GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (38-51) at CLEVELAND (53-36)

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 13 0
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 5 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - GIL MECHE, ZACK GREINKE (6TH), JIMMY GOBBLE (7TH), JOAKIM
SORIA (7TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK

CLE - C.C. SABATHIA, TOM MASTNY (8TH) AND VICTOR
MARTINEZ

HOME RUNS: KAN - EMIL BROWN (4) OFF C.C. SABATHIA IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

CLE - RYAN GARKO (10) OFF GIL MECHE IN THE 6TH, 1 ON</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 13 0
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 5 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - GIL MECHE, ZACK GREINKE (6TH), JIMMY GOBBLE (7TH), JOAKIM
SORIA (7TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK

CLE - C.C. SABATHIA, TOM MASTNY (8TH) AND VICTOR
MARTINEZ


WP - GIL MECHE (6-6)
LP - C.C. SABATHIA (12-4)
SAVE - OCTAVIO DOTEL (9)

HOME RUNS: KAN - EMIL BROWN (4) OFF C.C. SABATHIA IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

CLE - RYAN GARKO (10) OFF GIL MECHE IN THE 6TH, 1 ON


TIME: 3:12 ATT: 31,599

PROBABLES: KAN - JORGE DE LA ROSA (7-9, 5.16)
CLE - FAUSTO CARMONA (10-4, 3.85)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (6) VS CLEVELAND (5) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 5 0 1 0 0 2 3 .281
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 1 1 0 0 2 3 .281
M Teahen rf 5 3 3 0 0 1 0 .286
B Butler dh 5 1 3 2 0 0 1 .315
J Gathright pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .319
E Brown lf 5 1 2 3 0 1 3 .231
E German 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .284
A Gordon 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .230
J Buck c 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 .247
T Pena Jr ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .274

Totals 39 6 13 5 2 9 16

BATTING: 2B - B Butler (6, C Sabathia); M Teahen 2 (16, C Sabathia 2); J Buck
(13, C Sabathia). HR - E Brown (4, 3rd inning off C Sabathia 2 on, 1 Out). RBI
- B Butler 2 (16), E Brown 3 (38). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E
German 1, M Grudzielanek 2, D DeJesus 1, A Gordon 1. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - D DeJesus (5, 2nd base off T Mastny/V Martinez). CS - J
Gathright (3, 2nd base by T Mastny/V Martinez).


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 5 1 2 0 0 1 2 .282
C Blake 3b-1b 5 0 0 0 0 2 3 .271
V Martinez c 5 1 2 1 0 2 1 .323
T Hafner dh 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 .260
J Peralta ss 3 2 2 0 1 1 0 .284
R Garko 1b 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .300
M Rouse 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
T Nixon rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .238
B Francisco lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .313
J Barfield 2b 3 0 1 0 1 2 0 .258

Totals 36 5 10 5 2 10 11

BATTING: 2B - G Sizemore 2 (20, G Meche, O Dotel); V Martinez (24, J Gobble).
HR - R Garko (10, 6th inning off G Meche 1 on, 0 Out). SF - T Hafner. RBI - T
Nixon (27), V Martinez (71), R Garko 2 (33), T Hafner (58). 2-out RBI - T
Nixon, V Martinez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - V Martinez 1, B
Francisco 1, G Sizemore 1. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Barfield (10, 2nd base off Z Greinke/J Buck).

FIELDING: E - C Blake (9, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 203 000 100 -- 6
CLEVELAND - 000 112 100 -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche (W, 6-6) 5 8 4 4 1 5 1 3.68
Z Greinke (H, 6) 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.65
J Gobble (H, 8) 1/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 2.93
J Soria (H, 8) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.11
O Dotel (S, 9) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.32

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Sabathia (L, 12-4) 7 11 6 6 2 6 1 3.78
T Mastny 2 2 0 0 0 3 0 4.38

G Meche pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.

