*Photo from Yahoo! News*
Franmil Reyes wanted a shot to end the game, and send the Cleveland Indians and their fans home happy. After Jose Ramirez drew a walk, he knew he got that shot. So he went up and delivered. Roberto Perez homered, Reyes hit the game winning homer, and the Indians defeated the Kansas City Royals with a 7-4 walk off win on Thursday night.
Indians manager Terry Francona addressed the win, saying that "I actually didn’t care how he won. Just the fact, we needed to win a game. And it was a hard one to win. But we won it."
The Indians didn't start scoring until the 4th inning, when Bobby Bradley hit a solo homer to right field, making it a 3-1 Royals lead. It stayed that way all the way to the 8th inning, when Perez cranked a go ahead 3 run homer to center field, giving Cleveland a 4-3 lead. After a blown save in the 9th, Reyes hit the walk off 3 run homer to center field, making it a 7-4 win.
For the Royals, Whit Merrifield got them on the board in the 3rd inning, making it 1-0 on an RBI single to center field. In the 4th inning, Carlos Santana and Hunter Dozier each hit solo homers to increase the lead to 3-0 at the time. In the 9th, Santana tied the game at 4-4 with a solo homer, his second of the night.
Despite blowing his second save of the season in the 9th, James Karinchak got the win for the Indians, improving to 5-2 on the season. Zach Plesac came back from the IL to start for Cleveland, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, recording 4 strikeouts in 4 innings pitched. Phil Maton, Bryan Shaw, and Nick Wittgren also pitched.
Perez said of the come from behind win that "We’re not giving up, man. We had a tough stretch, nine games. I think last year we lost eight straight I think, and then we won nine out of 11. I’m not worried about our team. I think everybody, if you look at Kansas City early in the year, I don’t know how many straight they lost and they were in first place. It’s a long season. It’s a matter of staying composed and coming to the ballpark ready to play the next game. But I think our guys tonight did a pretty good job. Hopefully we build from this one."
Greg Holland got the loss for the Royals, being on the mound when Reyes hit the homer, and Scott Barlow got the blown save. It ruined a solid start by Danny Duffy, who allowed just one run on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5 hitters in 5 innings pitched. Josh Staumont pitched a scoreless 6th inning, and Jake Brentz did the same in the 7th.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Barlow's blown save that "Scott’s slider usually doesn’t get hit like that anyhow. Maybe it goes back to the question about being used a lot and him just going off fumes right now and limping in, maybe, to the All-Star break. We’re going to have to take a look at it and make sure the medical team and the sports performance get their hands on it, see if something’s there. Because Scott usually doesn’t get hit like that."
The Indians and Royals continue their series tonight, with Triston McKenzie getting the start for the Indians, and Brad Keller going for the Royals.
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