CLEVELAND (AP) — Jakob Junis and the Kansas City Royals have been on a roll since the All-Star break.
Hunter Dozier homered in the first inning and Junis pitched two-hit ball through six dominant innings as the Royals beat Cleveland 1-0 on Saturday night, snapping the Indians’ six-game winning streak.
Kansas City improved to 7-2 since the break — after going 30-61 before it — as Junis, Scott Barlow, Jake Diekman and Ian Kennedy combined to three-hit Cleveland, which is an MLB-best 27-11 since June 4.
“It has been a pretty good run and as a team, it doesn’t get much better than this,” said Junis, who struck out seven in beating the Indians for the first time in four starts this season. “This is exactly what we set out to do, so hopefully we can continue it and keep getting better and keep this roll going.”
Junis (6-8), who retired 13 in a row between the second and sixth, was removed after 94 pitches on a steamy evening with a heat index of 99 degrees at the first pitch. The right-hander has won both of his post-break starts, allowing a lone run over 13 innings against the White Sox and Cleveland.
“He really slowed our bats down and seemed like he could go to a breaking ball for a strike whenever he wanted to,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “Then he’d elevate a fastball for effect and go right back to it, and it kind of gave us fits.”
Batting third, Dozier sent a 349-foot shot to right off Adam Plutko for his 15th homer. The run stood up as Cleveland managed singles by Francisco Lindor in the first and Jason Kipnis in the sixth, and a Greg Allen double in the seventh.
Kennedy pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save as the Indians failed to advance a runner past second base, yet remained three games behind AL Central-leading Minnesota.
“This was a lot of fun,” Dozier said. “Junis did a heck of a job and all our bullpen guys did awesome. Plutko threw a really good one, as well, as it was just one of those nights where pitchers dominated.”
Plutko (3-2) worked a season-high seven innings, giving up two hits and striking out four.
Kansas City preserved the shutout in the sixth when center fielder Billy Hamilton made a superb running catch, robbing Lindor with a leaping grab before crashing into the wall. He kept the ball hidden in his glove for several seconds to add a dramatic touch.
“I was thinking about acting like I just missed it the whole time and stay at the fence like I was mad, but Juni was in the zone, so I couldn’t do him like that,” Hamilton said, laughing. “You can’t be messing around with him, so I decided to run around for a little bit instead.”