Cleveland Indians vs. Kansas City Royals: MLB Post Game Analysis
The Cleveland Indians are trying hard to achieve a distant aim of qualifying for the postseason this year and they showed glimpses of their commitment in a 9-6 rout of the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Sunday, September
4.
The Indians are 6.5 games behind their division leaders Detroit Tigers and need a spree of wins, sooner than later, for a chance at the postseason berth. The Wild Card entry is not a possibility for the Indians as that route is surely booked for Boston Red
Sox or the New York Yankees. The Red Sox and the Yankees are indulged in an intense fight for supremacy in the American League East division and the fight is now more for who takes the top-spot rather than who qualifies. Their lead over the other teams in
the League is substantial and thus both are ensured a spot for the next round.
Shelley Duncan was a blessing for the Indians as he unleashed two home-runs to improve his slugging percentage to .447 for the season. The designated hitter took his tally of home-runs to six for the season. His hitting was productive as it helped produce
five runs for Cleveland. Duncan’s first home-run came in the sixth inning and was a three-run homer towards the left field. The right-handed batter unleashed his arms again in the eighth inning for a two-run home-run in the same direction.
Duncan’s performance was productive for his personal record as well. Apart from the two hits and two runs, he added five RBIs to his record for the season. The Indians might not make it to the postseason this year but his performance will nonetheless give
the team management some hope of a better batting performance in the next season. Cleveland might find him useful as a clean-up hitter given his strong arm and eye coordination.
Asdrubal Cabrera found some hitting form for the Indians as he produced two RBIs in four at-bats to improve his batting average to .277 for the season. This season might be a forgone possibility for Cleveland but Cabrera can join forces with Carlos Santana
to form a formidable hitting force for the Indians in the next season.
The Royals, on the other hand, showed good resilience in the depth of the game but the effort came a bit too late. Eric Hosmer starred with the bat yet again and Melky Cabrera added two runs to improve his batting average to .302 for the season. On any other
day, the Royals would have given a tough time to the opposition but their starter did not allow them a chance to do so in this game.
Jeff Francis has been stalemate all this season and his 15 losses are worthy evidence of his lacklustre showing. He pitched through the fifth inning for four runs amid nine hits to see his earned-run average surge to 4.72 for the season. Jesse Chavez came
in on the sixth inning and continued till the end but failed to halt the visitors from scoring runs.
Jeanmar Gomez showed liveliness in his spell at the mound as he gave away just one run in 5.1 innings. He displayed immense arm strength and variety in pitching and did not hesitate to use the curve ball. The Indians might want to use him more frequently
in the rotation.
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