Rookie Heath Fillmyer outduels Indians ace Corey Kluber in Royals’ 7-1 win

The number under the Royals’ loss column is what fans will use to measure the success of the 2018 season.

But as manager Ned Yost shepherds a young batch of players into regular major-league roles in the early stages of the Royals’ rebuilding project, he judges by a different scale, too. The wins and losses matter, of course, but Yost looks for personal growth and how players build on what they’ve learned.

That’s why Yost was happy with Royals rookie right-hander Heath Fillmyer, who outdueled two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber in a 7-1 win over the Indians on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium.

It was a bounce-back performance for Fillmyer, who failed to hold a six-run lead against the White Sox last Sunday. In fact, he had allowed 10 runs in his previous eight innings after tossing seven scoreless frames against the Cubs.

But on Saturday, the Indians pushed just a single run across the plate in Fillmyers’ six innings.

“It’s the difference between staying ahead in the count and attacking,” Yost said. “He’s got really good stuff. But when he’s behind in the count and walking three or four guys a game, you’re going to get in trouble at the big-league level.

“Like the Cubs game, he changed speeds extremely well, he worked inside-out ... but for the most part he was ahead in the count and he was on the attack.”

The Indians had just three hits and two walks against Fillmyer. Their lone run scored when Fillmyer balked in the second inning with runners on second and third and one out. Yonder Alonso trotted home with the game’s first run, and former Royal Melky Cabrera took third.

“That’s just one of those things, you’re going through your signs and you get your pitch and I was already ready to come set before I had it, and I flinched a little bit and they called it,” Fillmyer said. “It was unfortunate.”

A big inning seemed possible, but Fillmyer escaped further damage by striking out Jason Kipnis and inducing a ground ball from Yan Gomes.

Over the next four innings, Fillmyer didn’t allow an Indians runner to reach second base. In his ninth big-league start, Fillmyer improved to 2-1 and saw his ERA inch down to 4.21.

The Royals tied the game 1-1 in the third inning. With one out, 23-year-old shortstop Adalberto Mondesi hit a 105.8 mph laser into the right-field corner for what would have been a double had he not retreated to first base after missing the bag.

It mattered little. Mondesi swiped second base (the first stolen base off Kluber this season) and scored on a single by center fielder Whit Merrifield.

An inning later, Royals rookie first baseman Ryan O’Hearn hit a two-run double that scored Salvador Perez and Lucas Duda for a 3-1 Royals lead. In the sixth inning, Duda lined a Kluber pitch into the Pepsi Porch with one out. Jorge Bonifacio then singled, O’Hearn walked and Hunter Dozier’s hit scored Bonifacio for a 5-1 lead, and Kluber’s night ended.

“He’s another guy I’ve never faced before who’s got great stuff,” O’Hearn said. “I watched a lot of video — a lot of cutters in to lefties, sinkers. With a guy like that you just try to see something about thigh-high and hit it to the biggest part of the field. And just compete.”

The Royals had nine hits off Kluber and 14 total on the night, adding single runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

Rookie pitchers Tim Hill and Jake Newberry, along with veteran Jason Hammel, combined on three scoreless innings to make for a stress-free finish.

The victory was just the Royals’ 40th of the season against 90 losses, but it secured a series win at Kauffman Stadium for the first time since a three-game sweep of the Twins on July 20-22.

“It makes it fun to watch those kids go out and play and have some success,” Yost said. “It was a fun game tonight. For me, this was a fun game. Watching Fillmyer pitch, watching the young guys with their at-bats, taking a lead, then tacking on runs, then the bullpen coming in and doing their job. It was a fun game.”

The young players who had a big part in Friday’s emotional walk-off win came back the next day and knocked around one of the American League’s best pitchers in beating the Central leaders.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Yost said. “The bigger part of the iceberg is still in the minor leagues right now. That’s what makes it that much more exciting.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2018 at 9:07 PM.