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

[-King-]

Cant just proxy the night game on mlbtv?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Three7s

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.

It has worked for a lot of guys. Johan Santana started in the pen. Seems to have done wonders for shelby Miller, too.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by alnorth

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"

Oh I understand that. I was just merely pointing out that the Royal's season have been torpedoed because of a shitty month of April, and never was able to recover.

This year just feels different though. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I sure am hell am enjoying it. Also having Shields, Santana, Davis, and Guthrie on the pitching staff sure as hell helped a lot. Someone mentioned it on here that the Royals pitching staff is legit and when they are having a bad day, they minimize the damage and still kept us in the game, outside of Mendoza.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by tk13

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.

Jesus, I have a very short memory. But those years, to me, just felt like it was a fluky years.

I'm not seeing any fluke here so far, and outside of a few hiccups here and there, this looks to be a very legit team so far. I mean, taking a 1-1 split over a red hot Atlanta team, taking 2-3 out of Boston, and 1-1 (one game postponed) out of Detroit on the road is fairly impressive.

[alnorth]

If we don't completely tank in June, then we are not going to sell off anyone unless the trade is intended to help this year.

I doubt we'll sign Santana long-term, but at worst I think we're pretty much guaranteed to get another 1st-round draft pick out of him next year.

[BlackHelicopters]

Not saying Hoch is Grienke, but anything is possible.

This would truly be miraculous, Duncan.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by alnorth

If we don't completely tank in June, then we are not going to sell off anyone unless the trade is intended to help this year.

I doubt we'll sign Santana long-term, but at worst I think we're pretty much guaranteed to get another 1st-round draft pick out of him.

I doubt we would resign him either, but so far, I am loving the trade for him, for the middle reliever Brandon Sisk. I'd do that trade again, any day, any time, and place.

[Nightfyre]

I could see a Guthrie-like deal for Santana if he really just loved it here.

[alnorth]

If I'm DM and Santana finishes somewhere between 3.4 ERA and 16 wins, up to getting Cy Young votes then I give him a qualifying offer to lock in our compensation, then start talking to him about a long-term deal. If he just wants to go to the highest bidder and we get priced out, then we ended up getting a full year of an elite pitcher and a 1st-round compensatory draft pick, for Brandon Sisk.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

I could see a Guthrie-like deal for Santana if he really just loved it here.

you would think/hope


unless he falls apart

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by alnorth

If I'm DM and Santana finishes somewhere between 3.4 ERA and 16 wins, up to getting Cy Young votes then I give him a qualifying offer to lock in our compensation, then start talking to him about a long-term deal. If he just wants to go to the highest bidder and we get priced out, then we ended up getting a full year of an elite pitcher and a 1st-round compensatory draft pick, for Brandon Sisk.

That would be another good deal for DM. He has made some really good deals -and some really bad deals.

[alnorth]

We're playing right about at our pythag. 93 runs scored and 69 runs allowed over 21 games translates to about 13.5 wins.

[Old Dog]

Watching this team is just fun. They almost act like a damn softball team that's been together for a handful of years. They're having fun about 95% of the time and even when things aren't going right it seems like, "It's no big deal, we got this."
Quite often in the past it was more like, "It's not going right, but we're not supposed to win anyway".
I know the season is only 15% complete, and as a Royals and Chiefs fan I'm trained to expect the wheels to fall of at any moment, but by God, I'll enjoy it while I can.

[alnorth]

Lineups are out. Cain is back in, Perez is out.

[Nightfyre]

I wonder how our April Strenght of schedule compares to the rest of the league. Had to have been fairly high I would think.

Edit: Looking at the rest of the year, it is going to be tough all year.