Indians 4, Royals 3
CLEVELAND -- Held to one run on three hits over seven innings by Kansas City starter Ervin Santana, the Cleveland Indians rallied for three runs off the Royals' bullpen in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Kansas City 4-3 Tuesday night.
With the Indians trailing 3-1, Ryan Raburn led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk from reliever Kelvin Herrera. Raburn went to second on a groundout by Drew Stubbs, and Raburn scored on a single by Michael Bourn to cut the lead to 3-2.
Mike Aviles followed with a single, sending Bourn to second, and Bourn scored the tying run when Jason Kipnis slapped a double down the left field line off Tim Collins. Aviles went to third on Kipnis' hit, and Michael Brantley's sacrifice fly drove in Aviles, giving Cleveland a 4-3 lead.
Vinnie Pestano, the interim Cleveland closer with Chris Perez on the disabled list, survived a wild top of the ninth in which the Royals had three singles and a walk but failed to score.
Santana held Cleveland to three hits in his seven innings before the bullpen implosion in the eighth.
The Indians were their own worst enemy for much of the game. Two of the Royals' runs came as the result of two wild pitches by Ubaldo Jimenez, and the third run came compliments of a three-base throwing error by reliever Cody Allen.
With Kansas City leading 2-1 in the eighth inning, Allen fielded a grounder hit back to the mound by Eric Hosmer and threw wildly to first. Hosmer wound up at third base, and he scored on a single by the next batter, Salvador Perez.
Cleveland trailed 2-0 in the sixth inning when Stubbs singled, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Aviles. Allen's error in the top of the eighth made it 3-1.
Santana has been one of the hottest pitchers in the league, posting a 2-0 record and a 0.83 ERA in his previous three starts. He continued his dominance Tuesday, holding Cleveland scoreless on one hit through five innings. That allowed the Royals to take a 2-0 lead, thanks to two wild pitches by Jimenez.
Jimenez walked the first two batters he faced in the third inning, Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon. The runners moved to second and third on Jimenez's first wild pitch. Escobar scored on a groundout by Hosmer and Gordon scored on Jimenez's second wild pitch.
The two wild pitches brought Cleveland's season total to 40, the most of any team in the majors.
NOTES: The Indians recalled 3B Lonnie Chisenhall from Triple-A Columbus, where he was hitting .390 with six home runs and 26 RBI. To clear a roster spot, the Indians optioned RHP Matt Langwell to Columbus. ... Billy Butler needs one more home run to reach 109 with the Royals. That would tie him with Bo Jackson for 10th place in club history. ... Escobar is tied for second in the American League with 15 infield hits, one behind Boston's Dustin Pedroia.