WP - J Gobble. Pitches-strikes: G Meche 100-68; Z Greinke 19-9; J Gobble 6-3;
J Soria 19-12; O Dotel 19-13; C Sabathia 113-72; T Mastny 34-24. Ground
balls-fly balls: G Meche 4-6; Z Greinke 1-1; J Gobble 0-1; J Soria 0-2; O Dotel
0-2; C Sabathia 6-9; T Mastny 1-1. Batters faced: G Meche 24; Z Greinke 5; J
Gobble 2; J Soria 4; O Dotel 4; C Sabathia 34; T Mastny 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Mark Carlson. 1B--Larry Young. 2B--Chad Fairchild. 3B--Ted
Barrett.
EJECTIONS: CLEVELAND's Garko by Carlson (8th).
T--3:12. Att--31,599.
Weather: 83 degrees, overcast. Wind: 18 mph, out to
right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
KANSAS CITY 6
CLEVELAND 5 FINAL</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (6) AT CLEVELAND (5) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus struck out swinging. M Grudzielanek singled to
right center. M Teahen singled to right, M Grudzielanek to second. B Butler
doubled to deep right center, M Grudzielanek and M Teahen scored. E Brown
popped out to second. E German grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: M Grudzielanek lined out to left. M Teahen doubled to
right. B Butler reached on infield single to shortstop, M Teahen to third.
E Brown homered to right, M Teahen and B Butler scored. E German lined out to
first. A Gordon grounded out to second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: V Martinez struck out swinging. T Hafner flied out to
center. J Peralta walked. R Garko singled to center, J Peralta to second.
T Nixon singled to right, J Peralta scored, R Garko to second. B Francisco
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 5TH: J Barfield struck out swinging. G Sizemore doubled to deep
right. C Blake grounded out to shortstop. V Martinez singled to center,
G Sizemore scored. T Hafner grounded out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 6TH: J Peralta singled to left. R Garko homered to left,
J Peralta scored. Z Greinke relieved G Meche. T Nixon flied out to center.
B Francisco grounded out to shortstop. J Barfield walked. J Barfield stole
second. G Sizemore struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5,
CLEVELAND 4.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: M Teahen doubled to left. B Butler grounded into
fielder's choice to third, M Teahen scored, B Butler to second on throwing
error by third baseman C Blake. E Brown flied out to center. E German reached
on infield single to first, B Butler out at home. A Gordon struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 4.

CLEVELAND 7TH: C Blake struck out swinging. J Gobble relieved Z Greinke.
V Martinez doubled to left center. V Martinez to third on wild pitch by
J Gobble. T Hafner hit sacrifice fly to left, V Martinez scored. J Soria
relieved J Gobble. J Peralta struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 5.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (6) AT CLEVELAND (5) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, C Blake 3B, V Martinez C, T Hafner
DH, J Peralta SS, R Garko 1B, T Nixon RF, B Francisco LF, J Barfield 2B,
C Sabathia LHP.

Umpires -- Mark Carlson (HP), Larry Young (1B), Chad Fairchild (2B),
Ted Barrett (3B).

Gametime Weather: 83 degrees, Overcast, wind out to right at 18 mph.


KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus struck out swinging. M Grudzielanek singled to
right center. M Teahen singled to right, M Grudzielanek to second. B Butler
doubled to deep right center, M Grudzielanek and M Teahen scored. E Brown
popped out to second. E German grounded out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore grounded out to second. C Blake struck out
swinging. V Martinez struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 2, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: A Gordon popped out to third. J Buck walked. T Pena Jr
grounded out to shortstop, J Buck to second. D DeJesus flied out to right.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: T Hafner flied out to right. J Peralta singled to left.
R Garko flied out to center. T Nixon flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: M Grudzielanek lined out to left. M Teahen doubled to
right. B Butler reached on infield single to shortstop, M Teahen to third.
E Brown homered to right, M Teahen and B Butler scored. E German lined out to
first. A Gordon grounded out to second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: B Francisco flied out to right. J Barfield reached on
infield single to pitcher. G Sizemore flied out to right. C Blake grounded
into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Barfield out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: J Buck doubled to deep left center. T Pena Jr flied out
to right. D DeJesus struck out looking. M Grudzielanek grounded out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: V Martinez struck out swinging. T Hafner flied out to
center. J Peralta walked. R Garko singled to center, J Peralta to second.
T Nixon singled to right, J Peralta scored, R Garko to second. B Francisco
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: M Teahen struck out swinging. B Butler grounded out to
shortstop. E Brown reached on infield single to third. E German singled to
left, E Brown to third. A Gordon struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 5TH: J Barfield struck out swinging. G Sizemore doubled to deep
right. C Blake grounded out to shortstop. V Martinez singled to center,
G Sizemore scored. T Hafner grounded out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: J Buck walked. T Pena Jr bunt popped out foul to catcher.
D DeJesus flied out to center. M Grudzielanek struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 6TH: J Peralta singled to left. R Garko homered to left,
J Peralta scored. Z Greinke relieved G Meche. T Nixon flied out to center.
B Francisco grounded out to shortstop. J Barfield walked. J Barfield stole
second. G Sizemore struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5,
CLEVELAND 4.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: M Teahen doubled to left. B Butler grounded into
fielder's choice to third, M Teahen scored, B Butler to second on throwing
error by third baseman C Blake. E Brown flied out to center. E German reached
on infield single to first, B Butler out at home. A Gordon struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 4.

