Posted on Wed, Apr. 22, 2009 10:15 PM
Bannister and Soria help shut down Indians
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CLEVELAND | Say this: Brian Bannister knows how to make a comeback. Add his six shutout innings Wednesday night to a Joakim Soria sighting, at long last, and the Royals could celebrate a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
“I was glad to be able to earn my way back,” Bannister said. “I made the ball move. I made them put it in play. It wasn’t a great night to pitch, but it couldn’t have been a great night to hit either.”
It was another miserable night, weatherwise, at Progressive Field. Temperatures dipped into the 30s in the late innings and came accompanied by a steady, bone-chilling rain.
No complaints from the Royals, though.
They bounced back from two tough one-run losses by doing just enough against Cleveland lefty Cliff Lee, a nemesis who beat them five times last year en route to winning the Cy Young Award.
Just enough.
“You know every time you face him,” right fielder Willie Bloomquist said, “it’s going to be a battle. His stuff darts all over the place with late movement, and he’s got some giddy-up life on his fastball. You know runs are going to be a premium against him.”
That hasn’t been the case this season. Lee, 1-3, had a 6.75 ERA before limiting the Royals to two runs while scattering nine hits over eight innings.
“If you had told me before the game,” he said, “I would pitch eight innings and give up two runs, I would have been happy.”
Bloomquist contributed a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning for the game’s final run. The Royals also scored in the first when Coco Crisp opened the game with a double and came around on two fly outs.
Bannister, Jamey Wright and Soria made it stand up by combining for a five-hitter. The Royals improved to 8-6 and can complete a 4-2 road trip by winning today’s series finale.
“It doesn’t matter what combination you use pitching,” manager Trey Hillman said. “If you limit these guys to what they did tonight offensively, you’ve done pretty special — in their ballpark, especially.”
It was sweet redemption for Bannister, who began the season in the minors after losing his spot in the rotation. He rejoined the club Tuesday when an elbow injury forced reliever Doug Waechter to the disabled list.
The Royals replaced Waechter by shifting Horacio Ramirez to the bullpen. They then filled their need for a starter by recalling Bannister, who had a string of nine scoreless innings over his last two starts at Class AAA Omaha.
It was a factor, certainly, that Bannister had a history of success against the Indians, having permitted just seven earned runs over 33 innings in five previous starts.
“I’ve pitched well here in the past,” he said. “For whatever reason, I seem to have a good feel for this lineup. It was good to get through those six innings and hand the ball off. We’ve got a good pen.”
Bannister, 1-0, limited the Indians to four singles before handing a two-run lead to Wright, who began the seventh by hitting Kelly Shoppach. Wright then went 3-0 on Trevor Crowe.
But Wright steadied by striking out Crowe on the next three pitches before inducing a double-play grounder from Asdrubal Cabrera. Wright then breezed through the eighth on four pitches.
“Yeah,” he grumbled, “I threw a ball on the third pitch.”
That got the game to Soria for his first appearance since closing out a 4-2 victory over the Indians on April 13 at Kauffman Stadium. The ninth didn’t go quietly.
Soria issued a one-out walk to Jhonny Peralta before Shin-Soo Choo grounded a single into center. Shoppach sent David DeJesus to the track in left field for the second out, but a passed ball moved the runners to second and third.
“I crossed him up,” Soria said. “It was my fault. I thought Miguel (Olivo) put down one (finger for a fastball), and he put down two (for a curve). I felt bad.”
The drama ended when Soria slipped a 2-2 curve past Crowe for a called strike and his league-leading fifth save.
“I felt pretty good,” Soria said. “It was bad weather. It was hard to throw in the rain and with a bad mound. But I still felt pretty good.”
•WHEN: 11:05 a.m. today
•TV/RADIO: No TV; KCSP (610 AM)
To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4352 or send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com
Posted on Wed, Apr. 22, 2009 10:15 PM
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