Eric Hosmer’s blast, strong arms pave Royals’ victory over Indians

On April 25, in his final plate-appearance in a loss at Chicago, Eric Hosmer singled to shortstop for his only hit of the game. The knock raised Hosmer’s batting average to .195 and did little to ease the disappointment of the season’s first month.

Who knew that was the start of Hosmer’s nine-game hitting streak, a tear that produced perhaps his biggest moment of the season on Friday?

Hosmer’s mammoth two-run homer on Friday put the Royals ahead in the fifth inning and lifted them to a 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Hosmer’s blast traveled an estimated 458 feet, making it the longest of the Royals’ 27 home runs this season.

The homer, along with some stellar relief pitching, made a winner of starter Jason Hammel for the first time this season.

Hammel went six innings for the second time and finished with a season-best six strikeouts. He had vowed after his previous outing, which lasted only three innings in a loss to the Twins, to be more aggressive in the strike zone.

He also changed his mound presence, pitching for the first time in his career from the stretch instead of the windup for his entire appearance.

“That was something I experimented with on the side,” Hammel said. “I committed to it. In the windup there are a lot of pieces that have to go right, a lot of moving parts. You throw all your big pitches from the stretch. You might as well keep doing it.”

Getting out of the second inning was a big moment. After surrendering a walk and a base hit with one out, Hammel struck out Lonnie Chisenhall and Abraham Almonte to end the threat.

Hammel’s one mistake occurred in the fourth inning to a personal and team nemesis, Edwin Encarnacion, whose solo blast opened the scoring.

Entering the game, Encarnacion’s .315 career batting average against the Royals was his highest against an American League opponent. And the homer was the fourth of his career against Hammel. But Hammel retired the final seven batters he faced before turning over the game to the bullpen.

Royals relievers Scott Alexander, Joakim Soria — he struck out the side in the eighth — and Kelvin Herrera each took an inning with Herrera collecting his fourth save.

The fifth inning started promising for the Royals as Whit Merrifield and Mike Moustakas stroked first-pitch singles off Danny Salazar.

Some of the air went out of the frame when Lorenzo Cain bounced into a double play. But up stepped Hosmer.

He had singled and doubled in his previous two appearances, and the Indians held a mound meeting to discuss their approach.

On deck was Salvador Perez, who had looked bad striking out twice, swinging at balls out of the zone. Surely, Salazar would be careful with Hosmer.

Hosmer foiled the strategy with one pitch, and when the ball splashed into the fountains in right center for a two-run homer, Hosmer’s batting average stood at .274.

A ground-out in his final plate-appearance shaved three points off that mark, but it’s been quite a climb for one of the Royals who couldn’t find his stroke earlier in the season.

“I think you just trust in your ability and the way you prepare each and every day,” Hosmer said. “Knowing that it’s a 162-game season and eventually things will go your way for you and the team. That’s been the mentality for me and the team.”

Hosmer’s blast energized the 25,722 at Kauffman, and the Royals. Merrifield at second base dove to stop Michael Brantley’s ground ball and throw him out in the sixth.

The Royals added a run in the sixth when Jorge Bonifacio singled, and while running on the pitch, scored when Alcides Escboar dropped a double into left field.

With the victory, the Royals improved to 10-18 and opened the season series against the Indians by reversing last year’s trend. The Indians won the final eight games between the teams and won five straight in Kauffman Stadium on their way to the Central Division and American League titles.

Royals 3, Indians 1

This story was originally published May 5, 2017 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Eric Hosmer’s blast, strong arms pave Royals’ victory over Indians."