CLEVELAND 7TH: C Blake struck out swinging. J Gobble relieved Z Greinke.
V Martinez doubled to left center. V Martinez to third on wild pitch by
J Gobble. T Hafner hit sacrifice fly to left, V Martinez scored. J Soria
relieved J Gobble. J Peralta struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 5.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: T Mastny relieved C Sabathia. J Buck struck out swinging.
T Pena Jr grounded out to second. D DeJesus singled to left. D DeJesus stole
second. M Grudzielanek struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS
CITY 6, CLEVELAND 5.

CLEVELAND 8TH: R Garko struck out swinging. Cleveland's R Garko ejected by
M Carlson. T Nixon lined out to second. B Francisco flied out to right.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 5.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: C Blake at first base. M Rouse at third base. M Teahen
fouled out to first. B Butler singled to center. J Gathright ran for
B Butler. J Gathright caught stealing second, catcher to second. E Brown struck
out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 5.

CLEVELAND 9TH: O Dotel relieved J Soria. J Barfield struck out swinging.
G Sizemore doubled to deep left. C Blake flied out to left. V Martinez lined
out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 5.</div>

 

Brown homers as Royals hold off Indians

<h3>KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 5</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Kansas City Royals will take a winany way it can, especially at Jacobs Field.


Emil Brown hit three-run homer and Mark Teahen collected threehits as the Royals hung on for a 6-5 victory over the ClevelandIndians on Saturday.


The Royals, who won for only the fourth time in the past 14games in Cleveland, improved to 40-62 at Jacobs Field since theballpark opened in 1994.


Brown's three-run homer in the third gave Kansas City a 5-0lead. After Teahen hit a one-out double and Billy Butlerfollowed with an infield single, Brown deposited the first pitchhe saw from C.C. Sabathia over the right field wall for hisfourth blast of the season.


Cleveland battled back as Trot Nixon delivered an RBI single inthe fourth and Victor Martinez plated a run with a base hit aninning later.


The Indians got within 5-4 in the sixth, when Ryan Garko belteda two-run homer down the left field line off Royals starter GilMeche. However, Teahen led off the seventh with a double toright off of Sabathia, who then was let down by his defense.

Butler hit a slow chopper to third baseman Casey Blake. Insteadof going for the sure out at first, Blake spun around and triedto get Teahen going to third.


Blake's throw bounced behind shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who wasracing to cover third, allowing Teahen to score and give theRoyals a two-run lead.


The error proved crucial as Travis Hafner hit a sacrifice fly inthe seventh to close the gap to 6-5.


Meche (6-6) won his third consecutive decision, allowing tworuns, six hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings while striking outsix.


The win was Meche's first against the Indians since April 23,2003, when he was with Seattle. Entering Saturday's game, Mechewas 1-6 with a 5.69 ERA in his last nine starts vs. Cleveland.

Joakim Soria pitched a scoreless eighth before Octavio Dotelworked around a one-out double by Grady Sizemore in the ninth topick up his ninth save in 12 chances.


