KANSAS CITY ROYALS POSTGAME NOTES CLEVELAND INDIANS (92-67) AT KANSAS CITY ROYALS (81-79) - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB INDIANS 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 7 10 0 6 ROYALS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 5 2 2 WIN: Ryan Merritt (1-0) LOSS: Yordano Ventura (11-12) SAVE: None STARTING PITCHERS IP H R ER BB SO WP HR PC/S LEFT Ryan Merritt 5.0 3 1 1 0 4 0 0 62/40 Up 4-1 Yordano Ventura 6.0 6 4 4 3 8 0 0 102-64 Down 4-1 ATTENDANCE 2016 Tonight: 24,741 Total: 2,499,668 Average: 31,641 2015 After 79 Home Games: Total: 2,634,043 Average: 33,342 GAME INFORMATION First Pitch 7:15 Temperature 66 F Time of Game 2:36 SATURDAY S STARTERS CLE Trevor Bauer (R) KC Edinson Volquez (R) THE LOSS: The Royals have lost back-to-back games and remain one win shy of clinching their fourth straight winning season for the first time since 1975-80. Are 46-28 (.621) vs. the AL Central, the second-best intra-division record in the AL, trailing Cleveland (47-26) their 46 wins within this division match a club record (also, 2003). Dropped to 5-12 vs. Cleveland this season and have been outscored 83-54 including 4-3 here at Kauffman Stadium. Had hits in three of their first four at-bats before recording 20 consecutive outs, a streak ended by Hunter Dozier s one-out single in the eighth. Tonight marked Ned Yost s 2,056th career game as a manager, surpassing Felipe Alou for 55th all-time. YORDANO VENTURA: Finished the 2016 season 11-12 with a 4.45 ERA (92 ER in 186.0 IP) he set a new career high in innings pitched, surpassing his previous high of 183 in 2014. Stranded a leadoff double and a one-out walk in the first inning and pitched a 1-2-3 second, before allowing three straight hits to open the third, including a two-run triple to Carlos Santana the third inning s first out came on a sacrifice fly, before Francisco Lindor doubled and advanced to third on a flyout, scoring on a Jose Ramirez RBI single allowed a walk and a double to leadoff the sixth, before stranding the runners at second and third with two strikeouts and a groundout, exiting after 6.0 innings trailing 4-1 held right-handed batters to 0-for-6 left-handed batters went 6-for-15 (.400) with four extra-base hits. pitch count by inning: 17 (1st), 12 (2nd), 27 (3rd), 11 (4th), 11 (5th), 24 (6th), 102 total. Went 5-5 with a 3.73 ERA (38 ER in 91.2 IP) in 15 starts after the All-Star break, after going 6-7 with a 5.15 ERA (54 ER in 94.1 IP) in 17 starts before the break. Held opponents to a.228 average (42-for-184) with runners in scoring position this season (2-for-9 tonight), including a.200 average (20-for-100) with RISP in his last 16 starts. He s 4-3 with a 3.41 ERA (23 ER in 60.2 IP) in 10 career starts vs. Cleveland he finished the season 6-4 with a 3.74 ERA (41 ER in 98.2 IP) in 16 starts vs. the AL Central. Went 7-5 with a 4.43 ERA (42 ER in 85.1 IP) in 14 starts here at Kauffman Stadium this season, including a win in three of his last five starts. Recorded his fourth career pickoff in the fifth inning (Francisco Lindor) he s allowed just seven stolen bases in 547.2 career innings. BRIAN FLYNN: Allowed three runs on four hits and one walk in 2.0 innings, matching his run total allowed over his previous 18 outings since July 31, a stretch in which he owned a 0.45 ERA (1 ER in 20.0 IP) and a.127 opponents average (8-for-63) entered fourth among American League relievers with a.173 average against (30-for-173). ERIC HOSMER: Had an RBI single in the first inning to put Kansas City up 1-0 and mark his 34th go-ahead RBI of the season entered third in the American League in go-ahead RBI, trailing Miguel Cabrera (34) and Albert Pujols (35). DREW BUTERA: Had an RBI triple in the eighth inning, his fourth career triple and first since May 31, 2014 vs. Pittsburgh (with the Dodgers) he s batting.343 (23-for-67) at home. INDIANS: Have won 19 of their last 30, including going 16-11 in September they are 66-43 (.606) since June 1, best in the American League. Improved to 34-19 (.642) in series openers, evening their road record at 39-39 tomorrow they will try to win back-to-back road games for the first time since July 19-20 here. Are 12-5 vs. KC this season, outscoring them 83-54 their 47 wins vs. the AL Central are tied for their second most (also 2001) since the 1998 realignment, trailing 48 wins in 2007. Allowed hits to three of the first four batters in the first inning before retiring 20 consecutive batters, a streak ended by Hunter Dozier s one-out single in the eighth. RYAN MERRITT: Recorded his first Major League win in his first career start, pitching for the first time in 18 days (since September 12) he s the third Indian to earn his first Major League win this season, joining Joe Colon (September 9 at Minnesota) and Mike Clevinger (August 13 vs. the Angels) he owns a 1.65 ERA (2 ER in 11.0 IP) in four appearances. Allowed hits to three of the game s first four batters, including an RBI single to Eric Hosmer, before escaping the inning with an inning-ending double play to begin a streak of 13 consecutive batters retired through the fifth inning, leaving up 4-1 in favor of Dan Otero pitch count by inning: 14 (1st), 11 (2nd), 12 (3rd), 10 (4th), 15 (5th), 62 total. CARLOS SANTANA: Had a leadoff double in the first inning he has recorded a first-inning hit in three of the last four games in which he s hit leadoff. Had a go-ahead two-run triple in the third inning and a single in the seventh he has an RBI in six straight games vs. Kansas City, batting.500/.571/1.083 (12-for-24) with seven extra-base hits and 11 RBI during that stretch, after batting.119/.245/.333 (5-for-42) through his first 11 games vs. the Royals this season. FRANCISCO LINDOR: Snapped an 0-for-27 skid on a one-out double in the third inning, which was the longest active hitless streak in the Majors, according to Elias. Hit a two-run home run in the seventh on a 3-0 count, his first HR since August 10, snapping a streak of 169 straight at-bats without a homer. He s batting.367/.437/.717 (22-for-60) with 10 extra-base hits and 13 RBI in 17 games vs. Kansas City this season. HOME RUNS TEAM BATTER NO. PITCHER COUNT TYPE DISTANCE FIELD INN SCORE CLE Francisco Lindor 15 Brian Flynn 3-0 2-run 346 ft. Left 7th Up 6-1