Royals’ closer Joakim Soria’s fourth chance to save a game by pitching more than one inning didn’t go as he planned. Soria was chased in the eighth after just .2 of an inning as the Royals lost to Cleveland 10-6 for their fifth loss in a row.
I have no issues with Soria pitching more than an inning for a save. The one strong point of last year’s team was the back end of the bullpen, but with the continued failures of Ron Mahay (designated for assignment) John Bale, Jamey Wright, and Kyle Farnsworth, manager Trey Hillman has been left with no other choice, other than to go with his most steady arm.
After two singles, Luis Valbuena hit a three run homer off Soria to turn a 5-4 lead into a 7-5 deficit. The Indians then added three more runs in the ninth Wright and Bale. Gil Meche battled for seven innings allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks.
Meche was backed by timely hitting from John Buck and Yuniesky Betancourt who each drove in two runs.
