KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — In his return to the Cleveland rotation, Zach McAllister looked more like he did in May than in April.
That didn't bode well for the Indians.
McAllister failed to hold an early five-run lead as Billy Butler homered for the second straight game and the Kansas City Royals beat the Indians 7-5 Saturday night for their fifth straight win.
McAllister, just brought up from Triple-A Columbus after going 5-0 with a 2.23 ERA, faced 22 batters and 10 reached base. After starting the season 3-0, he is 0-6 in nine starts.
McAllister was sent down after posting a 10.67 ERA in May.
"I didn't think he got hit hard," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "I thought he was up on a lot of his pitches. When we scored five he came out the next inning and gave up two 0-2 hits.
"In the fourth inning he had a leadoff walk. He couldn't get the ball down enough so they were able to fight off balls. He was having a hard time getting his secondary pitches over. If not throwing them for strikes, they're not going to help. I actually think when he's throwing his fastball and he's locating it, it's a really good pitch. That's what makes Zach the pitcher we need."
That didn't bode well for the Indians.
McAllister failed to hold an early five-run lead as Billy Butler homered for the second straight game and the Kansas City Royals beat the Indians 7-5 Saturday night for their fifth straight win.
McAllister, just brought up from Triple-A Columbus after going 5-0 with a 2.23 ERA, faced 22 batters and 10 reached base. After starting the season 3-0, he is 0-6 in nine starts.
McAllister was sent down after posting a 10.67 ERA in May.
"I didn't think he got hit hard," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "I thought he was up on a lot of his pitches. When we scored five he came out the next inning and gave up two 0-2 hits.
"In the fourth inning he had a leadoff walk. He couldn't get the ball down enough so they were able to fight off balls. He was having a hard time getting his secondary pitches over. If not throwing them for strikes, they're not going to help. I actually think when he's throwing his fastball and he's locating it, it's a really good pitch. That's what makes Zach the pitcher we need."
