CLEVELAND — What kind of guy is Casey Blake? A guy whose first concern is always his teammates.
Blake circled the bases Friday night after his home run in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Indians a 5-4 victory over Kansas City.
Cleveland’s third baseman knew that when he reached home plate he would be met by a congregation of teammates intent on pummeling him as an expression of joyful enthusiasm.
“I was thinking, ‘This is cool, but I hope nobody hurts their fist punching me,’” Blake said. “When you hit steel like that ...”
None of Blake’s teammates could have delivered much more of a blow than what Blake did to a first-pitch fastball from former teammate David Riske (1-4). The ball spun into the left-field bleachers, and the crowd of 35,230 celebrated the Indians dropping their magic number for clinching the Central Division title to 10.
It was Blake’s second home run since the All-Star break, and his first since Aug. 1 — a span of 37 games and 144 at-bats.
“I’ve been working on some things,” Blake said with a smirk. “Actually, I don’t know. The more I think about it, the more (home runs) don’t come. Over my career, they seem to come in spurts.”
“Casey has a considerable amount of power,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said of Blake, who has 16 homers this season. “I don’t think (the drought) is anything specific.
“I know people talk about what he’s hitting with runners in scoring position (.189). But it’s not just about stats. Timing is everything in this game. His timing has been great for us multiple times this year.”
The timing of Cleveland’s hitters certainly was great Friday. The Indians trailed, 4-1, before hammering away at the Kansas City bullpen.
Franklin Gutierrez clobbered a two-run home run to left off Joel Peralta in the seventh inning, pulling the Indians within 4-3. Victor Martinez then led off the eighth with a home run off Riske that fell just out of the reach of leaping Royals right fielder Mark Teahen.
Martinez paused at home plate to see if his 22nd homer of the season, one short of his career high, would clear Teahen’s glove.
“I had no idea until I heard everyone roar,” Wedge said. “I wasn’t sure until I saw if (Teahen) caught it. Evidently, Victor wasn’t sure either.”
Joe Borowski (4-5) allowed two baserunners in the top of the ninth but retired Alex Gordon on a fly ball to left for the third out.
Royals right-hander Brian Bannister, a Rookie of the Year candidate, mystified the Indians for six innings. He allowed one hit and left with a 4-1 lead.
“He pitched a good ballgame, but I didn’t think we did a particularly good job against him,” Wedge said.
Indians starter C.C. Sabathia set a career high with 13 strikeouts in seven innings, but he gave up four runs on five hits in the fifth inning. David DeJesus, Mark Grudzielanek and Mike Sweeney strung together three consecutive two-out hits to drive in those four runs.
“Give them credit,” Sabathia said. “They did a good job of hitting the ball hard.”
The Indians, especially Blake, did a good job of hitting the ball hard late in the game.
“It’s a good feeling to come back and win when we need every game we can get,” Blake said.
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Related Photos
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C.C. SABATHIA of the Indians fires a first-inning pitch against the Royals on Friday night againt the Royals AP
Discussion
Casey’s mighty swing caps Wahoo rally
Blake’s bomb in 9th sends Indians past Kansas City
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