Jeremy Guthrie struggles mightily in Royals’ 12-1 loss to Indians
The tenure of Jeremy Guthrie as a member of the Kansas City starting rotation began on July 20, 2012, when the Royals rescued Guthrie from the horrors of Coors Field and resuscitated his career. The era may have ended on Wednesday afternoon, as Guthrie yielded eight runs (one unearned) and could not complete the sixth inning in a 12-1 loss to the Indians.
The most crushing blow fell in a six-run, sixth inning. Guthrie served up a three-run shot to Indians rookie Francisco Lindor. The home run did not prompt any movement in the Kansas City dugout. The Royals had put up little defense against Cleveland starter Corey Kluber, and the game appeared out of reach.
So manager Ned Yost stuck with Guthrie. What followed prompted his exit from the dugout and Guthrie’s departure from the game. It was another home run, his third allowed that inning, this one a solo shot by outfielder Michael Brantley. The blast expanded Cleveland’s lead to eight runs, as Guthrie could not provide a quality outing as Kansas City (61-39) missed a chance at a sweep.
It is unclear if excellence from Guthrie (7-7, 5.65 ERA) would have been enough. The Royals mounted few challenges to Kluber. Their first hit did not fall until the fifth inning. But any chance frittered away in the sixth.
The performance now leaves Yost with a quandary. The acquisition of Johnny Cueto gave Kansas City a surplus of six starters. Barring an organizational shift, the two candidates to depart are Guthrie and Chris Young, who gave up one run but only lasted 4 2/3 innings in Tuesday’s victory. Yost must decide by next Tuesday in Detroit.
Young has logged only 59 innings in his last 11 outings, with a 4.42 ERA and 11 home runs allowed. Young also excelled as a long reliever in April. Guthrie has never thrived in that type of role. But he also holds a 5.65 ERA on a club with World Series hopes.
On Wednesday, Guthrie looked shaky from the start, found a brief rhythm, but collapsed in his final inning of work. He had held the Indians to only two runs heading into the sixth. But then he came undone.
Rookie Giovanny Urshela started the collapse by bashing a hanging slider over the left-field fence. A trio of singles led to another run. Then Lindor and Brantley did their damage. At last, Yost emerged from the dugout to save Guthrie.
Guthrie waded through heavy traffic in the first inning. Cleveland loaded the bases with two singles and a walk. With his 29th pitch of the frame, Guthrie hit catcher Yan Gomes to drive in a run.
An inning later, Guthrie lost his control once again. He surrendered a leadoff double to Michael Bourn, and dealt with a fielding mishap after a bunt by outfielder Tyler Holt. Guthrie recovered the sacrifice attempt and threw to Mike Moustakas, who had Bourn hung up in a run down. But Moustakas accidentally bumped into Bourn after releasing the ball, and the umpires awarded Bourn third base.
Three pitches later, Guthrie drilled second baseman Jason Kipnis with an 0-2 cutter. Kipnis looked aggravated. Umpire Tom Woodring warned both benches. Guthrie escaped after only allowing a sacrifice fly to shortstop Francisco Lindor.
With the warnings in place, Guthrie hit his third batter of the game in the fifth. He connected with the right leg of outfielder Michael Brantley. He was not ejected. But Cleveland manager Terry Francona was after he protested the lack of action taken against Guthrie. His team would devise a more constructive response an inning later.
Luke Hochever allowed four runs on six hits, including Yan Gomes’ two-run home run, in the eighth inning.
This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Jeremy Guthrie struggles mightily in Royals’ 12-1 loss to Indians."