GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CLEVELAND (27-16) at KANSAS CITY (18-28)

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - PITCHING CHANGE
KAN: OCTAVIO DOTEL (NO RECORD) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 5, KANSAS CITY 11

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C BLAKE (.256, 1-FOR-4, HR, RBI)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: O Dotel relieved J Gobble.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 5
KANSAS CITY 11 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: C Blake (.256, 1-FOR-4, HR, RBI)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY TRAVIS HAFNER (9) TO CENTER WITH 0 OUT
IN THE 9TH OFF OCTAVIO DOTEL SCORED CASEY BLAKE.
CURRENT SCORE: CLEVELAND 7, KANSAS CITY 11

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: V MARTINEZ (.322, 1-FOR-3, BB)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 7 11 0
KANSAS CITY 2 5 0 0 2 0 0 2 x 11 14 2 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - CLIFF LEE, MIKE KOPLOVE (5TH), FERNANDO CABRERA (7TH) AND
VICTOR MARTINEZ

KAN - SCOTT ELARTON, BRANDON DUCKWORTH (5TH), JIMMY
GOBBLE (8TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK

HOME RUNS: CLE - GRADY SIZEMORE (8) OFF SCOTT ELARTON IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
CASEY BLAKE (5) OFF SCOTT ELARTON IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
TRAVIS HAFNER (9) OFF OCTAVIO DOTEL IN THE 9TH, 1 ON

KAN - JOHN BUCK (8) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
MIKE SWEENEY (6) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
ALEX GORDON (3) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
MARK GRUDZIELANEK (2) OFF FERNANDO CABRERA IN THE 8TH, 1
ON</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 7 11 0
KANSAS CITY 2 5 0 0 2 0 0 2 x 11 14 2 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - CLIFF LEE, MIKE KOPLOVE (5TH), FERNANDO CABRERA (7TH) AND
VICTOR MARTINEZ

KAN - SCOTT ELARTON, BRANDON DUCKWORTH (5TH), JIMMY
GOBBLE (8TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK


WP - BRANDON DUCKWORTH (2-3)
LP - CLIFF LEE (2-1)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CLE - GRADY SIZEMORE (8) OFF SCOTT ELARTON IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
CASEY BLAKE (5) OFF SCOTT ELARTON IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
TRAVIS HAFNER (9) OFF OCTAVIO DOTEL IN THE 9TH, 1 ON

KAN - JOHN BUCK (8) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
MIKE SWEENEY (6) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
ALEX GORDON (3) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
MARK GRUDZIELANEK (2) OFF FERNANDO CABRERA IN THE 8TH, 1
ON


TIME: 3:10 ATT: 11,506

PROBABLES: CLE - JEREMY SOWERS (0-4, 7.13)
KAN - JORGE DE LA ROSA (4-3, 3.59)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (7) VS KANSAS CITY (11) - FINAL

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 .273
C Blake 3b 5 2 2 1 0 2 4 .261
T Hafner dh 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 .278
V Martinez c 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 .319
T Nixon rf 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 .283
J Peralta ss 4 0 1 1 0 2 4 .273
D Dellucci lf 5 0 1 1 0 1 3 .227
R Garko 1b 3 1 2 0 1 0 2 .325
J Barfield 2b 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 .230

Totals 37 7 11 7 4 6 16

BATTING: 2B - T Nixon (8, S Elarton); V Martinez (9, S Elarton); D Dellucci
(10, S Elarton); R Garko (4, B Duckworth); J Barfield (5, B Duckworth); C Blake
(13, O Dotel). HR - G Sizemore (8, 1st inning off S Elarton 0 on, 0 Out), C
Blake (5, 1st inning off S Elarton 0 on, 0 Out), T Hafner (9, 9th inning off O
Dotel 1 on, 0 Out). SF - J Peralta. RBI - G Sizemore (22), C Blake (20), J
Peralta (32), D Dellucci (7), J Barfield (21), T Hafner 2 (31). 2-out RBI - D
Dellucci, J Barfield. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Dellucci 2, C
Blake 3, R Garko 2, G Sizemore 1. GIDP - D Dellucci. Team LOB - 9.


