The Cleveland Indians now have a 3.5-game lead in the American League Central. There are three days left in April. Conclusion: the Cleveland Indians will be leading the American League Central at the end of the month of April.
Royals Vs. Indians: Cleveland Jumps On Jeff Francis Early, Extends Division Lead
On Wednesday night, in the second game of an unexpectedly crucial series, the Indians knocked off the Kansas City Royals 7-2 to extend their division lead over the Royals and Detroit Tigers and guarantee themselves a series victory. They'll go for the sweep on Thursday.
This one was ugly from the beginning. After Josh Tomlin worked through an easy top of the first, the Indians jumped all over Jeff Francis in the bottom half. Grady Sizemore made the first and last outs of the frame, but between those at-bats Indians hitters went 7-for-8. Orlando Cabrera's three-run double was the big blow, as Cleveland took a quick 5-0 lead.
The Royals got two back minutes later on solo home runs by Jeff Francoeur and Mike Aviles, but that's where they'd stop. Tomlin would concede no further damage, and the Indians added runs in the third and the sixth on a sacrifice fly and a passed ball.
Tomlin lasted six innings, striking out three and boosting his record to 4-0. Francis was finished after three, having allowed ten hits and six runs and seeing his ERA jump to 5.03. The Royals’ bullpen held strong for the remainder, but its efforts wound up of little use.
On Thursday, the Royals will turn to Kyle Davies, while the Indians will hope that Fausto Carmona can pitch them to 16-8.
For more on the Royals and Indians, please check out team blogs Royals Review and Let’s Go Tribe.
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