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Happel ties game in 9th, Royals still walk-off with win
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Happel ties in 9th for Cleveland, Arias wins it for K.C.
Kansas City, MO (AP) - To say it's been a memorable week for Indians rookie right fielder Brian Happel would have to be the understatement of the century. As if he wanted to prove his pinch-hit, walk-off home run earlier this week against the Angels was not a fluke, Happel struck again in the clutch. Leading off the ninth inning, with Cleveland trailing by a run, Happel dug in against closer Joakim Soria, and promptly sent a 2-0 fastball out of the park to tie the game up. "This really is unbelievable," said Happel. "All I wanted to do was get on base. I was able to get in a good hitters count, was looking for a fastball I could turn on, and sure enough, that's what I got."
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Happel smashes his second homer of his career, in his second at-bat of his career.
Despite Happel's heroics, the Indians couldn't capitalize. The next three batters were all retired. And, Kansas City still managed to pull out the win in the bottom of the ninth, when Arias doubled home the game-winning run. Still, it's been quite an amazing start to the career of Brian Happel. So far, he's seen 5 pitches in the big leagues - and smacked two of them out for home runs. While that's an amazing accomplishment as it is, the fact that one was a walk-off homer and the other bomb tied the game in the ninth makes this start not only extraordinary, but historic as well. "We're creating a new position for him," said manager Manny Acta, "He's the D.C.H. now - the Designated Clutch Hitter. It really is amazing to watch. But, what I'll be interested to see is how the kid responds when he faces some adversity. He's had quite a start, but he'll go through bad stretches, too. That will be key."
Joaquin Arias answers Happel's heroics with clutch hitting of his own, doubling home the game-winner
While Happel remains a bright spot, the Indians still are having trouble closing out games. Even after the home run, Cleveland promptly gave up the game in the bottom of the ninth. Joaquin Arias smacked a double to left-center field, bringing home the game-winning run. He's played well in limited action, hitting .335 so far this season. Jack Cust and Seth Smith both hit home runs for the Royals in the victory.
| CLE at KAN - Kauffman Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Jul 27, 2012 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Cleveland Indians (40-60) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| Kansas City Royals (40-61) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| W: Greg Holland (2-3) L: Carlos Rivera (1-1) | ||||||||||||
| Cleveland Indians | ||||||||
| HITTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | HR | AVG |
| Cabrera SS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .289 |
| Young 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .290 |
| Santana C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .272 |
| Hafner 1B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .287 |
| Brown LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .248 |
| LaPorta DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .244 |
| Grimsley RF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .237 |
| Theriot 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .249 |
| Francis CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .242 |
| HAPPEL PH | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 35 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | |
| BATTING: 2B: R. Theriot (12) HR: B. HAPPEL (2) RBI: R. Theriot 2 (30), T. Hafner (41), B. HAPPEL (2) SAC: C. Santana 2 | ||||||||
| FIELDING: E: A. Cabrera (12), R. Theriot (8) | ||||||||
| Kansas City Royals | ||||||||
| HITTERS | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | HR | AVG |
| Getz, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .292 |
| Abreu, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .290 |
| Mesoraco, C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .252 |
| Cust, DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .249 |
| Ka'aihue, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .258 |
| Smith, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .241 |
| Valencia, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .256 |
| Hudgins, CF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .231 |
| Arias, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .335 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 34 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | |
| BATTING: 2B: K. Mesoraco (19), D. Valencia (14), J. Arias (10) J. Cust (9) HR: S. Smith (5), J. Cust (15) RBI: S. Smith 2 (16), J. Arias (23), J. Cust 2 (45) HBP: K. Ka'aihue | ||||||||
| BASERUNNING: CS: J. Arias (2) | ||||||||
| FIELDING: E: L. Hochevar (1) | ||||||||
| Cleveland Indians | ||||||||
| PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| J. Gomez | 5.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6.09 |
| J. Germano | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.45 |
| G. Infante | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.38 |
| C. Rivera (L, 1-1) | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.71 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 8.1 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | |
| Kansas City Royals | ||||||||
| PITCHERS | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| L. Hochevar | 7.0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 5.11 |
| P. Rincon (H, 5) | 0.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.73 |
| K. Texeira (H, 1) | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| J. Soria (BS, 5) | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.38 |
| G. Holland (W, 2-3) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.46 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 9.0 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | |
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