Indians Sweep Royals; Three Takeaways from todays 12-0 win
CLEVELAND, OHIO – The Cleveland Indians finished off an impressive three game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 12-0 victory today in front of an energized crowd at Progressive Field. The attendance was 32,229 fans who got to enjoy a beautiful 73-degree day for baseball. Three big things stand out about todays and this weekend’s action.
Cleveland gets off to a hot start on both sides of the ball!
Carrasco cruised through the first with none of the 3 batters he faced even getting a ball out of the infield. Meanwhile the Indians came out with full guns blazing against young starting pitcher Eric Skoglund who came into the game 1-1 with a 5.59 era.
Frankie Lindor opened the game with a walk followed by an Austin Jackson single. Jose Ramirez showed yet again why he is so clutch, knocking Lindor in with a double and making it 1-0 in the blink of an eye.
Edwin Encarnacion grounded out to make it 2-0 seconds after that. The sacrifice also put Ramirez on third with only one out for Carlos Santana. Carlos failed to increase the lead as he quickly popped out to the first basemen. It wouldn’t matter as Brandon Guyer showed some more of the great two out hitting that has kept the Indians bats hot as of late, with a 2 out RBI single to make it 3-0.
A Zimmer strikeout would end the surge there, but it was great start to give their second best starting pitcher a comfortable lead to work with. The only question was how would Carassco do after the long layoff sitting in the dugout.
Carrasco would end those questions early, with two more strikeouts in the top of the second, while allowing only one hit but keeping the Royals scoreless.
Piling on the runs and not resting on the lead!
The Indians would keep the bats raging in the second, with a 2-run homerun by Frankie Lindor after Gomes led off with a walk. Austin Jackson would follow with a double for his second hit of the game. Then, following a Ramirez pop out and a Encarnacion walk that chased Skoglund from the game, it was Carlos Santana piling on with a 3 run home run off the left field foul pole.
The Indians refused to rest on a 3-0 lead and went full tilt to make it 8-0 with the multiple homeruns. Then, after three straight singles, by Guyer, Diaz and Zimmer loaded the bases. It was Gomes coming up and smashing the third homerun of the inning, a grand slam to make it 12-0. With only 4 outs on record for the Royals, they had already given up 12 runs in a laugher.
The 9-run inning was a season high for runs in a frame. After Frankie Lindor picked up his second hit of the inning, it was Austin Jackson mercifully ending the Royals misery with a double play ball. 2 innings, 12 runs, all of them earned. A fast start and piling on as they batted around! This is exactly what this team needed after a slow start to the week against Boston.
Making this all even more impressive was that it came without Bruce or Kipnis in the lineup.
Starting Pitching back on track after great weekend!
After a taxing week against Boston that saw the starting pitching and bullpen look shaky at times, it was refreshing and encouraging to see such excellent starting pitching this weekend from the Indians. Ryan Merrit looked good on Friday and Clevinger last night, both tossing bullpen combined shutouts. The pressure was on Carrasco to keep it up today, and he did just that.
Carrasco cruised as he went 7 innings, striking out 8 and giving up 0 runs. It dropped his ERA to 3.78. Carrasco moved to 13-6 with the win. This is the starting pitching that was advertised in the offseason and spring training. If it continues to stay red hot, the Indians will be tough out come October baseball.
