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Thursday, Jun. 29 8:05pm ET
Durbin allows 5 hits over 8 2/3 innings | |||||
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GAME LOG
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Chad Durbin got his revenge. In May when the 22-year-old rookie faced Cleveland's power-laden lineup, he lasted just 1 1/3 innings and the Indians routed Kansas City 16-0. Thursday night, given a second chance, he cruised for 8 2/3 innings and pitched the Royals to a 6-1 victory, completely outclassing Cleveland ace Bartolo Colon and proving at least to himself that he is a worthy major leaguer. "There was a big contrast in the two outings, yeah," said Durbin (2-3), who was briefly demoted to Triple-A after getting cuffed around in the majors. "I got the ball down and hit some spots and had some fun. But they also hit some line drives right at people." Also having fun was Carlos Beltran. The switch-hitting center fielder, whose own struggles have sparked speculation that he might be headed for a trip to the minors, homered from both sides of the plate while going 3-for-4. Having no fun at all was Colon (7-5), who became just the fourth man in major league history to begin a game by walking the first four batters. It was the second night in a row the Indians prevented a shutout by getting a run with two out in the ninth. After Russell Branyan hit an RBI double off the wall -- just the fifth hit off Durbin -- the crowd booed manager Tony Muser for bringing in Ricky Bottalico to get the last out. "Well, they're not managing the club," Muser said. "I don't blame them one bit for booing. But 132 pitches, a lot of games left, and 22 years old -- he had pitched his heart out." After seven innings, the Royals had only three hits, all solo home runs. Kansas City took a 3-0 lead after Colon's rough start. "I went to the mound and asked was anything wrong with him, was he hurt, was anything bothering him?" said Cleveland manager Charlie Manuel. "He said no, he was fine. I told him, 'Look, man, be a little bit more aggressive, turn the ball loose.' He kind of settled in. But it looked like he struggled all night." The Indians were playing their first game without slugger David Justice. Cleveland's RBI leader was dealt to the New York Yankees for outfielder Ricky Ledee and two players to be named, but Manuel did not think the move affect the team. "What happened was we got off slow in the game, got behind," he said. "We just didn't get on it." Durbin allowed only two runners as far as second base until Branyan's RBI double with two outs in the ninth. It was his first victory since winning his major league debut on April 6. Durbin, recalled from Triple-A Omaha on June 23, had five walks and six strikeouts. Colon began the night by walking Johnny Damon, Jeff Reboulet and Mike Sweeney. Then on a 3-2 count, he walked Jermaine Dye to force in a run. Mark Quinn had a sacrifice fly and Joe Randa an RBI fielder's choice, giving the Royals three runs in the inning without a hit. Of the 37 pitches Colon threw in the first inning, 20 were balls. Colon went 3 2/3 innings, gave up five runs on just two hits and six walks. He struck out two. The Royals then added three more runs on solo homers. Randa and Beltran hit consecutive shots in the fourth, then Beltran homered from the right side off reliever Andrew Lorraine in the sixth. The slumping Beltran, who also singled in the eighth, is just the fourth man in Royals history to homer both right- and left-handed in the same game. "I've been swinging at a lot of bad pitches," said Beltran. After losing 12-1 in the first game of the three-game series, the Royals held the power-laden Indians to two runs in the next two games. Game notesAfter dealing Justice, the Indians made it clear they might not be done with trades. Manager Charlie Manuel said he's still looking for "one more big bat, try to get a starting pitcher and one back-end bullpen guy." ... Roberto Alomar made a great play at second. With Reboulet on first and none out in the fifth, Sweeney hit a hard grounder to Alomar's right. He left his feet to make a lunging catch, then twisted his body around and made an underhanded scoop throw to SS Omar Vizquel just in time for the force at second. ... When they score five or more runs, the Royals are 32-12. Scoring fewer than five, they're 5-28. ... The other Royals to homer from both sides of the plate were Willie Wilson and U.L. Washington in 1979 and Chili Davis in 1997. ... SS Rey Sanchez tied a Royals record with his 52nd consecutive errorless game. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Cleveland Clubhouse Kansas City Clubhouse RECAPS Toronto 12 Tampa Bay 3
Kansas City 6
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