CLEVELAND, Ohio – The 2021 MLB season has had its share of ups and downs for the Cleveland Indians.
Saturday night at Progressive Field, the Tribe’s matchup with the Royals had its own twists and turns: 26 hits, 20 runs, six long balls, a pair of calls overturned by manager challenges, one brother-vs-brother showdown and a partridge in a pear tree.
When the dust settled, the Indians claimed a 14-6 win over the Royals, their third straight overall and eighth consecutive win over Kansas City.
Despite the numerous storylines that played out Saturday night, perhaps the most notable was another strong outing from an Indians starting pitcher. Cal Quantrill picked up his first win of the season after tossing six innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs.
It’s the second start in which Quantrill has logged at least five innings.
“I felt like I was taking steps forward, wasn’t seeing the results I wanted to see,” Quantrill said. “These last two weeks before the break were more along the lines of the approach that we can have. I think it’s something that we can repeat.”
The Indians have shown their resiliency lately, illustrated with a pair of walk-off wins to kick-start this mini-streak.
“That will light a fire in any ballclub,” said Indians’ outfielder Oscar Mercado. “Everyone wants to win, but just the fact that the last two nights you go out and win in walk-off fashion with home runs, that really sets the tone and brings the energy and life into that clubhouse.”
Mercado tied a career-high with four RBIs against the Royals while going 3-for-4 at the plate. His outburst Saturday evening pushed his average to .281 (9-for-32) Since being called up from Triple-A Columbus.
“It’s been nice to go out there and get the chance to play. Just working with (Ty Van Burkleo) about certain things that I needed to work on since I’ve gotten here has been,” Mercado said. “It’s been a ton of help and they’ve put me in a good position to succeed.”
The Tribe outfielder evened the score in the fourth inning after Salvador Perez put the Royals ahead in the top half of the frame with a two-run home run to left field.
Bradley Zimmer lined a ball off pitcher Mike Minor which scored Harold Ramirez. After a brief visit on the mound from Royals Manager Mike Matheny, Cesar Hernandez took the first pitch he saw to left-center field for a three-run home run.
Hernandez’ home run gave the Indians their biggest inning since June 18th against the Pirates when the offense erupted for a six-run seventh inning.
“I think sometimes guys get into different grooves. He (Hernandez) hasn’t hit for the average that he’s accustomed to, but he’s driven the ball out of the ballpark, especially right-handed,” said Indians’ manager Terry Francona. “He hit that ball good. Sometimes guys just get enough at bats, where you say, ‘okay I’m not going to hit for average, but if he makes a mistake, I’m going to hit it out of the ballpark.’”
That theme of answering the challenge persisted throughout night. After building a 9-3 lead heading into the 7th inning, Kansas City mounted a comeback with three unearned runs in the top of the frame.
It started when Ahmed Rosario made a great sliding stop of a ball hit up the middle by Jorge Soler. Rosario threw to Hernandez at second to start a potential double-play, however Hernandez failed to touch second base for the force out of Hunter Dozier.
The play was initially ruled a fielder’s choice and an out at second but overturned via video replay and opened a window for the Royals to score three runs to get within striking distance.
But the Indians responded with four-more runs of their own in the bottom half, including a homerun from Mercado off Kyle Zimmer.
“I actually made a point of saying ‘hey don’t bail on your approach,” Francona said. “I just think it says a lot when guys are in a position to be able to hit the ball hard the other way.”
Zimmer rebounded the following batter when he struck out his brother Bradley Zimmer.
“He was on the ropes; you’ve got to bury him. He made a couple good pitches right off the bat and kind of took the advantage, Bradley said. “I’m looking forward to paying these guys again, so I don’t think that’s the last time I’ll stare him down.”
NOTES- Hernandez’s 15 homers in the first half are tied for second most by an Indians’ 2B before the All-Star break with Carlos Baerga (1993).