GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 11 0
KANSAS CITY 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 10 1 (TOP 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CLE - JENSEN LEWIS
KAN - JOAKIM SORIA

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C BLAKE (.270, 1-FOR-2, BB)
G SIZEMORE (.278, 0-FOR-4)
A CABRERA (.287, 2-FOR-3, BB)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (3) VS KANSAS CITY (4) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .278
A Cabrera 2b 3 2 2 0 1 0 0 .287
T Hafner dh 4 0 2 0 0 2 3 .265
J Barfield pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .242
V Martinez c 4 0 3 3 0 0 1 .301
R Garko 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 5 .290
J Peralta ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .270
K Lofton lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .296
a-J Michaels ph-lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .269
T Nixon rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .251
b-F Gutierrez ph-rf 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 .266
C Blake 3b 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 .270

Totals 33 3 11 3 2 10 19

a-struck out looking for K Lofton in the 7th; b-singled to left for T Nixon in
the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - R Garko (29, G Meche). RBI - V Martinez 3 (114). 2-out RBI - V
Martinez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - F Gutierrez 2, R Garko 1.
GIDP - V Martinez. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: CS - C Blake (5, 2nd base by G Meche/J Buck).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 .260
M Grudzielanek 2b 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 .302
M Teahen rf 4 1 1 1 0 2 3 .285
M Sweeney dh 4 0 2 0 0 1 3 .263
J Huber pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Gload 1b 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .283
a-E German ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .267
A Gordon 3b 3 0 1 1 0 2 1 .248
J Buck c 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .222
b-S Costa ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .223
J Gathright lf 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .308
T Pena Jr ss 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .267

Totals 32 4 10 3 2 7 16

a-out on batter's interference to catcher for R Gload in the 8th; b-struck out
swinging for J Buck in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (31, J Westbrook). 3B - T Pena Jr (7, J Westbrook). SF -
A Gordon. RBI - M Teahen (60), A Gordon (60), J Gathright (18). 2-out RBI - J
Gathright. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Grudzielanek 1, J Buck
1, T Pena Jr 1, M Teahen 1, A Gordon 1. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - D DeJesus (10, 2nd base off J Westbrook/V Martinez). CS - T
Pena Jr (6, 2nd base by J Westbrook/V Martinez).

FIELDING: E - T Pena Jr (23, catch). Outfield assists - J Gathright (R Garko
at Home). DP: 1 (T Pena Jr-R Gload).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 002 000 01 -- 3
KANSAS CITY - 300 000 01 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook 6 1/3 7 3 3 1 5 0 4.32
R Perez 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 1.78
J Lewis 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.15

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche 6 7 2 2 2 7 0 3.67
J Bale 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.05
D Riske 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.45
J Gobble 1/3 3 1 1 0 1 0 3.02
J Soria 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.51

J Gobble pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.

WP - J Westbrook. IBB - R Gload (by J Westbrook), M Grudzielanek (by R
Perez). HBP - D DeJesus (by J Westbrook). Pitches-strikes: J Westbrook 100-63;
R Perez 17-10; J Lewis 6-6; G Meche 103-66; J Bale 10-7; D Riske 1-1; J Gobble
14-9; J Soria 18-12. Ground balls-fly balls: J Westbrook 11-2; R Perez 2-0; J
Lewis 0-1; G Meche 4-5; J Bale 0-0; D Riske 1-0; J Gobble 0-0; J Soria 2-1.
Batters faced: J Westbrook 27; R Perez 6; J Lewis 3; G Meche 24; J Bale 2; D
Riske 1; J Gobble 4; J Soria 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Bill Welke. 1B--Mike Estabrook. 2B--Laz Diaz. 3B--Wally Bell.

Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 13 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL CLEVELAND AT KANSAS CITY
NOTE: KANSAS CITY MANAGER BUDDY BELL WAS EJECTED BY HOME
PLATE UMPIRE BILL WELKE FOR ARGUING A CALL AT FIRST BASE.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: E German at third base.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 3
KANSAS CITY 4 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C Blake (.270, 1-FOR-2)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: A Gordon at first base.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 3
KANSAS CITY 4 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C Blake (.270, 1-FOR-2)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: P Phillips catching.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 3
KANSAS CITY 4 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C Blake (.270, 1-FOR-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 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 11 0
KANSAS CITY 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 x 4 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, RAFAEL PEREZ (7TH), JENSEN LEWIS (8TH) AND
VICTOR MARTINEZ

KAN - GIL MECHE, JOHN BALE (7TH), DAVID RISKE (7TH),
JIMMY GOBBLE (7TH), JOAKIM SORIA (8TH) AND JOHN BUCK, PAUL
PHILLIPS (9TH)

HOME RUNS: CLE - NONE

KAN - NONE</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 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 11 0
KANSAS CITY 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 x 4 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - JAKE WESTBROOK, RAFAEL PEREZ (7TH), JENSEN LEWIS (8TH) AND
VICTOR MARTINEZ

KAN - GIL MECHE, JOHN BALE (7TH), DAVID RISKE (7TH),
JIMMY GOBBLE (7TH), JOAKIM SORIA (8TH) AND JOHN BUCK, PAUL
PHILLIPS (9TH)


WP - JOAKIM SORIA (2-3)
LP - RAFAEL PEREZ (1-2)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CLE - NONE

KAN - NONE


TIME: 3:08 ATT: 24,274

PROBABLES: CLE - AARON LAFFEY (3-2, 4.87)
KAN - LUKE HOCHEVAR (0-0, 0.93)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (3) VS KANSAS CITY (4) - FINAL

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 5 0 0 0 0 2 3 .278
A Cabrera 2b 4 2 2 0 1 1 0 .285
T Hafner dh 4 0 2 0 0 2 3 .265
J Barfield pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .242
V Martinez c 4 0 3 3 0 0 1 .301
R Garko 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 5 .290
J Peralta ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .270
K Lofton lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .296
a-J Michaels ph-lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .269
T Nixon rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .251
b-F Gutierrez ph-rf 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 .266
C Blake 3b 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .269

Totals 36 3 11 3 2 12 19

a-struck out looking for K Lofton in the 7th; b-singled to left for T Nixon in
the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - R Garko (29, G Meche). RBI - V Martinez 3 (114). 2-out RBI - V
Martinez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - F Gutierrez 2, R Garko 1.
GIDP - V Martinez. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: CS - C Blake (5, 2nd base by G Meche/J Buck).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 .260
M Grudzielanek 2b 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 .302
M Teahen rf 4 1 1 1 0 2 3 .285
M Sweeney dh 4 0 2 0 0 1 3 .263
J Huber pr-dh 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Gload 1b 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .283
a-E German ph-3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .267
A Gordon 3b-1b 3 0 1 1 0 2 1 .248
J Buck c 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .222
b-S Costa ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .223
P Phillips c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
J Gathright lf 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .308
T Pena Jr ss 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .267

Totals 32 4 10 3 2 7 16

a-out on batter's interference to catcher for R Gload in the 8th; b-struck out
swinging for J Buck in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (31, J Westbrook). 3B - T Pena Jr (7, J Westbrook). SF -
A Gordon. RBI - M Teahen (60), A Gordon (60), J Gathright (18). 2-out RBI - J
Gathright. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Grudzielanek 1, J Buck
1, T Pena Jr 1, M Teahen 1, A Gordon 1. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - D DeJesus (10, 2nd base off J Westbrook/V Martinez). CS - T
Pena Jr (6, 2nd base by J Westbrook/V Martinez).

FIELDING: E - T Pena Jr (23, catch). Outfield assists - J Gathright (R Garko
at Home). DP: 1 (T Pena Jr-R Gload).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 002 000 010 -- 3
KANSAS CITY - 300 000 01x -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
J Westbrook 6 1/3 7 3 3 1 5 0 4.32
R Perez (L, 1-2) 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 1.78
J Lewis 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.15

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche 6 7 2 2 2 7 0 3.67
J Bale (H, 6) 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.05
D Riske (H, 17) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.45
J Gobble (B, 2) 1/3 3 1 1 0 1 0 3.02
J Soria (W, 2-3) 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.48

J Gobble pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.

