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Santana and the Tribe Rout Royals 15-4

By Brian Heise

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After two straight nights of logging 10 hits and only racking up 3 runs, the Indians’ bats finally came to life in a big way yesterday afternoon against the Royals. Looking to rebound after two bitterly disappointing losses, the Indians left K.C. with their bats on fire. When it was all said and done they had scored 15 runs (a season high) on 16 hits and mind boggling 8 walks. They were a model of offensive efficiency for a change.

Major kudos also has to be given to David Huff. In only his second start of the year, Huff threw 5.2 quality innings and shut down the Royals. His final line for the day: 1 run on 3 hits and a walk with a strikeout. He certainly made a case for why he should be in next year’s rotation and when you take into account his prior start and the short run of success he had last year, it’s a compelling argument.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

As for the game itself, the Royals actually got out to a lead in this one in the bottom of the third. Ahead in the count 2-0, Adam Moore drilled Huff’s offering deep to left for his first home run as a Kansas City Royal. It put the Royals up 1-0 and it looked as if we were headed for another long day of Indians baseball. It wouldn’t stay they way for long, however. In the top of the sixth the Indians responded and then they kept responding over and over and over.

For the sake of saving everyone time here’s how the Indians scored in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings. Buckle up…

Top of the 6th:

Top of the 7th:

Top of the 9th:

  • Ezequiel Carrera RBI single.
  • Shin-Soo Choo bases loaded walk.
  • Jason Kipnis RBI fielder’s choice.
  • Asdrubal Cabrera RBI single.
  • Three run home run by Carlos Santana, his 18th of the year.

For the first time in a long time watching the Indians was fun. What they did in those three innings is the type of offensive onslaught we thought we were going to see throughout the year. It just wasn’t meant to be. If anything, maybe the Indians can use this performance to build positive momentum to end the season and give everyone inside and outside the organization something to look forward to in 2013.

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The Good: It’s hard to pick one good when there was so much to like, but I would have to say Carlos Santana’s multi-homer performance. He had an absolutely awful first half of the season, and in similar fashion to last season, he has bounced back to have a respectable second half. Hopefully he’s been able to ease some of the  doubts that had begun to fester within the fan base about whether or not he was a cornerstone franchise type player. Hopefully he’s put his early season issues behind him and can carry this year’s finish into the start of 2013.

Also, as I already said, David Huff pitched a fairly impressive game. He holds value for this team moving forward as the one lone left hander who appears to be ready for the big leagues. With a rotation full of right handers, the Indians should consider utilizing Huff more in the rotation in 2013, especially if he’s begun to figure things out.

The Bad: For the first time in forever… Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Great game and great outcome for a team that desperately needed a win. If you want to nitpick, Tony Sipp was less than spectacular in .2 of an inning pitched. He allowed 2 runs on three hits and was mostly ineffective.

The “Huh?”: Why with such a large lead  heading into the eighth and ninth innings, in a game that meant nothing, did Manny Acta not rest some of his regulars and allows some of his September call ups to play in a non pressure situation? His didn’t substitute anyone, not even for defense in the bottom of the ninth when they were up by 11. This just struck me as a bit odd.

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