jr singled to
center, J Huber to third. J Gathright singled to center, J Huber scored,
T Pena Jr to second. E German flied out to right. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 1.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: R Gload hit for J Huber. R Gload doubled to deep right
center. P Phillips grounded out to second, R Gload to third. T Pena Jr
grounded out to third, R Gload scored. A Fultz relieved T Mastny. J Gathright
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: J Peralta relieved L Nunez. C Gomez flied out to center.
J Michaels fouled out to right. K Shoppach reached on infield single to third.
J Smith at third base. E Brown in left field. M Teahen in right field. R Gload
at first base. B Francisco doubled to deep center, K Shoppach scored.
B Francisco to third on wild pitch by J Peralta. L Rivas grounded out to third.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 2.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 9 1
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 8 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - AARON LAFFEY, TOM MASTNY (6TH), AARON FULTZ (7TH), JOE
BOROWSKI (9TH) AND KELLY SHOPPACH

KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR, BRANDON DUCKWORTH (4TH), LEO NUNEZ
(5TH), JOEL PERALTA (9TH) AND PAUL PHILLIPS


WP - AARON LAFFEY (4-2)
LP - LUKE HOCHEVAR (0-1)
SAVE - JOE BOROWSKI (45)

HOME RUNS: CLE - NONE

KAN - NONE


TIME: 2:36 ATT: 19,104</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (4) AT KANSAS CITY (2) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, A Cabrera SS, T Hafner DH, R Garko 1B,
F Gutierrez RF, C Blake 3B, C Gomez 2B, J Michaels LF, K Shoppach C, A Laffey LHP.

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- J Gathright CF, E German 2B, B Butler DH,
M Sweeney 1B, E Brown RF, A Gordon 3B, J Huber LF, P Phillips C, T Pena Jr SS,
L Hochevar P.

Umpires -- Mike Estabrook (HP), Laz Diaz (1B), Wally Bell (2B), Bill Welke (3B).

Gametime Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 23 mph.


CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore walked. A Cabrera grounded into fielder's choice
to pitcher, G Sizemore out at second. T Hafner grounded into double play,
second to third to first, A Cabrera out at second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: J Gathright struck out swinging. E German flied out to
center. B Butler doubled to right. M Sweeney grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: R Garko grounded out to third. F Gutierrez grounded out to
third. C Blake singled to left. C Gomez flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: E Brown grounded out to second. A Gordon struck out
swinging. J Huber grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: J Michaels singled to center. K Shoppach sacrificed to
pitcher, J Michaels to second. G Sizemore flied out to center. A Cabrera
walked. L Rivas ran for A Cabrera. T Hafner doubled to deep left, J Michaels
and L Rivas scored. R Garko struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: B Francisco in right field. L Rivas at shortstop.
J Barfield at second base. F Gutierrez in center field. A Marte at third base.
C Gomez at first base. P Phillips safe at first on error by shortstop L Rivas.
T Pena Jr grounded out to second, P Phillips to second. J Gathright grounded out
to shortstop, P Phillips to third. E German flied out to right. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: B Duckworth relieved L Hochevar. F Gutierrez reached on
infield single to second. A Marte doubled to deep left, F Gutierrez to
third. C Gomez grounded out to second, F Gutierrez scored, A Marte to
third. J Michaels walked, A Marte out at home attempting to advance on
play. K Shoppach singled to right, J Michaels to second. B Francisco safe
at first on error by third baseman A Gordon, J Michaels to third, K Shoppach
to second. L Rivas grounded into fielder's choice to third, K Shoppach out
at third. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: B Butler grounded out to shortstop. M Sweeney grounded
out to shortstop. E Brown grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

CLEVELAND 5TH: L Nunez relieved B Duckworth. D Dellucci hit for T Hafner.
D Dellucci struck out looking. J Barfield grounded out to shortstop.
F Gutierrez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: A Gordon flied out to center. J Huber reached on infield
single to shortstop. P Phillips lined out to center. T Pena Jr singled to
center, J Huber to third. J Gathright singled to center, J Huber scored,
T Pena Jr to second. E German flied out to right. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 1.

