KC Royals Finish Series With a 7-4 Win Over the Indians

By Krista Mangels |

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The KC Royals went into the game Thursday afternoon hoping to get a solid start out of Edinson Volquez after the bullpen was used far more than expected not even 24 hours earlier. It would be only the 5th time in his entire career that Volquez would pitch at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals would be going against the reigning Cy Young award winner, Corey Kluber.

You can see the box score for the game here.

School day at the “K” began with a rain delay that lasted over two hours. Once the game finally started, the Kansas City Royals came out with a bang. Volquez retired the first three batters and we all hoped that this would be another impressive start for Volquez.

In the bottom of the 1st inning, Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch and later scored after a Mike Moustakas single and an error by right-fielder, Brandon Moss. Lorenzo Cain followed with a ground ball single to right field.

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With two men on, Eric Hosmer hit his 5th home run on a line drive straight into center field, giving him his 14th RBI against the Indians this season. This all came with still no outs to put KC up 4-0. Kluber was able to get all three outs with no further damage done by the KC Royals.

The first hit of the game, for the Indians, came in the 2nd with a triple off the bat of Lonnie Chisenhall. He later came to score on a ground out by David Murphy to cut the Royals lead to 4-1. This was the start of what would turn out to be a very rough night for Volquez.

Next: Royals Muddle Through The Middle Innings

May 7, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez (36) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The bottom of the 2nd inning started great when Jarrod Dyson was called safe at first after a throwing error by second baseman, Jason Kipnis. Dyson made it to third after a sacrifice bunt by Christian Colon and then a stolen base. Alex Gordon struck out. With two outs Moustakas walked. We have seen the KC Royals have so many two out rallies but it would not happen this time. Lorenzo Cain left two stranded when he grounded out to the pitcher to end the 2nd inning.

The Kansas City Royals found themselves in a tough situation in the top of the 3rd when the bases were full of Indians after a single and two walks with David Murphy up to bat.

Volquez continued to be far too generous by walking in Murphy and Michael Bourn to give away two runs, making it 4-3. Volquez understandably showing his frustration, ended up striking out Roberto Perez to finally end the inning and giving us all a moment a relief.

It was obvious Volquez did not have his normal command that we have seen this year so far, causing Ned Yost to bring in Franklin Morales to pitch the top of the 4th. Morales bounced back, after struggling Wednesday night, with three up and three down in the 4th, including two strikeouts. Kluber also recorded his first 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 4th.

In the bottom of the 5th Moustakas singled, followed by a Kendrys Morales single. Salvador Perez then did what he seems to do best, hit with runners in scoring position. Perez singled to center to pick up the RBI by scoring Moustakas. This was the first run the Royals managed to score since the 1st inning, extending their lead to 5-3.

In the top of the 6th Luke Hochevar came out to pitch in relief. This was the first time Royals fans have seen Hochevar in over a year due to Tommy John surgery. He made his season debut by striking out his first two batters in a perfect inning. You could not help but be happy for Hochevar after what he went through in the last year.

In the bottom of the 6th, after an Alex Gordon single, Corey Kluber was replaced by Marc Rzepczynski to pitch. Moose welcomed him into the game with a line drive single to center. After just one batter, Rzepczynski was quickly replaced by leftie, Bryan Shaw to face right-hander, Lorenzo Cain. With a full count, Shaw was able to get Cain to ground out, leaving two runners on base.

Ryan Madson came out of the bullpen to pitch the 7th and allowed a homer to Santana to shorten the Royals lead to one run.

Next: Royals Pull Away In the Late Innings

May 7, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Omar Infante (14) hits a two run double in the seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Royals got to a quick start to try and get that run back to cushion the lead.

The Indians would use a new pitcher, Nick Hagadone, which was the fourth pitcher in just as many batters. Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales both singled. This would trigger the 5th pitching change of the night for the Indians, as they brought in Scott Atchison to face Salvador Perez.

Perez also singled to load the bases. Omar Infante doubled down the left field line to score two runs and increase the Royals lead to 7-4. That would be the Royals 12th hit of the night.

Cody Allen came in to pitch for the Indians and it seemed to finally be what the Indians were looking for. Despite the walk, Allen was able to record all three outs of the inning.

Wade Davis and Greg Holland came in to close out the 8th and 9th. This was Holland’s first appearance since coming off of the disabled list but he quickly got back to his normal self which was very nice to see.

Mike Moustakas went 3-4 in the game with a walk and two scored runs. Franklin Morales recorded the win and the save went to Greg Holland.

Although, Volquez did not perform as we had hoped, it was great to see the team come together to still record the win even with the challenge. Next up, the Royals will head to Detroit to start a three game series with the Tigers.

Next: KC Royals Sit in First Place Despite Challenges

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