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| Meche, Royals blank Indians KANSAS CITY 2, CLEVELAND 0 |
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By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Gil Meche and the Kansas City Royals have been waiting for a game like this. Meche pitched seven outstanding innings Sunday, leading the Royals to a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Meche (2-4), who was pounded the last time he faced Cleveland, held the Indians to four hits while striking out four and not allowing a walk. "He was outstanding," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Everybody knows how bad he wanted that and how bad we needed that." In his last start against Cleveland, Meche gave up a career-high eight runs in 3 1/3 innings. But on Sunday, he allowed only one runner to reach second base as he dominated an offensively-challenged Indians lineup. "This is what I have been waiting for," Meche said. "This is the game I needed to see." Cleveland's only threat to score came in the sixth when Grady Sizemore singled to start the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice. But Meche got David Dellucci to fly out and struck out Victor Martinez to end the inning. "When you get games like that, it keeps you in rhythm," Meche said. "You're not sitting on the bench real long. You are getting right back out there." Leo Nunez worked the eighth and Joakim Soria pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save in as many chances. It was the second time in a week that Cleveland has been shut out. The New York Yankees blanked the Indians, 1-0, on April 27 - and Cleveland has failed to score more than three runs in six of its last seven games. "As difficult as it is, the one thing we won't do, you're not allowed to do is give into it," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "That is not going to happen here. We're going to fight through this and come out of it." Miguel Olivo blasted reliever Rafael Betancourt's 0-1 offering over the wall in left field to give the Royals a 2-0 lead in the ninth. It was the game's only extra-base hit. Cleveland starter Aaron Laffey (0-2) pitched well enough for the win, but got no support. "You can't let that enter your mind," Laffey said about the lack of run support. "If you do, you start pressing a bit. There were a couple of times during the game where I had to step back off the mound and take a deep breath and say don't try and do to much." Laffey, who is filling in for injured starter Jake Westbrook, retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until Olivo's fifth-inning single. The lefthander allowed an unearned run, four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Kansas City scored its first run on third baseman Casey Blake's throwing error in the fifth, as Olivo started the rally with a two-out hit. After a walk to John Buck, Tony Pena hit a grounder to third for the apparent third out of the inning. But Blake threw the ball into right field, allowing Olivo to score. "We caught a break," Hillman said. "But we had to be in a position to catch a break." |
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