Indians slug 5 home runs in 11-4 blowout of Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Tyler Naquin hit two of the Indians' five homers and had a career-high six RBIs, helping the Cleveland Indians rout the AL Central-rival Kansas City Royals 11-4 on Wednesday.
Carlos Carrasco (7-3) only allowed one hit in six shutout innings, a one-out double by Cheslor Cuthbert in the fourth he followed with back-to-back strikeouts. Carrasco walked two in the sixth for his only other baserunners.
Naquin had his first multi-homer game, while Mike Napoli went deep for the second straight day. Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana also hit home runs.
The first four homers were off Ian Kennedy (6-8), whose bizarre pitching line included eight strikeouts and only one walk. But it was the ninth straight game Kennedy has served up a homer, and he has allowed 26 of them this season, tied with teammate Chris Young for most in the majors.
Kansas City scored all its runs off reliever Austin Adams in the eighth.
The division-leading Indians, who are 4-5 against the hapless Minnesota Twins this season, improved to 26-8 against the rest of the AL Central. They are 8-5 against the Royals.
For the second day in a row, a first-inning homer - this time by Kipnis, his 16th - gave them instant offense. Naquin added a solo shot in the third before adding a two-run double in the fourth.
Cleveland put away the game with a seven-run fifth inning.
1 inning, 3 HRs, 7 runs.
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) July 20, 2016
Los: https://t.co/Rl4hoqXKX2
Nap: https://t.co/74W5VWOWXF
Ty: https://t.co/z2FX0edy1O pic.twitter.com/CUZbUn77fp
With a heat index of 105 degrees at first pitch, Carrasco coolly sliced up a Kansas City offense that scored seven runs in a single inning in the opener. The right-hander retired 17 of the first 18 batters he faced around his lone single, and he struck out six while throwing just 84 pitches.
He won for the fifth time in six starts and improved to 6-1 in eight starts in Kansas City.
Kennedy wound up allowing seven runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings for the Royals. It was a rare poor start for him at Kauffman Stadium; he entered the game with an AL-best 2.11 ERA at home.
PRESIDENTIAL VISIT
The Royals will meet President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday during a ceremony to honor their World Series title. It will be the fifth president that manager Ned Yost has met: Jimmy Carter and George Bush used to come to Braves games when Yost coached in Atlanta, George W. Bush threw out the first pitch on opening day once, and Bill Clinton greeted the champion Braves at the White House in 1996. ''So this will be my fifth president,'' Yost said, ''which is kind of cool.''
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: LF Alex Gordon got the day off as he continues to battle out of a season-long slump. He's hitting just .200 through 62 games after signing a $72 million, four-year deal in the offseason. He missed several weeks with a fractured wrist in a collision with 3B Mike Moustakas.
Indians: OF Michael Brantley was expected to have an MRI exam on his ailing right shoulder Wednesday, though the results were not yet available. Brantley experienced a setback while on a rehab assignment.
UP NEXT
The Royals open a three-game set Friday night against Texas. The Indians also have a day off before visiting Baltimore on Friday night.
