Well, the Royals got to the Klubot again. Immediately. Two pitches. Two hits. One run. Alcides Escobar pulled a line drive barely fair for a double on the first pitch of the game. Mike Moustakas followed with another pulled double on the second pitch, which easily scored Escobar. The Royals were aggressive throughout the game, and it paid off.
They continued scoring in the third inning. Escobar nabbed a single, and the hit parade began. Moustakas singled. Lorenzo Cain doubled, so Escobar scored. Moustakas was waved home, but the Indians' defense actually executed a relay. The throw arrived home in plenty of time and was accurate, so Moustakas was out easily. Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales each followed with doubles, which plated two more runs. Just like that, the Royals had put up four runs on Corey Kluber.
Brandon Moss continued his love affair with Kauffman in the second inning. After a Ryan Raburn single, Moss stroked a line drive perfectly to the gap between Cain and Alex Rios. Raburn was able to score from first. The Indians threatened again in the third and managed another run off a Michael Bourn double and Mike Aviles single, but Vargas induced a double play to prevent more scoring.
The fifth inning saw more Indians scoring opportunities. The Indians had men on first and third with no outs, but Vargas got a grounder hit right back to him. He looked Bourn back at third before starting a smooth double play. Omar Infante looked Bourn back as well before throwing to first for the second out. Vargas got a flyout to end the inning with no runs allowed.
Vargas' final line: 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Only 86 pitches; he got the early hook. Given his recent DL stint and his soft-tossing ways, I have no issues with the early hook. Ryan Madson, Kelvin Herrera, and Greg Holland finished up the game.
After the third inning, Kluber basically started mowing down the Royals hitters. He struck out two in the fourth, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth. The Royals never mounted much of anything after that third inning. Kluber's final line: 8 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 9 K.
With this win, the Royals keep pace with the Twins for the AL Central lead. The Royals managed to slap some hits off the Klubot for the third time. Somehow, they know the right buttons to push.