Sabathia (12-4) struggled, surrendering six runs and 11 hits inseven innings as he was hit hard in his second consecutivestart. In his last outing against Detroit on July 5, the burlylefthander yielded seven runs in four innings.


The Royals jumped on Sabathia early, scoring two runs in thefirst. Mark Grudzielanek and Teahen each hit one-out singlesbefore scoring on a double by Butler.

 

Brown homers as Royals hold off Indians

<h3>KANSAS CITY 6, CLEVELAND 5</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Kansas City Royals will take a winany way it can, especially at Jacobs Field.


Emil Brown hit three-run homer and Mark Teahen collected threehits as the Royals hung on for a 6-5 victory over the ClevelandIndians on Saturday.


The Royals, who won for only the fourth time in the past 14games in Cleveland, improved to 40-62 at Jacobs Field since theballpark opened in 1994.


"It was a nice win here," Royals manager Buddy Bell said."(Cleveland) is a good team, a really, really good team. It'snot an easy team to beat."


The loss snapped Cleveland's six-game home winning streak.

"I felt strong about our chances today," Indians manager Wedgesaid. "Even though we are down 5-0 early in the ballgame, ourguys do what they do and fought back. We just weren't able toget that final hit."


Brown's three-run homer in the third gave Kansas City a 5-0lead. After Teahen hit a one-out double and Billy Butlerfollowed with an infield single, Brown deposited the first pitchhe saw from C.C. Sabathia over the right field wall for hisfourth blast of the season.


"I'll take it," Brown said. "Anytime you can get five runs offof (Sabathia) is a bonus."


Cleveland battled back as Trot Nixon delivered an RBI single inthe fourth and Victor Martinez plated a run with a base hit aninning later.


The Indians got within 5-4 in the sixth, when Ryan Garko belteda two-run homer down the left field line off Royals starter GilMeche.


"Against Cleveland, no lead really feels safe," Bell said.

However, Teahen led off the seventh with a double to right offof Sabathia, who then was let down by his defense.

Butler hit a slow chopper to third baseman Casey Blake. Insteadof going for the sure out at first, Blake spun around and triedto get Teahen going to third.


Blake's throw bounced behind shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who wasracing to cover third, allowing Teahen to score and give theRoyals a two-run lead.


"I knew I had plenty of time to get Butler," Blake said. "Iheard Jhonny calling for it. When I turned around, I feltobligated to throw it. If it was a good throw, we might havehad him.


"It was just a bad deal. I should have just gone to first andmade them work for the run instead of giving them one. It wasan aggressive play, but a stupid play."


The error proved crucial as Travis Hafner hit a sacrifice fly inthe seventh to close the gap to 6-5.


"I felt bad giving them a run, especially after we worked sohard to come back," Blake said. "We would have tied it up thenext inning."


Meche (6-6) won his third consecutive decision, allowing tworuns, six hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings while striking outsix.


Meche looked in control early but started fading in the fourthinning.


"My last two outings, I've hit a wall for some strange reason,"Meche said. "I have come out the first three innings withoutstanding stuff, but then my arm gets tired."


The win was Meche's first against the Indians since April 23,2003, when he was with Seattle. Entering Saturday's game, Mechewas 1-6 with a 5.69 ERA in his last nine starts vs. Cleveland.

Joakim Soria pitched a scoreless eighth before Octavio Dotelworked around a one-out double by Grady Sizemore in the ninth topick up his ninth save in 12 chances.


"Our bullpen was outstanding tonight," Bell said. "Soria wasoutstanding and Dotel did a good job of working out of it."

Sabathia (12-4) struggled, surrendering six runs and 11 hits inseven innings as he was hit hard in his second consecutivestart. In his last outing against Detroit on July 5, the burlylefthander yielded seven runs in four innings.


"I feel fine," Sabathia said. "I am just throwing too manystrikes. I am missing my spots. When I needed to make a pitchin the first couple of innings, they were hittable pitches."

The Royals jumped on Sabathia early, scoring two runs in thefirst. Mark Grudzielanek and Teahen each hit one-out singlesbefore scoring on a double by Butler.