Indians 2, Royals 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Right-hander Carlos Carrasco pitched seven pristine innings and right fielder Michael Brantley delivered a clutch run-producing single as the Cleveland Indians defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 Tuesday night.
Carrasco (7-4) won his third straight start, holding the Royals to five hits, while striking out eight and walking two. He limited the Royals batters to 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, stranding six. Carrasco retired the final 11 batters he faced.
While the Royals were miserable in the clutch off Carrasco, Brantley supplied the go-ahead hit when his two-out eighth-inning single to center scored second baseman Jason Kipnis and broke a 1-1 deadlock.
It was the first run this year that right-hander Wade Davis (2-1) had allowed, after throwing 22 scoreless innings to begin the season. The inning included Davis walking two and the Royals failing to turn a double play.
After Indians manager Terry Francona used three relievers to get three outs in the eighth, Cody Allen worked a flawless ninth for his 12thsave in 13 opportunities.
The Royals lost for the sixth time in seven games, while the Indians have won five of six.
Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie did an about face from his previous torturous outing, allowing just one run and three base runners over 5 2/3 innings before being replaced after first baseman Carlos Santana's double on his 105th pitch.
Guthrie, who was coming off the worst start of his career when he retired only three of the 16 Yankees he faced while allowing 11 runs in a May 25 start at New York, threw 27 pitches in the first inning and went to a full-count on the first five Indians he faced.
Guthrie, however, held the Indians hitless until two outs in the fourth when right fielder Brandon Moss homered into the Indians' bullpen. It was Moss' third home run in 16 at-bats off Guthrie. It ended an 11-pitch at-bat, with Moss fouling off four consecutive pitches before driving a 94 mph fastball out.
That was also the only hit Guthrie permitted the first five innings.
The Royals scored first when first baseman Eric Hosmer's two-out, third inning single scored third baseman Mike Moustakas, who singled and took second on a wild pitch.
The Royals stranded two runners in the second and fourth innings. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales led off the second with a double and Carrasco walked Gordon, but retired the next three batters.
With one out in the fourth, Carrasco walked right fielder Alex Rios and yielded a single to catcher Salvador Perez, but again the Royals failed to cash in.
Kipnis, who hit a major league best .429 in May, opened the game with a scorcher to the gap, but four-time Gold Glove left-fielder Gordon snared it in a highlight reel catch.
NOTES: Indians RHP Corey Kluber (60 strikeouts in May) and 2B Jason Kipnis (51 hits) became just the second pair of teammates to combine for 60 strikeouts and 50 hits in a calendar month. The others to accomplish that were RHP Bobo Newsom (61 strikeouts) and 1B George McQuinn (50 hits) in August 1938. ... May was the first time in Indians history the club had four pitchers -- Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer and Kluber -- with 35-plus strikeouts in the same month. ... Royals LHP Danny Duffy (biceps tendinitis) and RHP Kris Medlen (recovering from 2014 elbow surgery) are each scheduled to throw two innings in a simulated game Thursday. ... Kluber will try to win his fourth straight decision on Wednesday after starting the season 0-5. The Royals will counter with LHP Jason Vargas, who will be making his second start since coming off the disabled list on May 26.