CLEVELAND: After two consecutive walk-off wins, the Indians had a calmer night in a 6-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Friday at Progressive Field.
The victory was the Indians’ third in a row and brought them to within a half-game of the division-leading Royals (30-24).
Instead of waiting until the 11th inning, like Wednesday, or the bottom of the ninth, like on Thursday, the Indians grabbed an early lead and held it.
It was yet another strong outing for Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar, who has been one of the top pitchers in the American League this season. Salazar went eight innings, allowed one run on three hits and five walks and struck out nine.
He’s now 6-3 with an ERA of 2.24, arguably outperforming every AL starting pitcher with the exception of Chicago’s Chris Sale. Salazar entered second in baseball in hits allowed (41) and tied for third in runs allowed (16), establishing himself along with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco in the Indians’ rotation.
The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the second and received a positive sign going forward at the same time. Facing Royals starter Edinson Volquez (5-5, 4.03 ERA), Yan Gomes belted a solo home run to the bleacher seats in left field, his seventh of the season. Gomes has been wearing new glasses this week and delivered the game-winning hit in Wednesday’s game against Texas.
The Indians (29-24) tacked on three more runs in the third. Francisco Lindor singled home Jason Kipnis, who had doubled, to put the Indians up 2-1. Lindor then scored all the way from first on Mike Napoli’s double over Jarrod Dyson’s head in left field.
Napoli later scored on a wild pitch, putting the Indians up 4-1.
In the seventh, rookie outfielder Tyler Naquin hit the first home run of his career, a solo shot to the opposite field that gave the Indians a 5-1 edge and the kind of breathing room they hadn’t been able to enjoy the previous two nights.
And in the eighth, Jose Ramirez continued his torrid pace with a double, then stole third and scored on a throwing error by Royals catcher Drew Butera. It was Ramirez’s 14th double and raised his team-leading batting average to .325.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