The Royals took advantage of an off night for reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and a rough showing from Cleveland’s defense to claim a 6-2 victory over the Tribe on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
The Royals came into the series having lost two straight games, and manager Ned Yost was wary of a third against Kluber.
“We got off to such a hot start and you lose two straight and you don’t want to go to three against a team that is going to be in it the whole way through,” Yost said. “We’re facing three very tough arms here, so to get a win against a tough pitcher like Kluber was big for us.”
Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas combined for six hits and three RBIs for Kansas City, which turned in enough offense to support an effective effort from lefty Jason Vargas. The Royals’ starter issued five walks in his five innings, but sidestepped a handful of jams and limited the Indians to just two runs (on a fifth-inning homer by Mike Aviles).
“I just felt like I was missing by just a little bit off the plate,” Vargas said. “We were able to make some defensive plays to get out of innings.”
Kluber, who gave up four earned runs in 31 1/3 innings against the Royals in his Cy Young showing last season, was charged with six runs (four earned) in 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander scattered 10 hits, struck out five and walked two, dropping to 0-3 this month. The Indians are now 0-5 in games started by Kluber.
“We haven’t been able to all be on the same page yet,” Kluber said of Cleveland’s slow start. “That’s obviously frustrating for everybody. But that being said, we’ve just got to stay with it. We can’t make up for the way we’ve played thus far in a week. It’s got to be a process. We can’t let it snowball on us.”
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