Allgemeines » Corey Kluber says the goal each time he takes the mou

CLEVELAND (AP) —nd is to give the Cleveland Indians a chance to win Yonder Alonso Jersey , rather than getting the W himself.The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner is doing pretty well in both departments.Kluber became the first 18-game winner in the majors this season, striking out 10 and pitching the Indians past the Kansas City Royals 3-1 Wednesday.“I don’t pay attention to it,” he said. “There’s going to be times things are out of your control. You might pitch fairly well and the guy on the other side pitches lights out.”“More so than actually getting the win, it’s giving our team a chance to win. That’s what I base things on,” he said.The Indians moved closer to a third straight AL Central title, and their magic number for clinching the division was reduced to eight when Minnesota lost at Houston on Wednesday night.Kluber (18-7) is a major reason the Indians will be playing again in October. He allowed one run and two hits in 6 2/3 innings. He was pulled after throwing 105 pitches.Kluber has won six of his last seven decisions and is a leading candidate to be chosen the league’s best pitcher for the third time in five seasons. Luis Severino of the Yankees was set to start Wednesday night at Oakland.“The last couple times out, seemed like he started to get the feel back. That’s fun to watch,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.Royals manager Ned Yost watched Kluber retire the first 10 hitters before Kansas City got its only two hits of the game.Alex Gordon lined a double on a 3-2 pitch in the fourth. Hunter Dozier struck out, but rookie Ryan O’Hearn’s long drive was over center fielder Greg Allen’s head and fell for an RBI triple.The right-hander struck out Jorge Bonifacio to get out of the brief jam and retired nine of the last 10 hitters he faced.Cleveland used three relievers to complete the two-hitter. Brad Hand struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save since being acquired from San Diego and 32nd this season.The game began in sweltering conditions with the temperature at 91 degrees for the first pitch.Brad Keller (7-6) allowed three runs — one earned — in seven-plus innings and lost for the first time since Aug. 7.“I felt like my fastball was pretty good and I hydrated myself all last night, so once the adrenaline kicked in when I got out there, I felt pretty good the whole time,” he said.Edwin Encarnacion’s RBI grounder broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth. Allen’s RBI single in the second gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead before Kansas City tied it.Michael Brantley’s one-out single started the go-ahead rally. Shortstop Alcides Escobar couldn’t handle Yandy Diaz’s chopper and Brantley took third when the ball rolled into the outfield on the error. Encarnacion’s grounder put Cleveland ahead.Jason Kipnis had a sacrifice fly and two hits.Cody Allen, the Indians’ closer until Hand was acquired, struck out two and retired all three hitters in the eighth. Oliver Perez struck out the only batter he faced and Cleveland’s pitchers combined to fan 16.Royals right fielder Brett Phillips was out of the lineup after running full-speed into the wall chasing Jose Ramirez’s fly ball Tuesday. He was removed from the game an inning later. Phillips was diagnosed with a bruised right shoulder.DONALDSON PLANIndians 3B Josh Donaldson was scheduled to play for Double-A Akron against Altoona in the first game of the best-of-five Eastern League playoffs on Wednesday. He’s on the disabled list with a strained left calf, which has prevented him from playing in a major league game since May 28.Donaldson http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-jose-ramirez-jersey , acquired from Toronto on Friday, is eligible to be activated Sept. 11. It’s unclear how many minor league games he’ll play before joining the Indians.TRAINER’S ROOMRoyals: LHP Danny Duffy (sore shoulder) will not pitch again this season after leaving his Tuesday start in the first inning. Duffy was on the disabled list from Aug. 13-23 with a similar injury and recently received an anti-inflammatory shot.“The doctors said he can’t have another shot for a while, so it makes sense just to shut him down,” manager Ned Yost said.Indians: LHP Andrew Miller (sore shoulder) is expected to throw a bullpen session on Thursday in Toronto. He’s been on the disabled list since Aug. 29.