WP - J Westbrook. IBB - R Gload (by J Westbrook), M Grudzielanek (by R
Perez). HBP - D DeJesus (by J Westbrook). Pitches-strikes: J Westbrook 100-63;
R Perez 17-10; J Lewis 6-6; G Meche 103-66; J Bale 10-7; D Riske 1-1; J Gobble
14-9; J Soria 34-23. Ground balls-fly balls: J Westbrook 11-2; R Perez 2-0; J
Lewis 0-1; G Meche 4-5; J Bale 0-0; D Riske 1-0; J Gobble 0-0; J Soria 2-2.
Batters faced: J Westbrook 27; R Perez 6; J Lewis 3; G Meche 24; J Bale 2; D
Riske 1; J Gobble 4; J Soria 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Bill Welke. 1B--Mike Estabrook. 2B--Laz Diaz. 3B--Wally Bell.
EJECTIONS: KANSAS CITY's Bell by Welke (8th).
T--3:08. Att--24,274.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 13 mph, right
to left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
CLEVELAND 3
KANSAS CITY 4 FINAL</div>

 

Royals deny Indians' bid for home field throughout playoffs

<h3>KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 3</h3>By Marc Bowman
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Joey Gathright helped theCleveland Indians a little on Saturday, but it wasn't enough asKansas City Royals pulled out a 4-3 victory.


The Indians (95-66) fell a game behind the Boston Red Sox(96-65) in the race for the American League's best record.

Boston won, 6-4, against Minnesota earlier on Saturday,clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs since itholds the tiebreaker over Cleveland.


Gathright made up for a fielding gaffe with a two-out single toscore pinch runner Justin Huber in the eighth inning to break a3-3 tie.


Mark Teahen got the scoring started for the Royals in the firstinning with a double down the right field line to score DavidDeJesus. After a wild pitch scored Mark Grudzielanek, Teahencame home on Alex Gordon's sacrifice fly to give the Kansas Citya 3-0 advantage.


Cleveland got a pair of gift runs in the third when VictorMartinez lofted a two-out fly to left which Gathright lost inthe lights. It fell untouched as Casey Blake and AsdrubalCabrera scored to cut the Royals' lead to 3-2.


Gathright later nailed Ryan Garko at the plate to end the sixthinning as Garko tried to score from second on Jhonny Peralta'ssingle.


After Cabrera and Travis Hafner reached on base hits to startthe eighth, Martinez slapped a ground ball through the hole intoright field, scoring Cabrera to tie the game at 3-3.

As has been the case for most of the season, the Royals gavestarting pitcher Gil Meche little support, plating threefirst-inning runs but failing to score again.


In his final start of the season, Meche threw six innings,striking out a season-high seven while allowing two runs onseven hits and two walks. The righthander finished the yearwith a career-best 3.67 ERA and matched last year's strikeouttotal of 156.


Joakim Soria (2-3) pitched two innings with two strikeouts forthe victory.


Pitching on his 29th birthday, Jake Westbrook made his lastregular season start in preparation for a likely matchup againstthe New York Yankees in the third game of the American LeagueDivision Series.


The righthander pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits andthree runs while walking one and striking out five.

Rafael Perez (1-2) allowed two hits, a walk and one run in oneinning of relief to get the loss.

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (3) AT KANSAS CITY (4) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus hit by pitch. M Grudzielanek singled to right,
D DeJesus to third. M Teahen doubled to right, D DeJesus scored,
M Grudzielanek to third. M Sweeney struck out swinging. R Gload intentionally
walked. M Grudzielanek scored, M Teahen to third, R Gload to second on wild
pitch by J Westbrook. A Gordon hit sacrifice fly to left, M Teahen scored.
J Buck struck out looking. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 3RD: C Blake walked. G Sizemore flied out to center. A Cabrera
walked, C Blake to second. T Hafner struck out swinging. V Martinez singled
to left, C Blake and A Cabrera scored. R Garko struck out swinging. (2 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 8TH: A Cabrera singled to center. T Hafner reached on infield
single to third, A Cabrera to second. V Martinez singled to right, A Cabrera
scored, T Hafner to second. J Soria relieved J Gobble. R Garko struck out
swinging. J Barfield ran for T Hafner. J Peralta grounded into fielder's
choice to second, J Barfield to third, V Martinez safe at second on error by
shortstop T Pena Jr. J Michaels flied out to right. F Gutierrez grounded out
to second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: M Sweeney singled to left. J Huber ran for M Sweeney.
E German hit for R Gload. E German out on batter's interference to catcher.
A Gordon singled to right, J Huber to second. J Lewis relieved R Perez. S Costa
hit for J Buck. S Costa struck out swinging. J Gathright singled to right,
J Huber scored, A Gordon to second. T Pena Jr flied out to left. (1 Run, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 4.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (3) AT KANSAS CITY (4) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, A Cabrera 2B, T Hafner DH,
V Martinez C, R Garko 1B, J Peralta SS, K Lofton LF, T Nixon RF, C Blake 3B,
J Westbrook RHP.