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 4 2 2 0 1 1 2 .278
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 2 3 3 0 0 0 .257
M Teahen rf 5 2 1 1 0 0 1 .303
M Sweeney dh 4 2 1 2 0 2 2 .257
E Brown lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 .219
A Gordon 3b 4 1 2 2 0 1 0 .195
R Shealy 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .218
J Buck c 3 1 2 2 1 0 0 .310
T Pena Jr ss 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .247

Totals 37 11 14 11 2 6 9

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (13, C Lee); R Shealy (4, M Koplove); J Buck (8, M
Koplove). HR - J Buck (8, 2nd inning off C Lee 0 on, 0 Out), M Sweeney (6, 2nd
inning off C Lee 1 on, 1 Out), A Gordon (3, 5th inning off C Lee 0 on, 1 Out),
M Grudzielanek (2, 8th inning off F Cabrera 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - E Brown (15), A
Gordon 2 (7), J Buck 2 (18), M Grudzielanek 3 (17), M Teahen (25), M Sweeney 2
(22). 2-out RBI - E Brown, A Gordon, M Grudzielanek 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - D DeJesus 1, R Shealy 1. Team LOB - 4.

BASERUNNING: CS - T Pena Jr (2, 3rd base by F Cabrera/V Martinez).

FIELDING: E - J Buck (5, throw); T Pena Jr (10, pop up). DP: 1 (M
Grudzielanek-T Pena Jr-R Shealy).


----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 300 010 012 -- 7
KANSAS CITY - 250 020 02x -- 11
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Lee (L, 2-1) 4 1/3 10 8 8 1 3 3 5.93
M Koplove 1 2/3 2 1 1 0 2 0 5.40
F Cabrera 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 5.59

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
S Elarton 4 2/3 7 4 4 4 3 2 6.00
B Duckworth (W, 2-3) 3 2 1 1 0 1 0 2.39
J Gobble 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.50
O Dotel 1 2 2 2 0 1 1 18.00

WP - S Elarton, O Dotel. HBP - J Barfield (by S Elarton). Pitches-strikes: C
Lee 90-61; M Koplove 25-19; F Cabrera 32-16; S Elarton 102-56; B Duckworth
50-32; J Gobble 6-5; O Dotel 20-14. Ground balls-fly balls: C Lee 4-6; M
Koplove 0-3; F Cabrera 0-4; S Elarton 4-7; B Duckworth 4-4; J Gobble 0-0; O
Dotel 1-1. Batters faced: C Lee 24; M Koplove 7; F Cabrera 8; S Elarton 25; B
Duckworth 11; J Gobble 1; O Dotel 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Tom Hallion. 1B--Greg Gibson. 2B--Tony Randazzo. 3B--Charlie
Reliford.

T--3:10. Att--11,506.
Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 16 mph, right
to left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
CLEVELAND 7
KANSAS CITY 11 FINAL</div>

 

Sweeney, red-hot Royals outslug Indians

<h3>KANSAS CITY 11, CLEVELAND 7</h3>KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- For the second straightnight, Mike Sweeney and the red-hot Kansas City Royals gave thesurging Cleveland Indians all they could handle.

Sweeney and John Buck each homered and drove in two runs as theRoyals used a five-run second inning en route to their secondstraight victory over the Indians, an 11-7 triumph on Wednesday.

Rookie Alex Gordon knocked in two runs for Kansas City, which<div class="pre">has won eight of its last 10 games - its best stretch since</div>capturing eight of 10 from September 13-22, 2003.

In the series opener on Tuesday, Sweeney hit a game-tyingtwo-run homer in the sixth inning and Mark Teahen drew abases-loaded walk in the seventh as the Royals posted a 4-3victory. It was more of the same one night later.

Both teams provided early offensive fireworks as Kansas Citytrailed, 3-2, entering the second frame. But Buck led off theinning with a blast and, after Tony Pena Jr. was thrown outattempting a bunt, David DeJesus started a string of fourstraight hits - capped by Sweeney's two-run blast off Indiansstarter Cliff Lee to make it 7-3 lead.

Mark Grudzielanek had an RBI double and Teahen added arun-scoring single in the decisive rally.

Lee (2-1) began the season on the disabled list with anabdominal strain sustained in February during a bullpen session.He joined the rotation on May 3 and threw a complete game inhis second start back against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheimon May 8 but has not been on top of his game since.

The lefthander yielded eight runs - six earned - in 11 inningsin his last two starts and did not make it out of the fifthinning on Wednesday. He allowed eight runs and 10 hits,striking out three and walking one.

Royals starter Scott Elarton did not fare much better but wasthe beneficiary of some much-needed run support. He yieldedfour runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 frames, walking four andstriking out three.

But Brandon Duckworth (2-3) kept Kansas City in the game,tossing three solid frames in relief, allowing one runs andthree hits. He struck out one without walking a batter.

He got into some trouble in the eighth, allowing a two-outdouble to Ryan Garko and an RBI double to Josh Barfield to makeit 9-5. Jimmy Gobble relieved Duckworth and struck out GradySizemore to end the threat.

Garko, who has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, smackedtwo more hits and Travis Hafner added a two-run homer forIndians, who suffered just their third loss in their last 10contests.

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">CLEVELAND (7) VS KANSAS CITY (11) - FINAL

CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 .273
C Blake 3b 5 2 2 1 0 2 4 .261
T Hafner dh 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 .278
V Martinez c 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 .319
T Nixon rf 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 .291
J Peralta ss 4 0 1 1 0 2 4 .273
D Dellucci lf 5 0 1 1 0 1 3 .227
R Garko 1b 3 1 2 0 1 0 2 .325
J Barfield 2b 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 .230

Totals 37 7 12 7 4 6 16

BATTING: 2B - T Nixon (8, S Elarton); V Martinez (9, S Elarton); D Dellucci
(10, S Elarton); R Garko (4, B Duckworth); J Barfield (5, B Duckworth); C Blake
(13, O Dotel). HR - G Sizemore (8, 1st inning off S Elarton 0 on, 0 Out), C
Blake (5, 1st inning off S Elarton 0 on, 0 Out), T Hafner (9, 9th inning off O
Dotel 1 on, 0 Out). SF - J Peralta. RBI - G Sizemore (22), C Blake (20), J
Peralta (32), D Dellucci (7), J Barfield (21), T Hafner 2 (31). 2-out RBI - D
Dellucci, J Barfield. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Dellucci 2, C
Blake 3, R Garko 2, G Sizemore 1. GIDP - D Dellucci. Team LOB - 9.


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 4 2 2 0 1 1 2 .278
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 2 3 3 0 0 0 .257
M Teahen rf 5 2 1 1 0 0 1 .303
M Sweeney dh 4 2 1 2 0 2 2 .257
E Brown lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 .219
A Gordon 3b 4 1 2 2 0 1 0 .195
R Shealy 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .218
J Buck c 3 1 2 2 1 0 0 .310
T Pena Jr ss 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .247

Totals 37 11 14 11 2 6 9

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (13, C Lee); R Shealy (4, M Koplove); J Buck (8, M
Koplove). HR - J Buck (8, 2nd inning off C Lee 0 on, 0 Out), M Sweeney (6, 2nd
inning off C Lee 1 on, 1 Out), A Gordon (3, 5th inning off C Lee 0 on, 1 Out),
M Grudzielanek (2, 8th inning off F Cabrera 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - E Brown (15), A
Gordon 2 (7), J Buck 2 (18), M Grudzielanek 3 (17), M Teahen (25), M Sweeney 2
(22). 2-out RBI - E Brown, A Gordon, M Grudzielanek 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - D DeJesus 1, R Shealy 1. Team LOB - 4.

BASERUNNING: CS - T Pena Jr (2, 3rd base by F Cabrera/V Martinez).

FIELDING: E - J Buck (5, throw). DP: 1 (M Grudzielanek-T Pena Jr-R Shealy).



----------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND - 300 010 012 -- 7
KANSAS CITY - 250 020 02x -- 11
----------------------------------------------------

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Lee (L, 2-1) 4 1/3 10 8 8 1 3 3 5.93
M Koplove 1 2/3 2 1 1 0 2 0 5.40
F Cabrera 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 5.59

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
S Elarton 4 2/3 7 4 4 4 3 2 6.00
B Duckworth (W, 2-3) 3 2 1 1 0 1 0 2.39
J Gobble 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.50
O Dotel 1 3 2 2 0 1 1 18.00

WP - S Elarton, O Dotel. HBP - J Barfield (by S Elarton). Pitches-strikes: C
Lee 90-61; M Koplove 25-19; F Cabrera 32-16; S Elarton 102-56; B Duckworth
50-32; J Gobble 6-5; O Dotel 20-14. Ground balls-fly balls: C Lee 4-6; M
Koplove 0-3; F Cabrera 0-4; S Elarton 4-7; B Duckworth 4-4; J Gobble 0-0; O
Dotel 1-1. Batters faced: C Lee 24; M Koplove 7; F Cabrera 8; S Elarton 25; B
Duckworth 11; J Gobble 1; O Dotel 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Tom Hallion. 1B--Greg Gibson. 2B--Tony Randazzo. 3B--Charlie
Reliford.

T--3:10. Att--11,506.
Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 16 mph, right
to left.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (7) AT KANSAS CITY (11) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore homered to right. C Blake homered to left
center. T Hafner flied out to center. V Martinez walked. T Nixon doubled to
deep right, V Martinez to third. J Peralta hit sacrifice fly to left,
V Martinez scored. D Dellucci struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus singled to right. M Grudzielanek singled to
center, D DeJesus to third. M Teahen grounded into fielder's choice to
pitcher, D DeJesus out at home, M Grudzielanek to third, M Teahen to second.
M Sweeney grounded into fielder's choice to third, M Grudzielanek out at home.
E Brown reached on infield single to first, M Teahen scored, M Sweeney to third.
A Gordon singled to center, M Sweeney scored, E Brown to third. R Shealy
popped out to third. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 2.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: J Buck homered to left center. T Pena Jr bunt grounded
out to pitcher. D DeJesus singled to right. M Grudzielanek doubled to left,
D DeJesus scored. M Teahen singled to left center, M Grudzielanek scored.
M Sweeney homered to left, M Teahen scored. E Brown fouled out to first.
A Gordon popped out to shortstop. (5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 7.

CLEVELAND 5TH: T Hafner lined out to left. V Martinez doubled to deep
right. T Nixon walked. J Peralta struck out swinging. D Dellucci hit a
ground rule double to deep left center, V Martinez scored, T Nixon to third.
B Duckworth relieved S Elarton. R Garko grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 7.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: E Brown popped out to second. A Gordon homered to right.
M Koplove relieved C Lee. R Shealy doubled to deep center. J Buck doubled to
deep right, R Shealy scored. T Pena Jr struck out swinging. D DeJesus fouled
out to left. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 9.

CLEVELAND 8TH: J Peralta flied out to center. D Dellucci lined out to
right. R Garko doubled to deep center. J Barfield doubled to deep left,
R Garko scored. J Gobble relieved B Duckworth. G Sizemore struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, KANSAS CITY 9.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: J Buck popped out to shortstop. T Pena Jr singled to
left. D DeJesus walked, T Pena Jr to second. T Pena Jr caught stealing third,
catcher to third, D DeJesus to second on runner's fielder's choice.
M Grudzielanek homered to left, D DeJesus scored. M Teahen lined out to left.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, KANSAS CITY 11.

CLEVELAND 9TH: O Dotel relieved J Gobble. C Blake doubled to deep left.
T Hafner homered to center, C Blake scored. V Martinez flied out to right.
T Nixon singled to shallow left. T Nixon to second on wild pitch by O Dotel.
J Peralta struck out swinging. D Dellucci grounded out to first. (2 Runs,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, KANSAS CITY 11.</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CLEVELAND 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 7 12 0
KANSAS CITY 2 5 0 0 2 0 0 2 x 11 14 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: CLE - CLIFF LEE, MIKE KOPLOVE (5TH), FERNANDO CABRERA (7TH) AND
VICTOR MARTINEZ

KAN - SCOTT ELARTON, BRANDON DUCKWORTH (5TH), JIMMY
GOBBLE (8TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK


WP - BRANDON DUCKWORTH (2-3)
LP - CLIFF LEE (2-1)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: CLE - GRADY SIZEMORE (8) OFF SCOTT ELARTON IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
CASEY BLAKE (5) OFF SCOTT ELARTON IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
TRAVIS HAFNER (9) OFF OCTAVIO DOTEL IN THE 9TH, 1 ON

KAN - JOHN BUCK (8) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
MIKE SWEENEY (6) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
ALEX GORDON (3) OFF CLIFF LEE IN THE 5TH, 0 ON
MARK GRUDZIELANEK (2) OFF FERNANDO CABRERA IN THE 8TH, 1
ON


TIME: 3:10 ATT: 11,506

PROBABLES: CLE - JEREMY SOWERS (0-4, 7.13)
KAN - JORGE DE LA ROSA (4-3, 3.59)</div>

 

AL: CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLEVELAND (7) AT KANSAS CITY (11) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, M Teahen RF,
M Sweeney DH, E Brown LF, A Gordon 3B, R Shealy 1B, J Buck C, T Pena Jr SS,
S Elarton RHP.

Umpires -- Tom Hallion (HP), Greg Gibson (1B), Tony Randazzo (2B), Charlie Reliford (3B).

Gametime Weather: 79 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 16 mph.


CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore homered to right. C Blake homered to left
center. T Hafner flied out to center. V Martinez walked. T Nixon doubled to
deep right, V Martinez to third. J Peralta hit sacrifice fly to left,
V Martinez scored. D Dellucci struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus singled to right. M Grudzielanek singled to
center, D DeJesus to third. M Teahen grounded into fielder's choice to
pitcher, D DeJesus out at home, M Grudzielanek to third, M Teahen to second.
M Sweeney grounded into fielder's choice to third, M Grudzielanek out at home.
E Brown reached on infield single to first, M Teahen scored, M Sweeney to third.
A Gordon singled to center, M Sweeney scored, E Brown to third. R Shealy
popped out to third. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 2.

CLEVELAND 2ND: R Garko singled to left. J Barfield flied out to left.
G Sizemore grounded into fielder's choice to second, R Garko out at second.
G Sizemore to second on wild pitch by S Elarton. G Sizemore safe at third on
throwing error by catcher J Buck. C Blake flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
1 Error) CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 2.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: J Buck homered to left center. T Pena Jr bunt grounded
out to pitcher. D DeJesus singled to right. M Grudzielanek doubled to left,
D DeJesus scored. M Teahen singled to left center, M Grudzielanek scored.
M Sweeney homered to left, M Teahen scored. E Brown fouled out to first.
A Gordon popped out to shortstop. (5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
KANSAS CITY 7.

CLEVELAND 3RD: T Hafner grounded out to second. V Martinez fouled out to
third. T Nixon flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
KANSAS CITY 7.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: R Shealy flied out to left. J Buck walked. T Pena Jr
struck out swinging. D DeJesus struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 7.

CLEVELAND 4TH: J Peralta singled to left. D Dellucci grounded into double
play, second to shortstop to first, J Peralta out at second. R Garko walked.
J Barfield hit by pitch, R Garko to second. G Sizemore walked, R Garko to third,
J Barfield to second. C Blake struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
CLEVELAND 3, KANSAS CITY 7.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: M Grudzielanek grounded out to second. M Teahen flied out
to left. M Sweeney struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 3,
KANSAS CITY 7.

CLEVELAND 5TH: T Hafner lined out to left. V Martinez doubled to deep
right. T Nixon walked. J Peralta struck out swinging. D Dellucci hit a
ground rule double to deep left center, V Martinez scored, T Nixon to third.
B Duckworth relieved S Elarton. R Garko grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 7.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: E Brown popped out to second. A Gordon homered to right.
M Koplove relieved C Lee. R Shealy doubled to deep center. J Buck doubled to
deep right, R Shealy scored. T Pena Jr struck out swinging. D DeJesus fouled
out to left. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 9.

CLEVELAND 6TH: J Barfield lined out to left. G Sizemore grounded out to
second. C Blake struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4,
KANSAS CITY 9.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: M Grudzielanek flied out to left. M Teahen flied out to
center. M Sweeney struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4,
KANSAS CITY 9.

CLEVELAND 7TH: T Hafner grounded out to second. V Martinez flied out to
left. T Nixon grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4,
KANSAS CITY 9.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: F Cabrera relieved M Koplove. E Brown lined out to center.
A Gordon struck out swinging. R Shealy fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 4, KANSAS CITY 9.

CLEVELAND 8TH: J Peralta flied out to center. D Dellucci lined out to
right. R Garko doubled to deep center. J Barfield doubled to deep left,
R Garko scored. J Gobble relieved B Duckworth. G Sizemore struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, KANSAS CITY 9.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: J Buck popped out to shortstop. T Pena Jr singled to
left. D DeJesus walked, T Pena Jr to second. T Pena Jr caught stealing third,
catcher to third, D DeJesus to second on runner's fielder's choice.
M Grudzielanek homered to left, D DeJesus scored. M Teahen lined out to left.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 5, KANSAS CITY 11.

CLEVELAND 9TH: O Dotel relieved J Gobble. C Blake doubled to deep left.
T Hafner homered to center, C Blake scored. V Martinez flied out to right.
T Nixon singled to shallow left. T Nixon to second on wild pitch by O Dotel.
J Peralta struck out swinging. D Dellucci grounded out to first. (2 Runs,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) CLEVELAND 7, KANSAS CITY 11.</div>

 

Sweeney, red-hot Royals outslug Indians

<h3>KANSAS CITY 11, CLEVELAND 7</h3>KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- For the second straightnight, Mike Sweeney and the red-hot Kansas City Royals gave thesurging Cleveland Indians all they could handle.

Sweeney and John Buck each homered and drove in two runs as theRoyals used a five-run second inning en route to their secondstraight victory over the Indians, an 11-7 triumph on Wednesday.

