Royals continue slide in Cleveland, lose 7-1 to the Indians

In a corner of the clubhouse at Progressive Field, Salvador Perez stood near a Coke machine and began the unwieldy process of slipping a giant ice wrap off his left leg. He began by loosening the wrap, slipping the yards of athletic gauze down his left thigh. He continued by disposing of a large bag of ice.Moments later, he turned back toward his locker, his gait unencumbered.

It was late Saturday night and Perez had returned to the Royals lineup after six days of healing, finishing 2 for 4 in his first game since suffering a quadriceps contusion May 28 at Kauffman Stadium. The presence of Perez buoyed spirits in the clubhouse. On the whole, it did not help generate the high-powered offense that sustained Kansas City during a six-game winning streak.

On a rainy and overcast night in downtown Cleveland, the regression persisted for another night. The Royals’ offense was curtailed by another Indians starter, the starting pitching handcuffed by another blowup inning.

When the night was over, when the Royals had suffered a 7-1 loss to Cleveland, they had lost for the third straight night and dropped out of first place in the American League Central.

“I think most teams in our division have been a little streaky,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “It’s baseball.”

The spiral had begun two nights earlier, in a defensive-led collapse on the opening night of a four-game series. The lethargy carried over to the weekend as the Indians starting rotation took turns shutting down a previously scorching Royals offense. On Friday, it was Danny Salazar, unleashing 96 mph fastball and filthy splitters. On Saturday, it was right-hander Josh Tomlin, who kept the Royals off balance with a diet of 88 mph fastballs and 85 mph cutters.

The arsenal was different, the result the same. Tomlin (8-1) allowed just one run while scattering seven hits over 6  1/3 innings . His performance bested Royals starter Ian Kennedy, who settled into a groove in the middle innings before coming apart in the bottom of the sixth.

“We faced two great pitchers the last two nights,” Yost said. “We let one get away the first night. We faced two pitchers on top of their game.”

The Royals, 30-25, are closer to whole again, after adding Perez back to the fold. In the long run, that could count as a victory. Yet the loss still burned. They opened a 10-game road trip with another loss, falling to 11-18 on the road this season. They let the Indians take over first place. They will play one more game in Cleveland before finishing the trip with series in Baltimore and Chicago.

“We’ve got a tough road trip,” Kennedy said, “and I think this will be a good test for us. But it’s still June 4 today. So we still got a long way to go.”

For Kennedy, the night was a lesson in frustration. For five innings, he offered an extended glance of his best self. His fastball was working. He found his curveball after a minor hiccup in the second. His change was locating, too. And then it all fell apart.

Beginning in the bottom of the third, Kennedy had retired nine straight batters before designated hitter Mike Napoli devoured a hanging breaking ball with one out in the sixth. Napoli powered the homer out to left-center field, stretching the Indians' lead to 2-0.

The Indians continued to nip at Kennedy as the Royals’ bullpen remained idle. After another double and a single, Indians rookie Tyler Naquin delivered a kill shot, hammering a 1-1 changeup into the seats in right-center.

Kennedy, who had allowed one run through five innings, could not navigate the Indians a third time through the order. His final line — eight hits and five runs in six innings — represented his worst outing since allowing seven runs in a loss at New York on May 12.

“It was just that last inning,” Kennedy said. “I had three big mistakes.”

Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor poured it on in the seventh, hitting a two-run blast off left-hander Scott Alexander. Lindor, the Indians’ 22-year-old shortstop, was brilliant all game, adding two doubles against Kennedy and terrific diving stop in the ninth. In three games, he has racked up six hits, showcasing his All-Star potential.

“He’s just a special player,” Yost said.

The Royals dropped to 1-5 this season against the Indians. Right-hander Chris Young will return to the mound Sunday in his first start since May 9 in New York. He will match up against Indians ace Corey Kluber as Kansas City tries to avoid losing all four here in Cleveland.

The Royals’ offense had averaged seven runs per game during a six-game winning streak, a number that was as unsustainable as it was incredible.But the regression here in Cleveland has been stark. In three games, the Royals have managed just six runs. In the last two nights, they have scored just two against Indians starters. In the moments after the loss, Yost attempted to credit Tomlin.

“He’s really good,” Yost said. “And what he does is, he’s really good at moving your eye level. He pitches really effectively with his fastball, up and down. When he’s pitching up in the zone, it’s not an accident, it’s on purpose.”

The Indians opened the scoring in the bottom of the second, loading the bases with two singles and a walk to rookie Tyler Naquin, the Indians No. 9 hitter. Kennedy escaped the inning without allowing serious damage. He coaxed a sacrifice fly from Chris Gimenez before retiring first baseman Carlos Santana to end the threat.

Kennedy appeared to find comfort after the second, breezing through the fourth and fifth innings. In one sense, the Kansas City bench may have been lured into a false sense of security. In another sense, Kennedy said his night crashed on just “three mistakes.”

“I was just one pitch away from getting out of it with just one run,” Kennedy said. “And it’s frustrating.”

This story was originally published June 4, 2016 at 9:58 PM with the headline "Royals continue slide in Cleveland, lose 7-1 to the Indians."