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, M Teahen RF,
M Sweeney DH, R Gload 1B, A Gordon 3B, J Buck C, J Gathright LF, T Pena Jr SS,
G Meche RHP.

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

Gametime Weather: 80 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 13 mph.


CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore struck out swinging. A Cabrera singled to left
center. T Hafner struck out swinging. V Martinez singled to left, A Cabrera
to second. R Garko grounded into fielder's choice to second, V Martinez out at
second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus hit by pitch. M Grudzielanek singled to right,
D DeJesus to third. M Teahen doubled to right, D DeJesus scored,
M Grudzielanek to third. M Sweeney struck out swinging. R Gload intentionally
walked. M Grudzielanek scored, M Teahen to third, R Gload to second on wild
pitch by J Westbrook. A Gordon hit sacrifice fly to left, M Teahen scored.
J Buck struck out looking. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 2ND: J Peralta struck out swinging. K Lofton grounded out to
second. T Nixon popped out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0,
KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: J Gathright singled to left. T Pena Jr grounded out to
first, J Gathright to second. D DeJesus grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, J Gathright out at third. D DeJesus stole second. M Grudzielanek
grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 0, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 3RD: C Blake walked. G Sizemore flied out to center. A Cabrera
walked, C Blake to second. T Hafner struck out swinging. V Martinez singled
to left, C Blake and A Cabrera scored. R Garko struck out swinging. (2 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: M Teahen struck out swinging. M Sweeney singled to
center. R Gload grounded out to second, M Sweeney to second. A Gordon struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Peralta flied out to right. K Lofton struck out looking.
T Nixon struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2,
KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: J Buck grounded out to shortstop. J Gathright grounded
out to first. T Pena Jr singled to center. T Pena Jr caught stealing second,
catcher to shortstop.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 5TH: C Blake singled to left center. G Sizemore flied out to
right. C Blake caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. A Cabrera flied
out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: D DeJesus grounded out to first. M Grudzielanek singled
to center. M Teahen lined out to left. M Sweeney grounded out to third.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 6TH: T Hafner singled to left center. V Martinez grounded into
double play, shortstop to first, T Hafner out at second. R Garko doubled to
deep left center. J Peralta singled to left, R Garko thrown out at home.
(0 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: R Gload grounded out to second. A Gordon struck out
looking. J Buck grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 7TH: J Bale relieved G Meche. J Michaels hit for K Lofton.
J Michaels struck out looking. F Gutierrez hit for T Nixon. F Gutierrez singled
to left. D Riske relieved J Bale. C Blake grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, F Gutierrez out at second. J Gobble relieved D Riske. G Sizemore
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: J Michaels in left field. F Gutierrez in right field.
J Gathright grounded out to second. T Pena Jr tripled to deep center. R Perez
relieved J Westbrook. D DeJesus grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
T Pena Jr out at home, D DeJesus to second. M Grudzielanek intentionally walked.
M Teahen struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

CLEVELAND 8TH: A Cabrera singled to center. T Hafner reached on infield
single to third, A Cabrera to second. V Martinez singled to right, A Cabrera
scored, T Hafner to second. J Soria relieved J Gobble. R Garko struck out
swinging. J Barfield ran for T Hafner. J Peralta grounded into fielder's
choice to second, J Barfield to third, V Martinez safe at second on error by
shortstop T Pena Jr. J Michaels flied out to right. F Gutierrez grounded out
to second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 1 Error) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: M Sweeney singled to left. J Huber ran for M Sweeney.
E German hit for R Gload. E German out on batter's interference to catcher.
A Gordon singled to right, J Huber to second. J Lewis relieved R Perez. S Costa
hit for J Buck. S Costa struck out swinging. J Gathright singled to right,
J Huber scored, A Gordon to second. T Pena Jr flied out to left. (1 Run, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 4.

