GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (63-83) at CLEVELAND (86-61)

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

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KANSAS CITY (0) AT CLEVELAND (6) - EVENT LOG
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Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, M Teahen RF,
B Butler DH, R Gload 1B, A Gordon 3B, S Costa LF, J Smith SS, J LaRue C,
Z Greinke RHP.

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

Umpires -- Ed Hickox (HP), C.B. Bucknor (1B), Joe West (2B), Ed Rapuano (3B).


Gametime Weather: 57 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 11 mph.


KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus grounded out to second. M Grudzielanek grounded
out to third. M Teahen struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore safe at first on throwing error by first baseman
R Gload. A Cabrera doubled to deep right, G Sizemore scored. T Hafner flied
out to left. V Martinez grounded out to second, A Cabrera to third. R Garko
walked. J Peralta grounded into fielder's choice to third, R Garko out at
second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: B Butler singled to center. R Gload grounded into double
play, second to shortstop to first, B Butler out at second. A Gordon struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 2ND: K Lofton flied out to center. F Gutierrez fouled out to
second. C Blake walked. G Sizemore fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: S Costa popped out to second. J Smith doubled to right.
J LaRue struck out swinging. D DeJesus reached on infield single to shortstop,
J Smith to third. M Grudzielanek grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 3RD: A Cabrera flied out to left. T Hafner homered to right.
V Martinez grounded out to first. R Garko walked. J Peralta doubled to deep
right center, R Garko thrown out at home. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: M Teahen flied out to left. B Butler grounded out to
shortstop. R Gload flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0,
CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 4TH: K Lofton fouled out to left. F Gutierrez struck out
swinging. C Blake popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: A Gordon flied out to left. S Costa grounded out to
second. J Smith struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0,
CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 5TH: G Sizemore flied out to center. A Cabrera walked. T Hafner
flied out to center. A Cabrera to second on wild pitch by Z Greinke.
V Martinez intentionally walked. R Garko struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: J LaRue struck out swinging. D DeJesus flied out to
center. M Grudzielanek struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 6TH: J Peralta singled to left. K Lofton struck out swinging.
L Nunez relieved Z Greinke. J Peralta to third on wild pitch by L Nunez.
F Gutierrez struck out swinging. C Blake struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: M Teahen flied out to left. B Butler struck out looking.
R Gload struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0,
CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 7TH: J Gobble relieved L Nunez. G Sizemore grounded out to third.
A Cabrera struck out looking. T Hafner flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: A Gordon struck out swinging. S Costa flied out to
center. J Smith popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 8TH: R Braun relieved J Gobble. V Martinez doubled to deep left.
R Garko reached on infield single to shortstop, V Martinez scored, R Garko to
second on throwing error by shortstop J Smith. J Barfield ran for R Garko.
J Peralta grounded out to shortstop, J Barfield to third. K Lofton walked.
K Lofton stole second. F Gutierrez hit sacrifice fly to right, J Barfield scored,
K Lofton to third, F Gutierrez to second on error by right fielder M Teahen.
C Blake singled to right, K Lofton and F Gutierrez scored. G Sizemore walked,
C Blake to second. A Cabrera struck out swinging. T Hafner popped out to third.
(4 Runs, 3 Hits, 2 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 6.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: C Gomez at first base. R Perez relieved F Carmona. J LaRue
struck out swinging. J Huber hit for D DeJesus. J Huber struck out swinging.
M Grudzielanek struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0,
CLEVELAND 6.</div>

 

Carmona dominant as Indians blank Royals

<h3>CLEVELAND 6, KANSAS CITY 0</h3>By Todd Krepop
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Fausto Carmona is putting together a secondhalf to remember.


Carmona pitched eight scoreless innings to lead the ClevelandIndians to a 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturdaynight.


The win reduced the Indians' magic number for clinching theAmerican League Central Division to nine. Cleveland (87-61)remained 5 1/2 games ahead of Detroit (82-67), which edgedMinnesota on Saturday.


Carmona (17-8) has been sensational in the second half, going7-4 with an AL-best 2.19 ERA since the All-Star break. Theyoung righthander matched teammate C.C. Sabathia with his 17thwin of the season.


After failing as the Indians' closer last season, Carmona hasbounced back to form a dynamic 1-2 punch with Sabathia. WhileSabathia has gotten most of the consideration for the Cy YoungAward, it is Carmona who leads the AL with a 3.07 ERA.

"I'm not thinking about (the ERA)," Carmona said through anintepreter. "I'm just thinking about the next start. Maybe itwill go lower next time."


"I'd think it's safe to say he's deserving of plenty ofconsideration," Indians manager Eric Wedge said.


Carmona rarely was in trouble against a Kansas City team thathas lost nine of its last 10 games. The closest the Royals cameto scoring was in the third, but Carmona induced MarkGrudzielanek to hit into an inning-ending grounder with runnerson the corners.


"He's not going to come from the same spot every time,"Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez said. "The biggest thing forhim is to stay in control and put his mechanics together. Whenhe is like that, he is really tough to hit."


That proved to be the last inning the Royals had a baserunner,as Carmona retired the last 16 batters he faced, beginning withGrudzielanek. Lefthander Rafael Perez struck out the side inthe ninth.


"I was feeling good," Carmona said. "I got in a groove. It wasthe first time I've retired that many hitters in a row."

Carmona yielded just three hits and struck out nine without awalk, throwing 73-of-103 pitches for strikes in improving to 3-0against the Royals this season.


"His ball was moving a little more than it has in the past,"Kansas City's Shane Costa said. "His ball moved a lot and hehad a good slider and changeup."


Sabathia and Carmona became the first pair of Indians to record17 wins in a season since Charles Nagy and Bartolo Colon eachwon 17 in 1999.


The Royals know just how good Cleveland's top two starters are,having faced Sabathia and Carmona in the first two games of thisthree-game series.


"We've scored in one inning out of how many?" Royals managerBuddy Bell said. "Sabathia has 17 wins and the kid (Carmona)has 17. We're not the only team they have done this against.Sometimes you just got to tip your cap."


Cleveland took advantage of an error by Kansas City firstbaseman Ross Gload to take a 1-0 lead in the first. GradySizemore led off the game with a slow grounder to first, butGload threw the ball behind pitcher Zach Greinke, who was racingto cover the base.


Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a double off the right fieldwall, scoring Sizemore from first.


A solo home run by Travis Hafner in the third doubled theIndians' advantage. With one out, Hafner deposited Greinke's1-0 pitch into the right field seats for his 22nd blast of theseason.


That was all Greinke surrendered, as he kept the Indiansoff-balance for most of his outing. The Royals' first-roundpick in 2002, he allowed two runs - one earned - and four hitsin 5 1/3 innings, walking five and striking out three.

However, it was not enough to keep up with Carmona.

"Carmona was amazing today," Greinke said. "Just watching himpitch, he would have shut anybody down. The stuff he had wasreally impressive."


It was the first loss by Greinke since rejoining the rotation onAugust 24. In his five starts since, he is 1-1 with a 0.73ERA.


"I felt good," Greinke said. "There were some at-bats, though,where I lost command."


Cleveland broke open the game with a four-run eighth,highlighted by Casey Blake's two-run RBI single.


Despite the victory, Cleveland received a scare in the eighth,when Ryan Garko was hit on the right hand by shortstop JasonSmith's wild throw while beating out a grounder for an infieldsingle. Garko left the game for a pinch runner but believes heshould be able to play Sunday.


"We were just playing it safe," Garko said. "I don't see anyproblem with it."