major league baseball Dozier slams door on Tribe

Grand slam caps Royals’ five-run, ninth-inning comeback against Hand

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Brad Hand’s sublime season came to stunning end.

For once, the Royals mustered some late-game magic.

Hunter Dozier’s grand slam capped Kansas City’s five-run rally in the ninth inning off Hand, Cleveland’s previously perfect All-Star closer, as the Royals rallied for an 8-6 win over the Indians on Tuesday night.

Hand (4-3) had been 22 for 22 in save chances and is likely on his way to being selected to represent the Indians when they host the All-Star game at Progressive Field next month.

But the left-hander did not record an out against the Royals, who entered the ninth down 6-3 before storming back.

Nicky Lopez had an RBI infield single before Kansas City loaded the bases and Dozier connected on Hand’s first pitch for his first career grand slam and 13th homer.

“Yeah,” said Dozier, downplaying his big moment. “That was really cool.”

Hand looked shaky from the outset, and was pulled after allowing five hits in just 13 pitches.

Hand offered no excuses, saying he wasn’t tired despite pitching five times in the past six days.

“I felt physically good,” he said. “I’d let him (Francona) know if something felt tired or whatever, but I felt good, just didn’t make some pitches. I got ahead, was trying to bury a few sliders and left them up. Sometimes when you throw too many strikes, it comes back to hurt you. Just got ahead of a few of those batters and made some mistakes.”

Kevin McCarthy (2-1) pitched the eighth and stumbled into a win, and Ian Kennedy worked the ninth for his 10th save, striking out Carlos Santana with a runner at second for the final out.

Tyler Naquin hit a two-run homer and Santana, Roberto Perez and Mike Freeman had solo shots for the Indians, who were three outs away from their fifth straight win before Hand imploded.

START AND STOP

Indians starter Shane Bieber stayed around for 52/3 innings, and was in position to get the win when he left, but was unsatisfied with his performance.

“It was kind of one of those days where maybe my stuff was OK, but it felt like I was out of sync and yanking some sliders and some curveballs and not as good of command as usual,” he said. “Even then, I had a lot of opportunities to go deeper in the game.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: RHP Mike Clevinger will be activated Friday to start the series opener in Baltimore. Clevinger has been sidelined with a sprained ankle sustained in his first start after returning from an eight-week stint on the injured list with a strained back muscle. ... OF Jake Bauers felt better after rolling his left ankle during batting practice Monday.