CLEVELAND 9TH: E German at third base. A Gordon at first base. P Phillips
catching. C Blake struck out swinging. G Sizemore flied out to left.
A Cabrera struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS
CITY 4.</div>

 

Royals deny Indians' bid for home field throughout playoffs

<h3>KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 3</h3>By Marc Bowman
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Joey Gathright helped theCleveland Indians a little on Saturday, but it wasn't enough asKansas City Royals pulled out a 4-3 victory.


The Indians (95-66) fell a game behind the Boston Red Sox(96-65) in the race for the American League's best record.

Boston won, 6-4, against Minnesota earlier on Saturday,clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs since itholds the tiebreaker over Cleveland.


"We were shooting to have the best record, but that's the way itgoes," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "It just wasn't meantto be."


Gathright made up for a fielding gaffe with a two-out single toscore pinch runner Justin Huber in the eighth inning to break a3-3 tie.


"The throw pushed Victor back a little, but Kenny (Lofton) madea good throw," Wedge said. "It was a bang-bang play. Thebaserunner did a good job on the slide to go around Victor."

"Joey has a knack for getting the bat on the ball," Royalsmanager Buddy Bell said.


Mark Teahen got the scoring started for the Royals in the firstinning with a double down the right field line to score DavidDeJesus. After a wild pitch scored Mark Grudzielanek, Teahencame home on Alex Gordon's sacrifice fly to give the Kansas Citya 3-0 advantage.


Cleveland got a pair of gift runs in the third when VictorMartinez lofted a two-out fly to left which Gathright lost inthe lights. It fell untouched as Casey Blake and AsdrubalCabrera scored to cut the Royals' lead to 3-2.


Gathright later nailed Ryan Garko at the plate to end the sixthinning as Garko tried to score from second on Jhonny Peralta'ssingle.


After Cabrera and Travis Hafner reached on base hits to startthe eighth, Martinez slapped a ground ball through the hole intoright field, scoring Cabrera to tie the game at 3-3.

As has been the case for most of the season, the Royals gavestarting pitcher Gil Meche little support, plating threefirst-inning runs but failing to score again for him.

"Gil deserves more wins," Bell said. "But he was exactly whatwe thought he would be."


In his final start of the season, Meche threw six innings,striking out a season-high seven while allowing two runs onseven hits and two walks. The righthander finished the yearwith a career-best 3.67 ERA and matched last year's strikeouttotal of 156.


Joakim Soria (2-3) pitched two innings with two strikeouts forthe victory.


"Our bullpen again saved the day," Bell said. "They've given usgood work almost all the year."


"(Franklin) Gutierrez was the toughest out," Soria said. "He's avery good hitter."


Pitching on his 30th birthday, Jake Westbrook made his lastregular season start in preparation for a likely matchup againstthe New York Yankees in the third game of the American LeagueDivision Series.


"I'll prepare accordingly," Westbrook said of having more than aweek between Saturday's start and his playoff outing. "Theyhave a very good lineup. It's all about being prepared and notmaking mistakes. You definitely have to be on top of your game,but then you have to be anytime in the playoffs."


The righthander pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits andthree runs while walking one and striking out five.

"Jake did a good job," Wedge said. "He had to work himself intoit a little. But he did a better job of mixing and matchinghis pitches and he got stronger as he went along. I was realpleased with what we saw from Jake today."


"He had a rough first inning," Martinez said. "But he settleddown and started making his pitches. He gave us a pretty goodshot to win this game."


Rafael Perez (1-2) allowed two hits, a walk and one run in oneinning of relief to get the loss.