Huff, Indians quiet Kansas City hitters

8/27/2009

KANSAS CITY - Snoozing on the way to the ballpark, David Huff was jolted by a crash. A car lost control in the rain and slid into the side of the team bus, startling the Cleveland rookie.

Once Huff got to the field: crickets, just as he likes it.

The left-hander threw six solid innings yesterday, bouncing back from a bad outing and helping the Indians to a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

All that buzz from Zack Greinke's 15-strikeout performance the night before? Gone thanks to a quiet stadium and a pitcher who prefers groundouts to punchouts.

"I'm not going to go out and strike out a bunch of guys," said Huff, who is 6-3 on the road. "I'm going to be the guy who tries to get ground-ball outs, a bunch of double plays. For me, strikeouts are boring. I like a quick ballgame. I like guys to ground out in one pitch, two pitches."

Grady Sizemore reached base four times after a day off, scoring in the first, third, and fifth innings to put Cleveland up 3-2. Jamey Carroll, Cleveland's No. 2 hitter, had two of his three hits on hit-and-runs to move Sizemore around the bases and Matt LaPorta hit his second homer of the season off Luke Hochevar (6-7) to give Huff all the support he needed.

Kerry Wood worked a perfect ninth for his 16th save in 21 chances, giving Cleveland its eighth win in 12 series since the All-Star break.

Kansas City scored two runs in the first three innings off Huff (8-7), but didn't get a runner past second base after that. Billy Butler had three hits for the Royals, who have baseball's worst home record (26-41) after losing five of six at Kauffman Stadium.

"It's a frustrating year," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Losses are tough to let go of."

NOTES: Indians DH Travis Hafner was given the day off to rest his surgically repaired shoulder after four straight starts. ... Colorado catcher Yorvit Torrealba and umpire Bill Miller have avoided suspensions over their on-field dispute during the Rockies' 14-inning win over the San Francisco Giants Monday night. Baseball disciplinarian Bob Watson said fines are still likely to be handed down once his investigation is complete.