3rd-straight shutout nails down sweep
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians blasted the Kansas City Royals with a nine-run second inning, and the Indians’ pitching staff completed a three-game shutout sweep with a 12-0 win on Sunday.
The Indians dominated the Royals over three days at Progressive Field, outscoring them 20-0 while posting three consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1956.
“It’s unbelievable, man,” said Indians catcher Yan Gomes, whose grand slam capped the big inning. “It’s definitely something. You start taking it in, and it’s like, ‘All right, let’s keep it going.’”
Carlos Carrasco (13-6) allowed six hits in seven innings as the Indians moved 17 games over .500 for the first time this season and opened a nine-game lead over the Royals, who came to town thinking they could close the gap on the defending American League champions. Instead, Kansas City is staggering home in the midst of the longest scoring drought — now at 34 innings — in team history.
“It’s over,” Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield said of the series. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. We all know we’re struggling. We know we haven’t scored a run in however long it’s been, and guys are trying to take it upon themselves a little too much.”
Francisco Lindor hit a two-run homer in the second inning off Eric Skoglund (1-2). Carlos Santana later connected on a three-run shot off Onelki Garcia. Gomes capped Cleveland’s biggest inning this season with his drive off the reliever, who had been promoted from the minors on Saturday and made his first major-league appearance since 2013.
The Royals used the two rookie left-handers after placing scheduled starter Danny Duffy on the disabled list Saturday with a sore elbow.
Carrasco followed strong starts by Ryan Merritt and Mike Clevinger in shutting down the Royals. Although the Indians have bigger goals than winning their division, manager Terry Francona said it was good to open distance over a dangerous team.
“We have a lot of respect for their pedigree,” he said of the AL Central rival. “They’ve been there and done it. I don’t think it’s wrong to have a healthy respect for who you’re playing, as long as you don’t back down. But we did a really good job this weekend. Now, we turn the page real quick because we got a nice road trip coming up.”
Lindor’s 24 homers are the second-most in club history for a shortstop. The All-Star batted .360 with four homers and seven RBI during the homestand.
He also presented his teammates and coaching staff with bath robes.
“I don’t think I’ll ever wear it in public, but I did enjoy it,” Francona cracked.