Royals Report: Revenge Sweep Over Cleveland

The Royals notched their fifth straight victory by defeating the Cleveland Indians 9-4 Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium. The sweep has propelled the KC Royals into a first place tie in the AL Central with the Indians.

The Kansas City Royals blew open a tight 3-2 game when Salvador Perez slammed a three-run blast with two outs in the sixth inning Wednesday night. The Indians were never really in the game after Perez’s pivotal hit.

Kansas City swept the Indians in Kansas City, which repays Cleveland for the four-game doughnut the Tribe hung on the Royals at Jacobs Field almost two weeks ago. That drubbing triggered an eight-game losing streak for the defending World Champions.

Ian Kennedy earned his fifth win of the season, lasting 6.2 innings while allowing 4 runs. The final two scores came in the seventh inning, when the KC Royals had already opened a seven-run lead. 

The only sour note of the evening came before the game when the Kansas City Royals announced they had designated second baseman Omar Infante for assignment. Though the move means the KC Royals are eating around $14.7 million remaining on his contract, it was necessary due to the team’s need for extra bullpen help and Infante’s lack of production.

On to my observations about Wednesday’s Game:

Next: Ian Kennedy

5) Ian Kennedy Does The Job

Ian Kennedy held the Cleveland Indians to two runs over 6.0 innings Wednesday night, after giving up 12 runs and 6 home runs in his last two starts. Kennedy continued the KC Royals string of strong starts that began with Danny Duffy busting the losing streak with 6.0 scoreless innings on Saturday.

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Unfortunately, Kennedy gave up a two-run home run in the seventh inning when Ned Yost left him in the game after the Royals scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 9-2 lead.

Even so, it was a solid performance from Kennedy, who most likely would have been pulled after six under normal circumstances. Overall, Kennedy went 6.2 innings, allowing 5 hits, 4 earned runs, with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts.

Kennedy’s ERA actually went up to 4.17 from 4.06 before the game, but Kennedy picked up the win to even his season record at 5-5.

If Kennedy continues to pitch like he has at home (1.45 ERA coming into the game), he’s going to be well worth his $70 million contract.

Next: Omar Infante

3) Cheslor Cuthbert Demanding More Respect At The Plate

Sort of lost in the KC Royals barrage of 11 hits and 9 runs on Wednesday night, Cheslor Cuthbert drew two walks.

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While that might not seem all that significant compared to Salvador Perez’s three-run shot, especially since Cuthbert didn’t score a run, Cuthbert is no longer a rookie that pitchers will simply challenge until he proves he can hurt them.

Cuthbert’s two home-run game against the Chicago White Sox on June 11, which helped the KC Royals bust their eight-game losing streak, has also forced pitchers to treat the rookie with more care at the plate.

Though Cuthbert showed a solid eye in the minor-leagues, he was barely drawing any walks after taking over at third base following Mike Moustakas‘ season-ending injury. Now that Cuthbert showed his extra base power, pitchers have to be more careful about giving him pitches in his wheelhouse.

Cheslor Cuthbert’s .273/.307/405 triple slash doesn’t really make him an offensive asset. However, combined with his better-than-average defense, Cuthbert is more than playable. His performance has staved off the need for Dayton Moore to seek third base help on the trade market.

Next: Drew Butera

2) Drew Butera’s Hitting Give Royals Best Catching Situation In MLB

Every Kansas City Royals fan with even remote contact with the team knows how catcher Salvador Perez is hitting right now. We’ll be talking about him in the next slide. But, Drew Butera is also performing well in the back-up role.

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The 32-year-old Butera is slashing a more-than-adequate .298/.353/.553 in 47 at bats. His solid defense isn’t quite up to Salvador Perez’s gold glove standards, but has been quite good in his own right. In fact, Butera helped the team maintain a six-game winning streak after Perez collided into Chaslor Cuthbert and needed to sit out a handful of games.

Butera’s .856 OPS is something of an anamoly compared to his career .189/.246/.280 slash line, but he continues to hit better than expected in the 2016 season. On Wednesday night, Butera went 2 for 3, with a single, double, and two runs scored.

While KC Royals fans can’t help but wonder when Butera’s bat will desert him, so far he’s been a great substitute for Salvador Perez on his more-frequent-than-normal off days in 2016.

Next: Salvador Perez

1) Salvador Perez Bombs Away

What can we say? Salvador Perez hit a key bomb for the second straight night that changed the game. On Tuesday, his two-run shot erased a 2-1 deficit in the 8th inning to set up the KC Royals fourth win in a row. On Wednesday, his three-run shot turned a narrow 3-2 lead into a 6-2 bulge.

This time, the drive went to straight-away center field.

Perez is now on pace for 27 home runs this season, which would break his career high of 21 set just last year. The 26-year-old Perez is slashing a terrific .293/.321/.534 after his 1 for 4 performance Wednesday night.

Perez is clearly looking to drive the ball early in the count, and isn’t putting pitches that he can only make weak contact with in play before the pitcher has two strikes on him. As a result, Salvy is getting the chance to hit a lot more mistake pitches out of the yard.

Perez’s newfound power at the plate might make him the best catcher in baseball, with all due respect to Buster Posey, the resurgent Jonathan Lucroy, and Wilson Ramos in Washington.

Next: Five Worst Moves Of Dayton Moore As KC Royals GM

With a World Series MVP, three straight gold gloves, and three consecutive All-Star nods, Salvador Perez is one of the best players in the game. He certainly belongs in the AL MVP conversation for 2016.