After twice-reviewed call, Royals prevail 3-0 over Indians

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Mike Moustakas glanced at the center-field scoreboard, which displayed the reality he had known all along: On a critical play in the seventh inning of a 3-0 Royals victory, Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor never tagged up.

Third-base umpire Mike Estabrook did not appear to notice. So as the umpiring crew completed their second replay review of the play, Moustakas watched the evidence and stomped off the field, pumping his fist as he departed.

His teammates followed, though the umpires herded the Royals (90-65) back onto the field while they sorted out the mess. Combined, the two reviews lasted four minutes and 38 seconds. That does not account for the time required for Yost to re-emerge from his dugout and convince crew chief Dana Demuth for a crew chief’s challenge.

The first challenge, issued by Yost, questioned a tag at first base. With one out and runners at the corners, Indians outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall hit at reliever Ryan Madson. Madson caught the ball and made an off-line throw to first. Eric Hosmer caught the ball and tried to make a sweeping tag on outfielder Michael Brantley.

As that duet played out, Lindor sprinted home. He had never touched third to tag up. Hosmer threw home but Lindor beat the tag from catcher Salvador Perez. The ball was routed to third, where Moustakas stepped on the bag. Estabrook signaled safe.

After the first review, Moustakas harangued Estabrook about the call. The second review validated his memory and allowed the Royals to exit their final regular-season homestand with a victory.

Making his first start since July 28, Chris Young dealt five innings without allowing a hit. He exited with his pitch count at 68. He had not thrown more than 53 pitches in the game these past two months. But Young did provide another line in his resume as the Royals fill out their postseason rotation.

The pursuit of a collective no-hitter ended in the seventh. Lindor laid down a bunt single against Madson. Then came the messiness of the two replay reviews. When it was over, the crowd of 36,339 erupted. The attendance established the new franchise record at Kauffman Stadium, with 2,708,549 fans attending the 81 games.

Barring a horrific skid, the Royals will return on Oct. 8 to host Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Whether Kansas City enters the playoffs as the No. 1 or the No. 2 seed will be determined this week.

Three weeks ago, the Royals held a five-game lead on Toronto with 27 to play. The Blue Jays closed the gap to zero on Saturday night. Toronto won the season series against Kansas City, so if the two finish the season with the same record, the road to the World Series goes through Rogers Centre.

On Sunday, the Royals insured their first 90-win season since 1989, but because Toronto executed a walk-off victory over Tampa Bay, the Blue Jays also cracked the 90-win threshold and stayed in front.

Manager Ned Yost has shifted tack in the past few days. With the American League Central crown resting on his club’s head, he has begun to frame outpacing the Blue Jays as a secondary endeavor.

“Home-field advantage is just a little perk,” Yost said. “We’ve accomplished our main goal: Win the division. We’d still like to get home-field advantage, just to say you have it. It’s not life or death if you don’t.”

When pressed, Yost acknowledged the Blue Jays present a different challenge at Rogers Centre, where homers fly at a prodigious rate.

“It’s an advantage,” Yost said. “But once you get in the playoffs, you’ve got to win. It doesn’t matter where you’re at. We didn’t have home-field advantage anywhere last year, except for the World Series. And that was the only series we didn’t win.”

So Kansas City has an incentive to shoot for as they attempt to solve their lingering issues. Yost is still searching for his ideal lineup. He returned Alcides Escobar to the leadoff spot on Sunday. Yost acknowledged there is little statistical reasoning for using Escobar there, considering his cratering production this season.

But, Yost continued, the team won when Escobar led off. The Royals are trying to reconcile the dissonance between these two facts. Yost admitted that most of their struggles this month stemmed from their pitching staff, which is why Young’s performance on Sunday stood out.

The day before, Kris Medlen failed to complete the fourth inning. Cleveland walloped him for six runs. He could not drive the baseball low in the strike zone, which is critical to his success. In his past three outings, his command has been slipshod.

Yost has shied away from committing to any set playoff rotation. He stressed, on several occasions before Sunday’s game, that the team was sifting through their options. He does recognize the unpredictability of Medlen as he recovers from his second elbow reconstruction.

“The last three starts, he’s struggled with his command,” Yost said. “That’s probably normal when a guy’s coming back from Tommy John and getting back into the swing of things.”

Young suffered no ill effects from his lengthy layoff. He operated with efficiency, allowing the Indians to swat flyballs contained by Kauffman Stadium. He did not let a man on base until walking outfielder Michael Brantley with two outs in the fourth. Young induced a grounder by first baseman Carlos Santana to end the inning.

In the bottom of the frame, the Royals mounted the go-ahead rally. Lorenzo Cain led off with a single. Hosmer stroked an RBI double. A single by Perez advanced Hosmer to third. He scored on a groundball by Moustakas.

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