The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Loss to Royals is twice as painful
K.C. withstands rally on day Tribe announces Ramirez will have surgery
José Ramírez swung and felt something crack.
It was a bone in his right hand. It may as well have been Cleveland’s postseason hopes.
Ryan O’Hearn led off the 10th inning with his second homer of the game, sending the Royals to a wild, 9-8 win Aug. 25 over the Indians, whose playoff chances
were severely rocked by losing Ramírez to a broken right hand.
Down, 8-4, the Indians fought back and tied it in the ninth against Ian Kennedy (12) on Francisco Lindor’s solo homer and Franmil Reyes’ stunning three-run shot with two outs.
But Nick Goody (3-1) got too much of the plate with a fourseam fastball and O’Hearn drove it over the right field wall as the Royals salvaged a backand-forth series finale to snap a four-game losing streak.
Losing the game was secondary to the Indians, who will be without Ramírez as they try to catch Minnesota in the AL Central or win a wild card. The twotime All-Star will undergo surgery Aug. 26 in New York to repair a hamate bone he fractured Aug. 24.
The Indians, who have dealt with major injuries all season, won’t know how long Ramírez will be out until after the procedure.
But they know he won’t be at third base or batting fifth for the next few weeks — and perhaps the remainder of the season.
“We’ve got to deal with it,” said starter Shane Bieber, who settled in after a few rough innings. “It’s a big blow. We’re not really faced with a choice, it’s just next man up.”
Jorge López worked the
10th for his first major league save.
Ramírez, who awakened from a puzzling, early-season offensive slump in time to propel the Indians back into postseason contention, feared the worst when he was forced to leave Aug. 24 in the first inning.
“You still try to stay optimistic and see if they can tell you better news,” he said through a translator. “But I knew something was bad when it happened.”
Trailing by four and down
to their final strike, the Indians tied it against Kennedy.
Lindor homered with one out before Kennedy walked Carlos Santana with two outs and gave up a single to Yasiel Puig.
Kennedy’s wild pitch moved the runners up and Reyes, whose homer leading off the eighth pulled Cleveland to 8-4, brought them home with a 423-foot shot to left, rewarding Indians fans who hung around after the team fell behind 8-3.
Not Justin
Bieber shook off a wobbly first few innings and stuck around for seven. After allowing the homer to O’Hearn in the third, the All-Star Game MVP retired his final 13 batters, recording seven of his eight strikeouts in that span.
Next man
Rookie infielder Yu Chang stepped in for Ramírez and got his first two major league hits.
He opened the seventh with a triple that caromed off the wall at an odd angle, and for a moment it appeared Chang might have a chance for an inside-thepark homer before he was held at third.
“He’s pretty mellow and just does his thing and he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself to begin with,” said Bieber, who played with Chang in the minors. “He came up and produced right away and he just played like himself.”
Trainer’s room
INDIANS >> RHP Carlos Carrasco was scheduled to pitch in relief for Triple-A Columbus as he continues his comeback after being diagnosed with leukemia. Carrasco could potentially join Cleveland’s bullpen in the next few weeks.
Up next
INDIANS >> RHP Adam Plutko (5-3, 4.54) starts the opener of a three-game series Aug. 27 in Detroit.