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP Heath Fillmyer (2-1, 4.01 ERA) opens a three-game series Friday in Minnesota.Indians: RHP Shane Bieber (8-3, 4.66 ERA) starts Thursday at Toronto. DENVER (AP) — For once, the Colorado Rockies head into the offseason searching for more pop at the plate to go with excellent pitching, not the other way around.The Rockies lacked patience at the plate in getting swept by Milwaukee in the best-of-five NL Division Series with a 6-0 loss Sunday, their second straight shutout.They were outscored 13-2 as they hit .146 with three extra-base hits and no homers . They didn’t score in their last 19 innings and set an NL Division Series low for runs,So much for a return to the thin air of Coors Field to spark a dormant offense.“I don’t know what it is,” third baseman Nolan Arenado said. “It’s just a bad stretch at the wrong time.”Rockies fans have a long winter to lament that and manager Bud Black’s decision to start German Marquez in Game 3 rather than hometown hero Kyle Freeland, who was 17-7 and pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the 2-1 wild-card win at Wrigley Field last Tuesday.“Everyone wants to be the guy that takes the ball or has a big at-bat or makes a big play in the field,” Freeland said, admitting he was “a little bummed. I mean, it would have been great to pitch in this atmosphere Bradley Zimmer Jersey , in Denver, my hometown.”Carlos Gonzalez also lamented not seeing Freeland on the mound in this series.“I really like our chances with Kyle on the mound because he’s been our horse all year long,” Gonzalez said. “But we’re talking about a guy who has a brilliant future, and I’m sure he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to pitch in front of this home crowd in big games.”Until this week, Colorado was known for its hitting, for teams like the Blake Street Bombers who outscored opponents in games that resembled church softball leagues more than the major leagues.Then came the humidor and while Coors Field was no longer the slugger’s Shangri-La, its cavernous dimensions still made it a hitter’s dream and a pitcher’s nightmare.Not so much anymore.After losing the NL West tiebreaker 5-2 to the Dodgers in Los Angeles and flying to Chicago for the win over the Cubs, the Rockies seemed flat as they lost 3-2 in 10 innings at Miller Park and then 4-0 — their first postseason shutout in franchise history.And when they got back to Coors, they were still impatient at the plate, expanding their strike zones.“We were trying to get things going. You saw a lot of guys chasing bad pitches, including myself,” Gonzalez said. “I think we were anxious. But at the same time, they have a great staff there. Their bullpen did a tremendous job.”Arenado, eligible for free agency after the 2019 season, issued a challenge to teammates and the organization in July http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-brandon-guyer-jersey , suggesting he wanted to play in meaningful autumn games.They did just that, but Arenado went 3 for 16 in the postseason, although he flashed the glove that could turn help him earn free-agent riches.Fellow All-Stars Charlie Blackmon (2 for 15) and Trevor Story (5 for 18) also failed to emulate their regular-season grooves at the plate, and Gonzalez went 2 for 12.“Our pitchers pitched great. They did exactly what we needed,” Arenado said. “It’s on the offense. We just couldn’t get anything going.”By the ninth inning, what was left of the sellout crowd was booing the bad at-bats, and Arenado didn’t take offense.“It was a bad loss. It was bad at-bats,” Arenado said. “It comes with the territory. It’s October. You’ve got to do something and we weren’t able to — I wasn’t able to.“This game teaches you something every year, and I’ve obviously learned a lot about myself and I’ve got to get better. That’s basically what this game is telling me, what October’s telling me.”Colorado won nine of its last 10 regular season games to force a one-game playoff with the Dodgers. The Rockies’ 91-72 record and .562 winning percentage was second-best in franchise history. They reached the playoffs for the second straight season, a franchise first.That isn’t enough anymore.Now they need some hitting to go with that young pitching.Freeland thinks all that is needed offensively is a change of fortune.“You know this lineup with the bats is going to have success. I know it didn’t show too much against the Brewers with this series. But we all know what they’re capable of one through nine,” he said.“So, knowing we have both pitching and hitting, it makes the future very exciting.”