Yordano Ventura was expected to be the ace of the staff, but he’s struggled mightily, and was even sent down to Triple-A for a day. “I felt like there were only a few hard hits all day”.
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The Cleveland Indians need a win after losing five of their last six games.
The Royals traded for Johnny Cueto, and then used Yordano Ventura’s seven sharp innings to beat Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros 5-1 on Sunday. The one run that he allowed came as a result of a misplay by Lorenzo Cain. He fanned five hitters over seven innings of six-hit baseball. The rookie right-hander has never faced the Royals, who took two of three at Progressive Field in April.
It was the best start for Ventura in over two months, dating back to a game against, ironically, Johnny Cueto and the Reds.
The Astros are 7-19 in their last 26 road games while the Royals are 9-3 in their past 12 home games. The talent has always been there. With Cueto in tow, the Royals finally have an ace that will make a significant difference in the team’s playoff success.
Kansas City loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning.
Volquez, however, has gone 1-2 with an 11.48 ERA in four starts against Cleveland (45-52) dating to his time with Texas. On Sunday, he had given up four runs before the first inning was over. However, second baseman Omar Infante stroked a ground-ball single to left to bring home two runners. His 11th home run of the season gave Kansas City its four-run advantage right back; it was the first big fly surrendered by Keuchel since June 20. The 10 hits by Kansas City set a season-high against Keuchel.
After totaling five runs in their previous three games, the Royals tagged All-Star starter Dallas Keuchel for 10 hits – the most he’s allowed all season.
Franklin Morales and Luke Hochevar each tossed a flawless inning in relief to finish off the victory. Ventura has split a pair of decisions against Houston, getting blitzed for five runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings to take the loss in his last meeting. Yesterday, Cueto blanked the Rockies over eight dynamite frames. This will be Anderson’s first career game against the Royals. Burnett, John Lackey, Scott Kazmir and Dallas Kuechel with a winning 5-3 record.
The Royals are 4-1 in their last 5 vs. American League Central and 12-3 in Volquezs last 15 starts. “We got some early pitches to hit them and we didn’t miss them, [which] gave us some breathing room”.
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If this isn’t the American League’s best team, I’d like you to show me who is. And that should be a terrifying thought for the other 14 teams in the A.L.
