Kansas City Royals vs Cleveland Guardians Match Player Stats On May 27, 2017

The Sports Xchange
May 27, 2017

CLEVELAND -- Alcides Escobar's two-run double capped a three-run sixth inning rally, and Mike Moustakas homered in the ninth inning, lifting the Kansas City Royals to a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday at Progressive Field.

Royals starter Jason Vargas (6-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on nine hits to get the win. Kelvin Herrera pitched the ninth inning to pick up his 11th save.

Indians starter Danny Salazar (3-5) gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits and five walks in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss.

It's the third loss in a row for the Indians, whose home record of 8-13 is the worst in the American League.

In the top of the first inning the Royals scored one run, but had two ejections. Escobar led off the game by reaching first on an error by second baseman Jason Kipnis. Moustakas singled and Lorenzo Cain walked to load the bases with nobody out.

Salazar struck out Eric Hosmer on a called third strike on a checked swing. Third base umpire David Rackley, on an appeal, ruled Hosmer swung. Hosmer yelled and gestured toward Rackley, who immediately ejected Hosmer from the game. Royals manager Ned Yost came out to dispute the call as well, and Yost was also thrown out of the game.

A sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez, the next batter, gave the Royals a 1-0 lead.

Cleveland got the run back almost immediately when Francisco Lindor, the second batter in the bottom of the first, hit his 11th home run, over the left field wall to tie it at 1.

Cleveland took a 2-1 lead in the third inning when Daniel Robertson reached on a bunt single, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Kipnis.

Salazar bobbed and weaved his way through five innings with a 2-1 lead, but in the sixth, the Royals batted around and scored three runs. With one out, Jorge Bonifacio doubled. Brandon Moss and Whit Merrifield both walked, loading the bases.

Boone Logan relieved Salazar, and Alex Gordon greeted Logan with a single to center, scoring Bonifacio with the tying run. Nick Goody relieved Logan, and Escobar doubled into the left-center field gap, scoring Moss and Merrifield, giving Kansas City a 4-2 lead.

Moustakas, leading off the ninth inning, belted his 13th home run off reliever Shawn Armstrong.

NOTES: Indians RHP Corey Kluber is expected to be activated off the disabled list on June 1, and he will start that day against Oakland. Kluber has been on the DL since May 3 with a lower back strain. . . Prior to Saturday's game the Indians unveiled a statue of Frank Robinson, who in 1975 became the first African-American manager in major league history when he was the player-manager of the Indians. . . Royals OF Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch Friday for the seventh time this season. It's the 82nd time Gordon has been hit by a pitch in his career, which is a Royals franchise record, and ranks 13th among active players. . . Royals LHP Brian Flynn began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Omaha on Saturday. Flynn has been sidelined since the start of spring training due to a stable lumbar vertebral fracture suffered during the offseason when he fell through a barn roof.