CLEVELAND 6TH: A Marte struck out swinging. C Gomez lined out to right.
J Michaels grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
KANSAS CITY 1.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: T Mastny relieved A Laffey. B Butler doubled to left.
M Sweeney fouled out to catcher. E Brown grounded out to third. A Gordon flied
out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 1.

CLEVELAND 7TH: K Shoppach struck out swinging. J Smith at first base.
B Francisco popped out to shortstop. L Rivas flied out to right. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 1.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: R Gload hit for J Huber. R Gload doubled to deep right
center. P Phillips grounded out to second, R Gload to third. T Pena Jr
grounded out to third, R Gload scored. A Fultz relieved T Mastny. J Gathright
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 2.

CLEVELAND 8TH: R Gload in left field. D Dellucci struck out swinging.
J Barfield doubled to right. F Gutierrez struck out swinging. A Marte flied out
to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 2.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: E German grounded out to shortstop. B Butler singled to
center. S Costa ran for B Butler. J Smith grounded into double play, second to
first, S Costa out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
KANSAS CITY 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: J Peralta relieved L Nunez. C Gomez flied out to center.
J Michaels fouled out to right. K Shoppach reached on infield single to third.
J Smith at third base. E Brown in left field. M Teahen in right field. R Gload
at first base. B Francisco doubled to deep center, K Shoppach scored.
B Francisco to third on wild pitch by J Peralta. L Rivas grounded out to third.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 2.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: J Borowski relieved A Fultz. E Brown struck out swinging.
M Teahen flied out to left. R Gload doubled to deep left. C Brazell hit for
P Phillips. C Brazell lined out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4,
KANSAS CITY 2.</div>

 

Hafner lifts Indians to victory over Royals

<h3>CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 2</h3>By Alan Eskew
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Travis Hafner drove in tworuns, bringing his RBI total to 100, as the Cleveland Indiansdefeated the Kansas City Royals, 4-2, in the regular seasonfinale Sunday.


The Indians, who finished the season like they began it with avictory, won the American League Central and will play the NewYork Yankees, beginning Thursday at Jacobs Field.


Hafner hit .373 with four home runs and 13 RBIs in his final 17games. His double in the third scored Jason Michaels, who ledoff the inning with a walk, and Luis Rivas, who was running forAsdrubal Cabrera, who also walked.


Hafner's double was off Luke Hochevar (0-1), the first pick inthe 2006 draft, who was making his first Major League startafter three relief appearances. Hochevar, who was on a pitchcount, left after three innings, allowing two runs, three hitsand two walks, while striking out one.


The Indians upped their lead to 3-0 in the fourth when AndyMarte's double scored Franklin Gutierrez, who began the inningwith an infield single. Royals reliever Brandon Duckworth hadretired 17 consecutive batters.


The Royals got a run in the fifth when Joey Gathright's two-outsingle scored Justin Huber.


In the seventh, the Royals cut the lead to 3-2. Ross Gload ledoff the inning with a pinch double, moved to third on a PaulPhillips ground out and scored on Tony Pena's groundout.

Lefthander Aaron Laffey (4-2), who limited the Royals to fourhits and one run in five innings, picked up the victory.

It was an emotional day for the Royals as it was the final gamefor Buddy Bell as manager and probably the last game for MikeSweeney as a Royal.


Bell announced on August 1 he was stepping down after the seasonas manager, but will remain with the club in a front officeposition.


General manager Dayton Moore and Sweeney presented Bell with aframed jersey in pre-game ceremonies. Bell tipped his cap to theIndians dugout and manager Eric Wedge, who he served as a benchcoach before taking the Royals' managerial job on May 31, 2005.

Sweeney, who is in the final year of a five-year $55 millioncontract, received a standing ovation every time he came to theplate. Bell removed Sweeney with one out in the top of theseventh. Sweeney, who left to another standing ovation and bowedto the crowd and tipped his cap.

 

Hafner lifts Indians to victory over Royals

<h3>CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 2</h3>By Alan Eskew
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Travis Hafner drove in tworuns, bringing his RBI total to 100, as the Cleveland Indiansdefeated the Kansas City Royals, 4-2, in the regular seasonfinale Sunday.


The Indians, who finished the season like they began it, with avictory, won the American League Central and will play the NewYork Yankees, beginning Thursday at Jacobs Field.


