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Indians rout Royals as Merritt notches 1st win
- Updated: October 1, 2016
KANSAS CITY — In a game with postseason implications, and ace Corey Kluber temporarily out of the rotation, the Indians handed the ball to a rookie. Lefty Ryan Merritt was up for the challenge, turning in a strong effort that fueled a 7-2 win over the Royals on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Cleveland still trails Boston, a 5-3 winner over Toronto on Friday, for the No. 2 seed in the American League playoffs and home-field advantage in the Division Series.
Merritt logged five stellar innings against the reigning World Series champs in his first Major League start. He was backed by big offensive nights for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana, and made a winner thanks to a shutdown bullpen.
Eric Hosmer contributed an RBI single off Merritt in the first inning, and righty Yordano Ventura logged six frames, but Kansas City was overmatched against the new AL Central champions.
Santana sparked a four-run flurry in the third inning with a triple and finished a home run shy of a cycle. Lindor reached base four times and launched a three-run homer in the seventh to spread the game apart. Lindor’s blast came with a 112-mph exit velocity, marking the hardest-hit ball of the shortstop’s career, per Statcast™.
Merritt picked up his first career win after yielding one run on three hits in five innings, in which he struck out four and walked none. He ended his outing by retiring 13 straight before letting the bullpen finish the job.
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