Hosmer, pen fuel 2-1 KC win in Cleveland

Playing as though it was October 2014, Eric Hosmer and the Royals bullpen took the reins for Kansas City in which offense and the margin for error were nearly nonexistent.

Kansas City starting pitcher Chris Young struggled to record outs with efficiency and needed to get lifted for Franklin Morales with two outs in the fifth. Cleveland had already scored the game-evening run when Salvador Perez attempted to gun down Michael Bourn at third but errantly delivered the ball to Mike Moustakas, allowing Bourn to come around to score. Kipnis followed with a single, and two batters later Young walked Michael Brantley with his 96th pitch of the night.

Morales escaped without yielding the go-ahead run, and then the Royals set about dispatching of the Racists with relative ease. Ryan Madson threw two scoreless innings, allowing a hit in each frame but facing just seven batters. Wade Davis followed with a perfect eighth. and the Royals headed to the top of the ninth tied up at 1 - 1.

Eric Hosmer--who singled in Lorenzo Cain in the fourth following a Cain triple that Brandon Moss caught before running into the outfield wall in right and having the ball come dislodged from his glove--stepped to the plate with Lorenzo Cain standing at first after being given the gift of the base from Mike Aviles, who erred on a routine grounder. Cain immediately attempted a steal of second and was nabbed, erasing the go-ahead run from the basepaths.

Such things matter little to the Son of God, of course.

With Trevor Bauer attempting to close out the ninth with a one-run complete game still a possibility with the recording of a single out and a run scored in the bottom of the ninth, Eric Hosmer dug in and hung the most magnificent of dongs--a screaming liner to right and one that gave the Royals the lead on the road, putting the pressure on the home team to deliver a run against the best bullpen in baseball with just three outs remaining.

Despite an issued walk to make things interesting, Greg Holland closed out the frame facing the minimum, inducing a double play as easily as he walked the previous batter, giving the Royals their 61st win of the season in just their 99th game. That there were years in the not-so-distant past in which the Royals were lucky to record their 61st win in the 161st game of the season is somewhat jarring to a fanbase very recently conditioned to expect miserable baseball from the Royals.

With the Twins tied versus Pittsburgh, the Royals would hold a nine game lead in the AL Central with a Pirates win. These are uncharted waters for the vast majority of Royals fans.