Anleitungen » Manager Terry Francona thinks the Indians

KANSAS CITY Andrelton Simmons Jersey , Mo. (AP) — are a bit tired as they slog their way through August with a big lead in the AL Central.Corey Kluber says fatigue is no excuse.Kansas City rookie Heath Fillmyer pitched six strong innings, Lucas Duda homered and the last-place Royals battered Kluber to send Cleveland to its fourth straight loss, 7-1 on Saturday night.“I think most teams are probably tired,” Kluber said. “We’ve got to find ways to push through, motivate yourself, whatever you want to call it. You have those times where maybe you’re a little tired or you’re dragging a little bit.”Fillmyer (2-1) limited the Indians to three hits and two walks, striking out three, and allowed his only run with a second-inning balk.“He changed speeds extremely well. He worked the inside part of the plate, outside part of the plate,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “For the most part he was ahead in the count and he was on the attack.”Kansas City pounded out 14 hits, nine against Kluber (16-7), who went 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs with two walks and six strikeouts.“I thought he was OK http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-yunel-escobar-jersey ,” Francona said. “There were some pitches, a couple of cutters, a couple of fastballs he didn’t locate and he really paid for it. I thought his breaking ball was a little bit better. The mistakes, they jumped on them pretty good when he made them.”The Indians had won 16 of 20 before getting outscored 29-9 in the four consecutive defeats, which matches their season-worst skid.“We look a little tired,” Francona said. “We’re going to have to find a way tomorrow to show up and grind our way through and find a way to win. We’ve got a day off coming on Monday. We have to fight through it.”Duda hit his 12th homer this season and the 150th of his career in the sixth, a solo shot to right-center field. Two batters later, Hunter Dozier drove in Jorge Bonifacio with a single to put the Royals ahead 5-1 and drive Kluber from the game.“It feels nice to beat a first-place team and show that we’ve got a good club here,” Duda said.Duda had three hits and scored twice, while Ryan O’Hearn drove in three runs. Prior to 2018, Duda was 3 for 36 in his career against the Indians, but he has eight extra-base hits in 11 games against Cleveland this year, batting .275 (11 for 40).Fillmyer’s balk in the second brought in Yonder Alonso Martin Maldonado Jersey , who had moved to third on the first of Melky Cabrera’s two doubles. Three relievers completed the five-hitter.In the third, Adalberto Mondesi singled, stole second without a throw and scored on Whit Merrifield’s hit to right. The stolen base was the first against Kluber in 250 1/3 innings.“He had three steps before Kluber threw the ball to the plate,” Yost said. “Kluber could very easily have stepped off and threw him out. There was a little bit of luck in there, too.”O’Hearn’s double scored Salvador Perez and Duda to give the Royals a 3-1 lead in the fourth.Merrifield doubled to bring Mondesi in the seventh, and O’Hearn’s eighth-inning single brought in Duda, who had doubled to lead off the inning.Kluber had his five-game win streak against the Royals snapped, and Kansas City’s five runs were its most against him since June 15, 2016, when the Royals last beat the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.“I just felt like there were some pitches I executed pretty well, and you tip your hat to them. They did a good job putting them in play and found some holes with them,” Kluber said. “I wasn’t perfect by any means. It was one of those days like you feel like maybe it could have gone better, but it is what it is.”TRAINER’S ROOMIndians: RHP Neil Ramirez (lower back spasms) is travelling with the team and throwing. “He’s out there playing catch http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-j.-c.-ramirez-jersey ,” manager Terry Francona said. “We’re trying to make these things go away.” … RHP Cody Anderson (right elbow) was slated to begin a rehab assignment in the Arizona League. It would mark his first regular-season time on the mound since the end of 2016 as he recovers from surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament.UP NEXTSeeking their first series sweep in more than a month, the last-place Royals send Jorge Lopez (0-2, 3.99 ERA) to the mound for his third start since being acquired in the trade that sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers. Shane Bieber (7-2, 4.36) starts for Cleveland. After losing the World Series for the second consecutive year in 2018, the Los Angeles Dodgers' first offseason priority was to retain Clayton Kershaw.Forget his postseason hiccups and the back and biceps injuries that have recently hampered him. Kershaw is the face of the Dodgers and the greatest pitcher of his generation. With a player opt-out looming, L.A. had no choice but to re-up its ace.Hence the three-year, $93 million extension Kershaw inked with Los Angeles.The Dodgers' work isn't done, however; it's merely beginning.Keeping Kershaw in the fold was the first step for a club in unambiguous win-now mode.The next step? Sign Bryce Harper.Along with Manny Machado, Harper headlines the lauded, gaudy 2018-19 free-agent class. The Dodgers acquired Machado at the '18 non-waiver trade deadline and could bring him back.There are a couple of problems with that.First, Los Angeles is set on the left side of the infield with third baseman Justin Turner and shortstop Corey Seager, who is on track to return from Tommy John surgery.Second, Machado's production dipped with the Dodgers. He posted a .963 OPS with the Baltimore Orioles compared to an .825 OPS with Los Angeles. More damningly Darin Erstad Jersey , he slashed.227/.278/.394 in the postseason and exhibiteddubious hustle.Harper, meanwhile, hit 34 home runs and tallied 100 RBI with the Washington Nationals. Yes, his OPS slid from 1.008 in 2017 to .889 in 2018 and the Nats missed the playoffs. He's an immense talent, however, whose brash personality is built for the Southern California spotlight.Imagine Harper's "make baseball fun again" antics married to the glitz of Hollywood. It's a match made in headline-grabbing heaven.Andrew Harnik/Associated PressTechnically, Los Angeles is covered in the outfield with the mix of Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez.That said, the Dodgers are all but obligated to make a seismic splash this winter. Their title drought surpassed the three-decade mark. Tinkering with the roster won't cut it.Harper, backed by superagent Scott Boras http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-upton-jersey , will seek a contract larger than the record $325 million deal Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Miami Marlins in November 2014.He's also a six-time All-Star who won National League MVP honors in 2015 and celebrated his 26th birthday on October 16.As Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times noted:"The Dodgers again have to embrace the responsibility that comes with playing in this market. They can't use the luxury-tax threshold as an excuse anymore. They have to reinvest the money they are earning from their disastrous but nonetheless lucrative television contract, as well as the sales of tickets that continue to escalate in price. They should absolutely pursue Harper, who is not only the most talented free agent of his generation but also a personality capable of representing the franchise."It's a fair point. The Dodgers have positioned themselves as MLB's big, bad bullies. They throw money around like so much presumptive confetti. Simply winning the division and crossing their fingers aren't enough.L.A. has to go big. It doesn't get bigger than Harper.With Kershaw locked in, this is the next logical move. It carries risk. It'll rile up the haters. Really, though, that's the point. And, if you believe ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the Dodgers might need to sign Harper to keep him away from the archrival San Francisco Giants.Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated PressClose your eyes and picture Harper and Puig in a bat-flipping contest. Picture Harper flipping his hair in Dodger blue."Who comes to L.A.?" former Dodger Steve Garvey said, per Hernandez. "The big stars. LeBron's here. L.A. has the best path for the remainder of his career. He can make a difference with his personality and who he is."It makes too much sense.Make it happen, Dodgers.All statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference.