Indians-Royals: Cleveland Notches 5-4 Win

Grady Sizemore hit two home runs and made a great catch for out number three in the bottom of the ninth, sending Cliff Lee and the Indians back to their hotel victorious with a 5-4 win in one of the more entertaining Indians games of the season.

With Lee, the league leader in ERA, on the mound, you'd have thought this one was over right after Sizemore homered to open the game, but you’d have been way wrong.  Lee struggled his second straight outing (struggle being a relative term comparing above average Lee to lights out Lee) but great offense and a couple of super defensive plays moved him into a tie for the AL wins lead at 8-1.

Besides Sizemore’s game winning catch, the other game saving defensive stop came in the bottom of the sixth.  Lee, working his last inning and milking a 5-4 Indians lead, gave up a lead off single to Joey Gathright.  Gathright, an absolute speed burner, was the last guy the Tribe wanted on base.  Lee struck out Tony Pena Jr. for the first out.  David DeJesus singled to left, and with runners on first and second, Esteban German came up to the plate, presumably singling in the tying run, BUT NOT SO FAST!!!  As Gathright rounded third and headed home for the easy score, he slowed considerably.  DeJesus rounded second and looked back just in time to see Cleveland’s Ben Francsco wheel and throw to second, catching him off the bag.  The throw was off line but Jhonny Peralta scooped up the ball, dived and tagged out DeJesus.  That play was strange enough, but adding to the Royals misery was the fact that Gathright, jogging home, had not crossed the plate yet.  If he’d kept any of his stream up after rounding third, he have scored.  As it was, his jogging blunder negated his run, since the tag was applied for the third out right before he touched home.  HOLY SMOKES!  A base running perfecta!

Kansas City just couldn’t come back from the one run deficit, but the Indians did after they went down 4-1.  The Royals put up two runs in the second and fourth, all four off Lee.

The Cleveland offense picked up in the fifth.  With two outs Marte singled to left, and Grady Sizemore whacked his second home run of the night, narrowing the Royal lead to 5-4. 

In the top of the sixth, the long ball prevailed yet again, a two run shot to straight away center off the bat of RBI machine Casey Blake as Peralta watched it fly overhead while standing on second.  That was enough for the Tribe on this evening.

All said and done, the Indians used four pitchers in the win.  Lee gave up four runs on ten hits, with one walk and three strike outs in six innings for the victory.  Betancourt and Perez each earned holds, going two thirds and an inning and a third respectively.  Masa Kobayashi warmed up in the bullpen in the eighth, but Joe Borowski came on in the ninth and earned his fourth save of the year.  Betancourt once again looked shaky in relief.

The Tribe was outhit 13-8 by the Royals.  Grady Sizemore led the way for the Indians with two hits and three RBI’s.  Peralta had two hits, both doubles, and scored a run.  Casey Blake had one hit and two RBI’s.  Marte, Cabrera, and Dellucci each had a hit apiece.

The Indians used Andy Marte at third and Casey Blake at first, putting Garko in the DH spot.  Travis Hafner went on the 15 day DL retroactive to May 26th.  Shin-So Choo was in route to rejoin the club after his DL stint.

The Indians win the first of the three game set after losing eight of their last ten.  The Royals upped their losing streak to a horrifying twelve games in a row with the loss.  They go at it again Saturday.  C.C. Sabathia takes on Kyle Davies.  Game time is 7:05.

This was the first game of a ten game road stretch for the Cleveland Indians.