Indians beat Kansas City as Huff, Sizemore lead the way
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rookie left-hander David Huff was doing what a lot of starting pitchers do a few hours before they take the mound.
“I was sleeping,” said Huff.
Wednesday morning was a good time for a nap. It was raining hard and the seats on the Indians’ team bus were soft as it made its way to Kauffman Stadium from the team hotel. Then a car slammed into the side of the bus, skidding in the rain, to interrupt Huff’s slumber.
“When that guy hit us, I said to myself, ‘Whoa, wake up here,’ ” said Huff. “We were worried about him.”
The driver was all right and so was a wide-awake Huff, who pitched six innings in the Indians’ 4-2 victory over Kansas City. Huff (8-7) allowed two runs on seven hits after pitching poorly in his previous start.
Huff, following the trades of Cliff Lee and Carl Pavano, is leading the Indians in wins. There’s a chance he could reach 10 victories.
“That’s one of my goals,” said Huff. “When I came up, I said I want to be a 10- to 12-game winner.”
The Indians’ 21st victory since the All-Star break was well-rounded. The bullpen, in its latest re-creation, produced three scoreless innings from Joe Smith, Chris Perez and Kerry Wood.
Wood worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 16th save in 21 chances. It was just his fourth save since the All-Star break and his first on the road since July 27 at Anaheim.
The offense, perhaps still bewildered by striking out 15 times against Zack Greinke on Tuesday night, wasn’t overwhelming, but Grady Sizemore and Jamey Carroll were fun to watch at the top of the order. Sizemore, who didn’t have to face Greinke because of a night off, reached base four straight times and scored three runs.
In the first, Sizemore reached on an error. Carroll blooped a single into right as Sizemore took third. He scored for a 1-0 lead on Asdrubal Cabrera’s grounder.
In the third, Sizemore walked against Luke Hochevar (6-7). He stole second, went to third on Carroll’s bloop single to right and scored on Shin-Soo Choo’s single for a 2-1 lead.
In the fifth, Sizemore doubled and went to third on Carroll’s grounder to first. He scored on Hochevar’s wild pitch to take the lead for good, 3-2.
“When Grady gets on base, it creates a lot of holes [on the defense],” said Carroll. “It opens up a lot of possibilities.”
Rookie Matt LaPorta provided some insurance with a two-out homer in the sixth for a 4-2 lead.