Cleveland Indians @ Kansas City Royals Double-Header Game Thread (4/28)

[alnorth]

Final, Game 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CLE (8-13)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
KC (13-8)	0	2	0	1	1	0	3	2	X	9	10	0

Final, Game 2	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CLE (9-13)	2	0	3	1	0	0	2	2	0	10	14	0
KC (13-9)	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	8	3

Kansas City clinches a winning record for the month of April.

Game 1



Loss, (4-2) Justin Masterson 6⅓IP 7R 7ER 4BB 9K 1HR
Matt Albers ⅔IP 0R 0ER 1BB 1K
Scott Barnes 1IP 2R 2ER 1BB 0K 1HR

VS.



Win, (3-0) Jeremy Guthrie 6⅔IP 0R 0ER 3BB 5K
Hold, (3) Tim Collins ⅓IP 0R 0ER 0BB 0K
Luke Hochevar 2IP 0R 0ER 0BB 5K

Home Runs

CLE

none

AL Central

Final: TB 8, CWS 3
Final: TEX 0, MIN 5
Final: ATL 3, DET 8

KC

Alcides Escobar, (3) - Bottom 5th solo shot to left
Alex Gordon, (3) - Bottom 8th 2-run homer to center

Starting Lineups

CLE

1. Michael Brantley, LF
2. Jason Kipnis, 2B
3. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
4. Nick Swisher, DH
5. Mark Reynolds, 1B
6. Carlos Santana, C
7. Ryan Raburn, RF
8. Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B
9. Drew Stubbs, CF

KC

1. Alex Gordon, LF
2. Alcides Escobar, SS
3. Billy Butler, DH
4. Eric Hosmer, 1B
5. Salvador Perez, C
6. Mike Moustakas, 3B
7. Jeff Francoeur, RF
8. Jarrod Dyson, CF
9. Chris Getz, 2B

Game 2



Win, (2-0) Corey Kluber 7IP 2R 2ER 0BB 6K
Vinnie Pestano 1IP 1R 1ER 2BB 0K
Chris Perez 1IP 0R 0ER 0BB 2K

VS.



Loss, (0-1) Will Smith 4IP 6R 4ER 1BB 5K 1HR
Bruce Chen 3IP 2R 0ER 0BB 4K
J.C. Gutierrez 2IP 2R 2ER 0BB 1K

Home Runs

CLE

Mike Aviles, (2) - Top 3rd 3-run homer to left

KC

none

Starting Lineups

CLE

1. Michael Brantley, LF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
3. Nick Swisher, 1B
4. Mark Reynolds, 3B
5. Carlos Santana, DH
6. Mike Aviles, 2B
7. Ryan Raburn, RF
8. Yan Gomes, C
9. Drew Stubbs, CF

KC

1. Alex Gordon, LF
2. Alcides Escobar, SS
2. Elliot Johnson, pr/SS
3. Billy Butler, DH
4. Eric Hosmer, 1B
5. Lorenzo Cain, CF
6. Mike Moustakas, 3B
7. Jeff Francoeur, RF
8. George Kottaras, C
9. Chris Getz, 2B

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by petegz28

I saw Escobar the first year we had him in spring training and he was hitting the **** out of the ball. I saw him hit a jack in Surprise and said "this guy is going to be ****ing good..."

Almost that entire season I watched people bagging on his hitting.....yes, Deez, I am talking about you!!!! I kept saying..."just wait, he will come around, the kid can hit...."


Now here we are 3 years later and he is one of the best players on this team and everyone loves him.


I remember KK was bashing on him when we got him saying his throwing motion was going to cause a ton of errors....

KK literally knows nothing.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Is there any chance that Escobar could hit 15 bombs this year?

He has that kind of juice in his bat, I think. He has strong wrists and is starting to learn when to pick his spots and try to drive the ball.

[BlackHelicopters]

Radio and game cast as well.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Old Dog

Winning record in April assured

When was the last time the Royals had a winning record in April? I keep thinking 2003 was the last time they had a decent April.

[KCUnited]

Originally Posted by Hootie

Understandable...

but if he keeps it up and has a nice ERA, WHIP and K's per 9 maybe some dumbass will try him at starter again

the dude has some good stuff

Hopefully we can build large enough leads to showcase his stuff.

[Infidel Goat]

I'm sure that someone commented on it in the game thread, but I like that Hoch came in and started pitching from the stretch even though nobody was on base.

Keep it up for a couple of months, and then we can trade him for some prospects. Thankfully, we should never need him in our starting line up again.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Hootie

Understandable...

but if he keeps it up and has a nice ERA, WHIP and K's per 9 maybe some dumbass will try him at starter again

the dude has some good stuff

The thing that's strangest about this is that he's doing all of this out of the stretch. Which has been his problem his whole career - can't pitch out of the stretch at all.

It's shocking, really, to me. If he can keep succeeding out of the stretch, he might actually be able to stick as a solid starter for more than a flash here or there.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic

Do you guys realize that if the Royals keep this up, sportscenter will move their game highlights from the end of the show to right in the middle?

You're dreaming.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Coach

When was the last time the Royals had a winning record in April? I keep thinking 2003 was the last time they had a decent April.

We've been in the second half of this classic saying forever:

"You can't win your division in April, but you sure as hell can lose it"

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

The thing that's strangest about this is that he's doing all of this out of the stretch. Which has been his problem his whole career - can't pitch out of the stretch at all.

It's shocking, really, to me. If he can keep succeeding out of the stretch, he might actually be able to stick as a solid starter for more than a flash here or there.

Remember in 2008 when Greinke had issues as a starting pitcher and was moved to the bullpen. He proceeded to blow everyone away and took that same mindset back into the rotation and became a Cy Young winner. Not saying Hoch is Grienke, but anything is possible.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Hootie

so uhm

yeah

if Hoch keeps it up maybe he'll pitch his way into having trade value?

You're dreaming.

[KCUnited]

I'm feeling as positive as anyone, but seriously, **** Hoch.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Hootie

Understandable...

but if he keeps it up and has a nice ERA, WHIP and K's per 9 maybe some dumbass will try him at starter again

the dude has some good stuff

Some dumbass = Dayton Moore/Ned Yost

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

The thing that's strangest about this is that he's doing all of this out of the stretch. Which has been his problem his whole career - can't pitch out of the stretch at all.

It's shocking, really, to me. If he can keep succeeding out of the stretch, he might actually be able to stick as a solid starter for more than a flash here or there.

They really are handling him brilliantly (now). He has the stuff to be a solid starter. The stretch always seemed to hold him back.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by Coach

When was the last time the Royals had a winning record in April? I keep thinking 2003 was the last time they had a decent April.

They did it in both 2011 and 2009. Both times they actually held on until mid/late May but were below .500 by the end of the month.