Rookie Alex Gordon knocked in two runs for Kansas City, which<div class="pre">has won eight of its last 10 games - its best stretch since</div>capturing eight of 10 from September 13-22, 2003.

"This feels like the best we've played," Buck said. "Evenbefore the last week or two, with all the one-run games, weweren't getting beat because we didn't play good baseball. Wewere in a lot games and now it feels good to be on a roll andhave things working for us."

"Our guys feel good about themselves right now, and if theydon't, they should," Royals manager Buddy Bell said.

In the series opener on Tuesday, Sweeney hit a game-tyingtwo-run homer in the sixth inning and Mark Teahen drew abases-loaded walk in the seventh as the Royals posted a 4-3victory. It was more of the same one night later.

Both teams provided early offensive fireworks as Kansas Citytrailed, 3-2, entering the second frame.

"Getting two quick runs with none out, and then getting anotherone in the first, that was big," Cleveland's Casey Blake said."We've got to come out and shut them down, though. I wasthinking that if we could get out of the first without thoseruns scoring, we'd be in good shape."

But Buck led off the inning with a blast and, after Tony PenaJr. was thrown out attempting a bunt, David DeJesus started astring of four straight hits - capped by Sweeney's two-run blastoff Indians starter Cliff Lee to make it 7-3.

"We did an outstanding job offensively, especially after theygot the three runs," Bell said. "Buck has done a great joboffensively all year, and it's not just the home runs. This wasprobably our best night."

Mark Grudzielanek had an RBI double and Teahen added arun-scoring single in the decisive rally.

Lee (2-1) began the season on the disabled list with anabdominal strain sustained in February during a bullpen session.He joined the rotation on May 3 and threw a complete game inhis second start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim onMay 8 but has not been on top of his game since.

"He knows that is unacceptable with what we saw in the firstinning," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "He's better thanthat. We're better than that. We go out there and take it tothem like we did in the top half of the first inning, he sure as(heck) has got to go out there and do a lot better than that.If you're not ready for this game, it will kick you hard andthat's what happened right there.

"He needs to learn from that, it needs to be a lesson learned.He needs to come back out the next time and start moving in theright direction."

The lefthander yielded eight runs - six earned - in 11 inningsin his last two starts and did not make it out of the fifthinning on Wednesday. He allowed eight runs and 10 hits,striking out three and walking one.

"I pretty much threw a lot of balls down the middle and made acouple of bonehead plays on the mound," Lee said. "We scoredthree runs in the first. A good starting pitcher goes out thereand gets the team back in the dugout and ready to score somemore runs and I wasn't able to do that.

"I pretty much gave them two runs in the first and five more inthe second. That's definitely not what you're supposed to dowhen your team scores three runs in the top of the first."

Royals starter Scott Elarton did not fare much better but wasthe beneficiary of some much-needed run support. He yieldedfour runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 frames, walking four andstriking out three.

"It was a battle, obviously, for me from the first hitter,"Elarton said. "I just couldn't fall into a rhythm and not a lotof the pitches were working. The bottom line is that we won.I picked the right night to give it up."

"It was typical Scottie," Bell said. "He could not get the balldown in the zone and you have to do that against that team. Atleast he got us to (reliever Brandon) Duckworth and he did agreat job for us, settling things down."

Duckworth (2-3) kept Kansas City in the game, tossing threesolid frames in relief, allowing one runs and three hits. Hestruck out one without walking a batter.

"We're clicking on all cylinders," Duckworth said. "We wentthrough that phase early on where we weren't clicking, but weare now. I just think everyone is getting in there; we'regetting good pitching, good hitting and good defense.Everything is starting to roll for us."

He got into some trouble in the eighth, allowing a two-outdouble to Ryan Garko and an RBI double to Josh Barfield to makeit 9-5. Jimmy Gobble relieved Duckworth and struck out GradySizemore to end the threat.

"Duckworth was as good as it gets," Bell said. "The bullpen hasbeen great and he was the biggest factor for why we won today."

Garko, who has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, smackedtwo more hits and Travis Hafner added a two-run homer forIndians, who suffered just their third loss in their last 10contests.

"Give the Royals credit," Garko said. "They got a lot of bighits. Sweeney's their best player and the home runs he's hithave changed the tide of the game in both these games. That'swhat superstars are supposed to do."

"Kansas City is a good ball club," Wedge said. "They're playinggood baseball right now. They're a much better team andthey've taken it to us."