Hafner's double in the third scored Jason Michaels, who led offthe inning with a walk, and Luis Rivas, who was running forAsdrubal Cabrera, who also walked, giving Hafner fourconsecutive 100 RBI seasons.


"It was a goal I wanted to get to," Hafner said. "I wanted tokeep that streak going. I take a lot of pride in being a runproducer."


Hafner also is taking pride in Cleveland's accomplishments thisseason.


"I'm excited to be going to the playoffs for the first time.That's my focus," he said. "Everybody's excited to get goingagain. It'll be tough to wait around for the next few days.We've played pretty well the last month. It's as good as we'veplayed this year. We're excited, we're ready to go. We'reexcited for the opportunity."


Hafner's double was off Luke Hochevar (0-1), the first pick inthe 2006 draft, who was making his first Major League startafter three relief appearances. Hochevar, who was on a pitchcount, left after three innings, allowing two runs, three hitsand two walks, while striking out one.


Hafner hit .373 with four home runs and 13 RBI in his final 17games.


"He's hitting at the right time for us and you can't ask foranything more," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He's impactingthe baseball the way you expect Travis to. He's a greathitter. With Travis, our expectations are through the roof.He's a great player and we expect great things from him."

The Indians upped their lead to 3-0 in the fourth when AndyMarte's double scored Franklin Gutierrez, who began the inningwith an infield single.


The Royals got a run in the fifth when Joey Gathright's two-outsingle scored Justin Huber.


In the seventh, the Royals cut the lead to 3-2. Ross Gload ledoff the inning with a pinch double, moved to third on a PaulPhillips ground out and scored on Tony Pena's groundout.

Lefthander Aaron Laffey (4-2), who limited the Royals to fourhits and one run in five innings, picked up the victory.

"I thought I threw really well," Laffey said. "I was hitting myspots. My sinker was working well and I was throwing my sliderin there for strikes. It helps me knowing guys will be swingingat everything. I can just throw the sinker in the strike zoneand let guys put it in play. They wanted to keep me at 65(pitches) or below so that I can possibly be able to pitch outof the bullpen on Thursday."


Laffey turned a 3-1 lead over to the bullpen after 58 pitches.

"He pitched real good," Wedge said. "He was real efficient andhe worked ahead a lot. He had a good fastball. That fifthinning was good to see from a young pitcher. For him to composehimself and pitch the way he did in that inning was impressive.As a young starting pitcher, you have to learn quickly whenyou get up here, and he's done a good job."


Joe Borowski picked up his American League-leading 45th save.

"It's the playoffs now." Borowski said. "You can throw all thatstuff out. We just want to go in and win three straight. Itdoesn't matter what we've done (in the regular season). Itdoesn't matter what they've done. It all starts over."

It was an emotional day for the Royals as it was the final gamefor Buddy Bell as manager and probably the last game for MikeSweeney as a Royal.


Bell announced on August 1 he was stepping down after the seasonas manager, but will remain with the club in a front officeposition.


General manager Dayton Moore and Sweeney presented Bell with aframed jersey in pre-game ceremonies. Bell tipped his cap to theIndians dugout and manager Eric Wedge, who he served as a benchcoach before taking the Royals' managerial job on May 31, 2005.

"It's not quite as easy as I thought it was going to be," Bellsaid. "While it was a special day, today was a bad day for me asfar as missing people. There are people I'll have lastingrelationships with here. I'm disappointed I can't stay here anylonger. There are things I have to do (outside of baseball)."

Sweeney, who is in the final year of a five-year $55 millioncontract, received a standing ovation every time he came to theplate. Bell removed Sweeney with one out in the top of theseventh. Sweeney, who left to another standing ovation and bowedto the crowd and tipped his cap.


"If this is my last day as a Kansas City Royal, I couldn'tpicture going out a better way," Sweeney said. "The fans wereincredible. I wish we could have won the game. I would haveloved to have a hit on my last at-bat.


"It is definitely the most emotional day I've ever spent on abaseball field, having my family here, my parents and mybrothers flew in from California, having (former teammate) JoeRanda here. The only thing missing was a win. The fans wereawesome. If this is the finish line, I'll never forget it. Myfirst at-bat, I had to fight back the tears."