KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ In the moments after the most inexplicable hit of this Royals season, a towering grand slam that soared through the humid July air and landed in the seats in right field, Jarrod Dyson tossed his bat aside and stared toward the first-base dugout. Eric Hosmer greeted him with a smile and a full-body fist pump. Salvador Perez jumped in the air like a child.
For a baseball team scuffling around .500 and searching for a breakout, the moment was a cathartic combination of joy and relief. The Royals had stormed back from a two-run deficit in the eighth inning on Monday night. Dyson offered the final blow in a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians, cranking the first career grand slam of his career.
For years, Dyson has changed games with his legs. On Monday, he ensured a victory with his bat.
Christian Colon had already erased a 2-0 deficit with a two-run double to center field. Paulo Orlando had given the Royals a 3-2 lead with an RBI single to left field, scoring Alex Gordon from second base. Dyson made sure the lead would stand up, recording the Royals' first extra-base hit with the bases loaded all season.
Indians starter Corey Kluber was forced out of the game with a leg cramp before the eighth inning. And the Royals' bats took advantage.
Kansas City opened a nine-game home stand with a victory over the first-place Indians, moving to 47-45 on the season. If that record feels familiar, it could be because of this: Two years ago, the 2014 Royals had the same record after 92 games. They ended up claiming an American League wild card spot and winning the club's first pennant in 29 years.
On Monday afternoon, the Royals arrived back at Kauffman Stadium for the first time in eight days, a span of time that encompassed the All-Star break, a stretch that tested the mettle of baseball's defending champions. After losing two of three at Detroit _ and eight of their last 11 overall _ the Royals began Monday a full eight games behind first-place Cleveland and two games behind second-place Detroit. In the wild card standings, they looked up at three teams _ Toronto, Houston and Detroit _ all battling for the second spot behind Boston.
In the ultra-marathon grind of a baseball calendar, a season cannot be reduced to a week or even a month. But as the Royals convened for a nine-game home stand at Kauffman Stadium, the schedule offered a gut-check stretch _ 10 days in July that could define the second half of this season.
On the first night, the Royals dug in against Kluber, the Indians' ace. They were handcuffed and bedeviled for seven innings.
A week ago, Kluber journeyed to San Diego for his first All-Star Game, an alternate selected by Royals manager Ned Yost after an injury to Toronto starter Marco Estrada. Yost cited a numbers of advanced metrics in making the selection, calling Kluber one of the best pitchers in the game. On Monday, he displayed his prowess. For seven innings, he kept the Royals off balance with a diet of 94 mph sinkers and biting off-speed stuff. He buckled down when the Royals threatened, stranding six base-runners in the opening six innings.
As the Royals offense slogged onward, the Indians nicked Volquez for two runs in seven innings. The first came via a mammoth homer from shortstop Francisco Lindor in the top of the first inning. The second came on an opportunistic rally in the fourth.
The Indians stretched the lead to 2-0 on a walk, a bloop single and a soft grounder to third base. Volquez chugged and sweated for three more innings, departing after throwing 112 pitches on a humid night in July.
In the end, the performance was worth it. The offense charged back at home. The Royals came up clutch inside Kauffman Stadium once more.
