Omar Infante nets seven RBI as Royals trounce Indians, 8-4

CLEVELAND He was banished to the bench because of his bat, because after five months of equivocating about Omar Infante, the Royals could no longer justify playing him every day when he classified as the worst every-day hitter in baseball.

The beauty of this game even in the final stages of a 162-game marathon that has sapped the energy of the Royals is the possibility for redemption. All it requires is one chance at the plate, one swing, one connection between the barrel of a bat and the sweet spot of a baseball. Infante experienced that phenomenon in the second inning of an 8-4 victory over the Indians.

Infante drilled a three-run homer that sparked the Royals offense. Three innings later, he roped a two-run double. In the seventh, he plated two more with a single. He established a new career-high for himself with seven RBIs. In one night, he drove in the same number of runs he did in August.

“I know I don’t play every day right now,” Infante said. “But I know I have to keep my mind strong.”

Yordano Ventura gave up three runs in five innings. He battled his emotions, the Indians and the strike zone of umpire Chris Guccione. On several occasions, the team convened mound conferences to settle him down. Manager Ned Yost saluted Ventura for his composure.

“Ventura was out there just grinding his tail off, really taking it upon himself to stop this streak,” Yost said. “He didn’t want us to lose another game. He was really out there competing intensely. To give him some run support there early was nice.”

Greg Holland navigated a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth, limiting the damage to only one run charged to reliever Franklin Morales, who handed off the mess to Holland. He recorded his 32nd save of the season. He needed only three pitches.

The Royals, 86-60, managed a split of this four-game series with the Indians. They reduced their magic number to seven and maintained a two-game lead over Toronto for home-field advantage. The Royals finish this three-city trip with a weekend series in Detroit.

After another loss on Wednesday, Yost decided to swap some pieces in his lineup. He handed days off to outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon. Zobrist replaced Gordon in left. Jarrod Dyson took over center field.

That left second base to Infante. He had not started a game since Sept. 9. He had not recorded a hit since Sept. 5. He had not hit a home run since July 27, when he lifted his lone long ball of the season, here at this park. “I love hitting in this park,” Infante said.

Infante lost his starting job after Alex Gordon returned from the disabled list in August. Yost installed Zobrist as his starting second baseman. The team sacrificed Infante’s defense ability for Zobrist’s offensive potential. Heading into Thursday’s game, Infante’s .537 on-base plus slugging percentage ranked last among the 184 players with at least 400 plate appearances.

Infante doubled his homer total for the season in his first at-bat. He came to the plate with a pair of men aboard. Salvador Perez reached on a fielding error and Alex Rios singled. Rios would crack three hits and collect a walk on the night. Indians starter Corey Kluber busted Infante on the hands with a fastball, but Infante managed to lift the baseball over the left-field fence.

“I knew he was going to try to throw me a fastball,” Infante said.

The Royals dugout erupted when Infante’s hit took flight. The club searched for a spark like this for nearly two weeks. Perhaps they had discovered one.

Their sloppy fielding cost them in the bottom of the inning. After two-out singles by second baseman Jose Ramirez and third baseman Giovanny Urshela, Ventura watched Jason Kipnis fish for a changeup and punch a hit into left.

And Ventura did just watch. He lingered on the mound and neglected to back up Perez behind the plate. Zobrist unfurled a throw that drew Perez toward the Indians dugout. Perez missed the catch. Without Ventura behind him, Perez scrambled, but not before a second run scored.

“He cost himself a run,” Yost said. “He was spectating instead of participating.”

The scorer charged Zobrist with an error. Ventura experienced another one behind him in the third. Infante muffed a grounder hit directly at him, giving Kansas City three errors on the day. Ventura steadied himself to bull through the inning without incident.

Kansas City had the misfortune of facing Kluber, the reigning American League Cy Young award winner, but they caught him at an opportune time. Kluber returned to the mound on Thursday after missing three weeks with a hamstring strain. Kluber struck out five, fanning the side in the third, but departed after the fourth inning.

The Royals pounced on reliever Kyle Crockett in the fifth. Mike Moustakas walked and Kendrys Morales hit a single. Eric Hosmer notched his first extra-base hit since Sept. 8 by cracking a slider for an RBI double.

Rios stayed hot, walking to load the bases. By now, Indians manager Terry Francona had replaced Crockett with Jeff Manship. Infante attacked another inside fastball. He hooked a two-run double into left to expand Kansas City’s lead to four.

The advantage slimmed to three in the bottom of the fifth. Ventura waded into trouble right away, yielding a leadoff double to first baseman Carlos Santana. Two batters later, rookie outfielder Abraham Almonte roped a single. Ventura hit catcher Yan Gomes with a 95-mph fastball to load the bases.

Yost stuck with Ventura. On the next pitch, Ventura induced a grounder to Infante. The Royals could not turn two, conceding a run, but there were two outs. Even after Ventura walked Urshela, Yost let him face Kipnis. Kipnis grounded out to first to end the inning and allow Ventura to exit in line for a victory.

“He thought he had good stuff, but it just wasn’t consistent,” said catching coach Pedro Grifol, who translated for Ventura. “So when that happens, he has to make sure that he keeps them with one less run than we have.”

Yost unloaded Ryan Madson, Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis for the next three innings. Along the way, Infante paced the offense.

“Hopefully, it’ll get us on a nice run,” Yost said. “We’ve got to get this little streak turned around. We’ve got to get through this little streak, and get back to playing good baseball.”

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