Indians 4, Royals 2: Jose Ramirez powers Cleveland past Kansas City

CLEVELAND — Each time Jose Ramirez stepped to the plate in a rare run-scoring situation for the Indians at Progressive Field on Wednesday afternoon, the crowd rose to its feet, sensing a big moment. Each time, as he's done so often during his career in Cleveland, Ramirez delivered, hitting a pair of go-ahead two-run homers in a much-needed 4-2 victory over the Royals. Ramirez's first homer in the sixth ended a 14-inning scoreless drought at Progressive Field for the Indians, who were shut out 3-0 by Kansas City in the home opener and in jeopardy of starting the season 1-4. After KC tied at 2 in the seventh with James Karinchak on the mound, Ramirez went deep again with one out in the eighth to return the lead to the Indians for good. "This just in, Josey's pretty good," joked manager Terry Francona. "It doesn't really matter how he swings — he's capable at any time — but it looked like he was becoming more hitter-ish as the day progressed, which is never a bad thing. "He's a really smart hitter. His skills are off the charts, too, but he's a smart kid when it comes to playing baseball." Indians ace Shane Bieber was in top-notch form in his second start, allowing a run on a solo homer to Salvador Perez in the fourth, but only one more for the remainder of his 6 2/3-inning outing that included 12 strikeouts. Bieber extended his streak of eight or more strikeouts to 14 games, matching the club record set by Corey Kluber in 2017. It is tied for the fifth-longest streak in MLB history. "I thought he was terrific," Francona said of Bieber, who allowed three hits and walked four. "He's pitching in that game, and he knows we're not throwing a bunch of runs up on the board. You've got to be aware of that. So it's not the easiest way to pitch." His 17th career double-digit strikeout game moved Bieber past CC Sabathia and into eighth place on the Indians' all-time list. He struck out the leadoff batter in the seventh but walked Kyle Isbel and allowed a single to Michael A. Taylor before being removed for Karinchak. No. 9 hitter Nicky Lopez lined Karinchak's first pitch into center to tie the game at 2. "I thought I executed pitches all day today," said Bieber, who has allowed five runs and struck out 24 but is without a win in two starts due to a lack of production from Cleveland's struggling offense. "Everything felt good and I stayed aggressive. Really had an opportunity there to potentially get through eight if I had a quick seventh there. But it is what it is. The game ended in our favor and that's really all that matters, so on to the next one." After looking bad on a strikeout against Royals starter Jakob Junis in the opening inning, Ramirez looked locked in. He belted a drive just to the right of the right-field pole before launching his first homer on the following pitch from Jesse Hahn. "Thank God, I felt like things were clicking in and I was in a good spot," Ramirez said through an interpreter. "Then when it happened, I felt like I was in a good spot." "He has a funny way of doing that — foul ball, homer, foul ball, homer," Bieber said. "You know he's on it and he's gonna straighten it out. Sure enough, he did. Everybody knows who he is as a person, as a player. He's gonna be our guy all year and it's great to see him come up big for us today. "He's a gamer, man. Whether it's going good or it's not, he's the same guy and he brings that same energy. That's why we rely on him so much. Not just physically, but as a leader in the clubhouse, the way he goes about everything. Really can't say enough about the guy. He comes up in big moments like he did today, and that's why he's our guy." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.