Cleveland Indians collect 17 hits, including 4 homers, in 14-6 win over KC – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — They like to watch the big man run. Manager Terry Francona says nothing gets the Indians’ dugout jumping more than the sight of 6-5, 265-pound Franmil Reyes running the bases like he’s Usain Bolt.

Francona believes there are different ways for players to lead. Reyes, noted for his power but giving full effort on the bases, is one of them.

That effort was on display Saturday night as he tried to score from first on Bobby Bradley’s double. Reyes didn’t make it as he was thrown out at the plate. But what followed was a six-run fourth inning as the Indians beat the Royals, 14-6, for the eighth straight time this season.

Left-hander Mike Minor, who has given the Indians all sorts of problems over his career, was on the mound for the Royals to start the fourth. He had a 2-0 lead, but that was about to change.

Jose Ramirez walked to start the inning. Reyes singled to left. Bradley followed with a ringing double to the gap in left center. Ramirez scored and third base coach Mike Sarbaugh waved Reyes home. Good relay work by Michael Taylor and Nicky Lopez cut down Reyes at the plate, but the tone was set for the inning and the rest of the night.

The man who was most thankful that the Indians kept scoring was Sarbaugh, who may have been too aggressive in sending Reyes home.

“I’m glad we scored there because I think Sarbie was feeling it,” said Francona. “I told him if you have one (mistake) in the first half and one in the second half, you’re having a helluva year. I was really happy we strung some hits together after that because I know he was mad at himself.

“But the effort from Franmil is always there. That’s a given and it’s something we care a lot about. We point it out to everybody because that’s how important we feel it is.”

Harold Ramirez singled as Bradley stopped at third. Roberto Perez popped up, but Oscar Mercado scored Bradley with a single to tie the game at 2. Harold Ramirez went to third and Mercado continued to second on an error by Taylor.

Bradley Zimmer put the Indians ahead, 3-2, with a single that deflected off Minor. Cesar Hernandez wrapped the inning in a box with a three-run homer to the bleachers in left center for a 6-2 lead. It was his 15th homer of the year, tying a career high he set in 2018 with the Phillies.

Minor (6-8, 5.67) entered the game with a 3-0 record against the Indians in nine appearances. He held them to four runs over 28 2/3 innings. Among pitchers with a minimum of three starts against the Indians since 1920, his 1.26 ERA was the eighth lowest.

When he walked off the mound in the fourth, his night’s work finished, Minor had allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings.

The Indians finished with 17 hits against the Royals, who have lost 15 of their last 18 games. Hernandez, Perez, Mercado and Jose Ramirez homered. Mercado finished with a career-high four RBI, while Ramirez hit his 19th homer with one game left before the All-Star break.

Mercado and Harold Ramirez finished with three hits each.

Saturday’s win followed walk-off wins over the Royals on Thursday and Friday with Bradley and Reyes dropping the curtain with game-winning homers.

“That will light a fire in any ballclub,” said Mercado. “Everybody wants to win, but just the fact that we were able to win in walk-off fashion with home runs the last two nights. . .that definitely brings the energy and life into the clubhouse.”

The Indians kept scoring and it’s a good thing they did because the Royals hung with them until the seventh. The game wasn’t settled until Mercado’s three-run homer off Kyle Zimmer made it 13-6 in the seventh. Kyle Zimmer, after Mercado’s homer, struck out his brother, Bradley Zimmer, in the 12th brother vs. brother matchup in the big leagues since 1970 (Elias Sports Bureau).

The two met on May 12 in a Class AAA game while both were rehabbing injuries. Bradley Zimmer singled in the eighth inning.

“I was ready,” said Zimmer. “He made some pretty good pitches. I tip my cap.”

It was a good night for right-hander Cal Quantrill (1-2, 4.23). Not only did he win his first game of the season, but he turned in his longest start. Quantrill allowed three runs on five hits over six innings. It matched the second longest start of his career. Quantrill pitched seven innings against the Rockies on Aug. 9, 2019 when he played for the Padres.

“I felt like I was taking a step forward, but wasn’t really seeing the results I wanted to see,” said Quantrill. “I felt the last two weeks before the break and the approach we have is something we can repeat. So it’s nice for it to come together.”

The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on Salvador Perez’s two-run homer into the bleachers in right. Francona felt Perez did a nice job with Quantrill after that.

“Cal started off really good,” said Francona. “In the fourth he gave up the hit and the homer. Then we scored and when we went back out on the field it looked like he lost the zone a little bit. I thought Roberto did a good job of getting him aggressive again. It ended up being a pretty good night.”

In the last two games the Indians have received seven innings from Triston McKenzie and six innings from Quantrill. The last time Cleveland starters pitched 13 innings in consecutive games was May 25 and May 26 when Aaron Civale went eight innings and McKenzie went five against the Tigers.

That’s a gap of 38 games.

“It certainly helps everybody,” said Francona. “It helps the offense, it helps the bullpen.”

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons the Indians’ hitters were mostly unstoppable Saturday night.

Jose Ramirez and Reyes worked a nice run-and-hit play in the sixth with Ramirez going from first to third on Reyes’ single. Ramirez scored on a double-play grounder by Bradley.

Perez started the sixth with his second homer since coming off the injured list last weekend. Amed Rosario doubled high off the wall in left center to deliver the second run of the inning.

The Tribe’s four-run seventh was highlighted by Mercado’s three-run homer, while Jose Ramirez completed the scoring with a homer in the eighth. The Indians have won three straight since their nine-game losing streak.

Next: The Indians, in the final game before the All-Star break, will start RHP Eli Morgan (1-3, 8.44) on Sunday. Kansas City will go with RHP Carlos Hernandez (1-0, 4.98). Game time is 1:10 p.m. Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM and WMMS will carry the game.