CLEVELAND, Ohio – José Ramírez flexed his muscle when the Cleveland Indians’ attack came to life late Wednesday afternoon and Shane Bieber delivered his typical steady effort in a 4-2 victory over Kansas City.
Ramírez scored twice against Royals relief pitchers and struck a two-run shot to the right field in the eighth of Greg Holland (0-1) after a step by Ben Gamel for the winning runs.
Nick Wittgren scored a pointless ninth innings for his first save since September 4, 2019 against the White Sox. Emmanuel Clase (1-0) beat some Royals players in eighth place and claimed the victory.
The manager, Terry Francona, said Ramírez showed what kind of tactical hit he could be after hitting out early in the game. He subsequently studies at-bats from the corner of the excavation and makes his own adjustments.
“You see he watches the whole game,” Francona said. “He is very smart. His skills are not in the rankings either, but I mean he is a smart kid who plays baseball. ‘
Bieber said Ramirez never took his face off.
“Whether it goes well or not, he is the same man and he brings the same energy, which is why we rely so much on him,” Bieber said. “He comes at big moments like today, and that’s why he’s our man.”
Bieber struck 12, but allowed an uncharacteristic four runs in 6 1/3 overs. He left in the seventh inning after giving a free pass to Kyle Isbel and giving out a base hit for Michael Taylor with one out.
Francona summons James Karinchak from the bullpen, but Nicky Lopez greets Karinchak by hitting a first ball quickly into the right field for an RBI single that draws the score to 2-2.
Cleveland scored just three forwards through the first five overs against frontrunner Jakob Junis. Junis has entered the game 1-5 in his previous eight starts against Cleveland since the start of 2019. Junis allowed nine home games to Indian players as a 41/3 innings.
But Junis halted the Indians ’offense with a good order, by running a few and allowing only a second innings for Josh Naylor. He went to the fifth and threw just 58 stands.
Ramírez brought Cleveland’s offense to life in the sixth leg when he offered the first runs for the home team in 2021 with his first two runs.
Ramírez drove a Jesse Hahn move judge deep into the right field corner on the first pitch he saw from the right hand, but managed to keep the next pitch fair and let Hahn’s sinker walk 355 feet to the seats on the right. . Ramírez said he feels no extra pressure, despite the fact that Cleveland has not produced much up to that point.
“I felt that things were clicking together and that I was in a good place,” Ramírez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “When it happened, I felt I was in a good place.”
Ramírez’s first home game of 2021 hit a score for Indians at Progressive Field on 14 2/3 overs to start the season. It was his 17th career multi-homer game.
Bieber threw 20 spots in the first innings, but apparently settled after that. His sixth attack on Royals catcher Salvador Perez has earned him 17 double-digit playoffs in his career, overtaking CC Sabathia as eighth in franchise history.
Bieber has 14 consecutive starting games with at least eight goal kicks, connecting Corey Kluber and Randy Johnson for the fourth longest series in the biggest league history. Francona said Bieber was great despite having a small margin of error.
“He plays in the game and he knows we are not throwing a bunch of runs on the board,” Francona said. ‘It’s not the easiest way to play. I thought he was great. ”
Perez introduced the Royals with a solo home field when he jumped on a first pitch bounce ball that led to the fourth against Bieber. It was Perez’s second home race of 2021 and his 11th explosion in his career against the Indians. He has five careers at Progressive Field.
Bieber said his game plan against Kansas City includes the attacking backs and uses their aggressive approach to his advantage.
“We thought they were going to be aggressive, so take advantage of that and we just realized what works and go from there,” Bieber said. “Just making adjustments in the middle of the game and staying aggressive has paid off.”
Following: The Indians leave Thursday before opening a weekend series of three games Friday against Detroit at Progressive Field. Right-hander Zach Plesac (0-1, 3.00) takes the hill for the Indians. The Tigers send the righteous Julio Teheran (1-0, 1.80) to the hill in a rematch of the second game of last season at Comerica Park. Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM 1100 AM and WMMS 100.7 FM will carry the game.
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