News
Missed early chances haunt Tribe
Two ninth-inning runs too little, too late against Royals
By Robert Falkoff / Special to MLB.com
04/13/09 11:55 PM ET
KANSAS CITY -- Missed opportunities early, missed opportunities late. Even on a night when they doubled the Royals' hit total, the Indians couldn't shake those April doldrums.Cleveland lured Zack Greinke into a high pitch count and did some ninth-inning business against All-Star closer Joakim Soria on Monday, but that still didn't get the Indians their desired result. Leaving 12 runners on base, the Tribe fell, 4-2, to the Royals and dropped to 1-6 on the young season.
As much as they'd like to rewind the past week and start from where they left off in Spring Training, the Indians can only take deep breaths and try to build on the positives manager Eric Wedge saw in the opener of a six-game road trip.
"We just squandered too many opportunities," Wedge said. "Greinke is an outstanding young pitcher and I felt like we made him work. We put ourselves in position to score runs but never really took advantage of it until the final inning."
On a cold evening, Indians starter Fausto Carmona experienced first-inning problems. He threw 42 pitches in the opening inning, and the Royals jumped in front, 3-0, on RBI hits by Mark Teahen, Billy Butler and Alberto Callaspo. A solo homer in the fourth by Mike Jacobs made the hole a bit larger.
The Indians stranded seven in the opening four innings against Greinke and then looked as though they would go quietly until the ninth, when they erupted first against left-hander Ron Mahay and then against Soria.
Trevor Crowe and Asdrubal Cabrera each singled, prompting Kansas City manager Trey Hillman to call on Soria even with a four-run cushion. Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo followed with singles and, after a wild pitch, the margin was down to 4-2 with nobody out and runners at second and third.
That's when Soria, now 4-for-4 in save opportunities, got tough. He fanned Victor Martinez, induced Travis Hafner to hit a bouncer to the mound and then froze Jhonny Peralta with a 3-2 slow breaking ball to end the game.
"He made a good pitch right there," Peralta said. "I wasn't looking for that pitch. I was looking for a cutter away. It's good for him."
And good for the Royals, who improved to 4-3 and 2-2 in renovated Kauffman Stadium.
Greinke was able to fan Hafner twice in the opening three innings, when a fly ball could have meant a run. Greinke threw 104 pitches over just five innings but now has a scoreless streak of 25 innings dating back to last season.
"I don't know how many times I'm going to be able to continue doing that, but the last two games I've been doing good with people on base, and hopefully it continues," Greinke said.
Carmona regrouped after the first inning, but too much damage had been done. Carmona said his pitches were moving so much in the first that he had trouble getting the ball into the strike zone.
From Wedge's perspective, the approach at the plate that Cleveland showed was a definite silver lining.
"We were able to work some tough at-bats," Wedge said. "What you've got to do is put yourself in position to score runs. If you do that, more times than not you're going to come through. Tonight, [Greinke] really bowed his neck and made pitches. He left [runners] out there."
The Indians had been hopeful that Sunday's icebreaker victory over Toronto would be a springboard for the road trip. But the Royals had the answers on Monday and the Indians were back to pondering some perplexing questions.
After the troublesome first, Wedge was pleased with how Carmona responded.
"He really had to battle in that first inning, and they took advantage of it," Wedge said. "You never like to see anybody throw that many pitches in the first, but you hope he can work through it -- and he did. He threw just over 100 in five innings, and it gave us a chance to stay in the ballgame."
The Indians wound up out-hitting Kansas City, 10-5, but they were left with nothing to show for it. Now it's up to right-hander Carl Pavano to do something about an 0-4 road record Tuesday.
"We kept pushing, but Soria did a fantastic job of finishing it off," Wedge said.
One timely hit could have meant the difference for the Indians on Monday as they battled an elite starter and closer. But it simply never came.
"It's early," Wedge said. "We'll get better."
Robert Falkoff is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
