Kansas City completed a three-game sweep of the Indians on Wednesday night. Manager Terry Francona said the Indians weren't ready to play and took the blame for that.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Following the Indians' worst performance of the season, manager Terry Francona took the blame.
"It was a tough night all the way around," said Francona. "We didn't play very well. I think that's on me. They weren't prepared to play tonight and I guarantee you that will change."
Kansas City completed a three-game sweep of the Indians on Wednesday night with a 9-4 victory at Kauffman Stadium. The Indians were charged with two errors, but there could have been at least one more.
As for the plays that weren't made that should have been made, there were too many to count.
No.1 starter Corey Kluber allowed eight runs, matching a career high. He had to pitch over errors by second baseman Jason Kipnis and third baseman Michael Martinez in the second inning. In the fifth, he couldn't protect a 2-2 tie, allowing the go-ahead run to score on a wild pitch and surrendering a three-run homer to Salvador Perez.
In the outfield, center fielder Tyler Naquin and right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall continued to have communication problems. In fact, the whole fifth inning can be traced back to a leadoff double by No.9 hitter Drew Butera that Naquin or Chisenhall probably should have caught.
Then there was the three-run sixth inning featuring four Tribe pitchers. If you're wondering why Francona insists on sticking with Bryan Shaw as his set-up guy, a couple of his alternatives were on display in the sixth and didn't do so well. Dan Otero didn't record an out while allowing one run on two hits. Jeff Manship finally wrestled the inning to the ground, but not before walking in a run.
Terry Francona stands by Bryan Shaw
The Indians, with a chance to go into Thursday's off day with a two-game lead in the AL Central, are tied with Kansas City instead. This was the last stop on a 10-game trip and their 20th game in 20 days. Frankly, they played like they were sleep deprived.
"That doesn't matter," said Francona. "We have a day off tomorrow. When you've got a game, you play. We're not the first team to play 20 (in a row) and we won't be the last. We just didn't play a very good ballgame."
The Indians went 10-10 in those 20 games. Over the last 10, played at Safeco Field, Angel Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, they went 4-6. The offense, in particular, looked weary.
The Indians were outscored, 39-34, on the trip. They hit .177 (11-for-62) with runners in scoring position and .202 (66-for-327) as a team. They were fortunate to win four games.
The Tribe came to Kansas City with a three-game lead and a 6-1 advantage over the Royals. It was a chance to extend their lead. Instead they wilted before the defending World Series champs.
"It's very disappointing," said Kipnis. "We swept them at home and they returned the favor. I thought this entire series was more on the position players. I think the pitching staff did an outstanding job.
"I think even tonight with Kluber we gave them more than 27 outs. You can't do that with a good team like the Royals. To not score more than one or two runs in the first two games, and not hit with runners in scoring position, I think it was the position players who lost this one. You can't ask much more from the pitching staff."
The Indians went 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position in the three-game sweep. They lost the first two games of the series 2-1 and 3-2.
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When asked if he knew what Francona was talking about concerning the team not being ready to play, Kipnis said, "I'm not sure what he meant by that, to be honest. It was a tiring trip, a West Coast trip. Not to use it as an excuse, but you go from playing a struggling team like Anaheim - not to say you just show up against them -- but you can let your guard down a little.
"Then you come in here and you need to gear it back up and some guys just take longer to do that."
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The Royals are 22-7 at Kauffman Stadium. It's the best home record in the AL.
"This is a tough place to play," said Kipnis. "They've got the fans behind them and they're chasing us. So it should have been three games that were very important to us and we didn't take care of business."
Kipnis feels the AL Central championship won't be decided until late in the year.
"I don't think it's going to be a 95-win team that comes out of here," he said. "Everybody is beating up on each other. I think the (winner) will have 90 to 92 wins. It's going to be coming down to the end."