Royals Beat Tribe 4-3

How about Mike Wood? He came into the game tonight after Bautista hit his 60-65 pitch limit in the fourth inning and Wood threw 4.1 innings in relief, giving up no runs and no walks—and he kept the Royals in the game until they took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning. Wood's ERA is now 2.78 and he seems to be a perfect fit for long relief.

At the plate, Grudzielanek had two hits, Mientkiewicz had two hits, and so did Buck—including a solo home run in the two-run fifth inning. For a make-shift line up that includes a back up centerfielder, a back up third baseman, and a back up right fielder, our guys hung in tough defensively. Aaron Guiel overran a ball in the eighth inning off the bat of Travis Hafner, but Sisco and Burgos picked him up and didn't allow Hafner to score. Sizemore hit a solo shot in the ninth off Burgos, but the Royals still won 4-3.

We've got to feel pretty good about our pitching staff right now. They had a 4.01 ERA over the last 17 games going into the game tonight—and the bullpen had a 3.13 ERA. Unfortunately, we haven't had the hitting to match it with all of the injuries. Our lack of depth in the line up has been exposed.

Reggie Sanders is growing closer to returning to the line up. He was available for emergency pinch-hitting duties tonight, but he wasn't needed. It'll be nice to see him back in right field and in the middle of our line up again—especially with Sweeney being out indefinitely.

Tomorrow, the Royals send Jeremy Affeldt (2-2, 4.94) to the mound against Jason Johnson (2-2. 5.08). Affeldt is 2-1 lifetime against the Tribe with a 4.00 ERA in 45 innings of work. He's also 2-1 in his last three starts with a 0.55 ERA. Batters are hitting just .183 off him during that stretch.

Berroa Walk Watch: 1 walk in 30 games. Pathetic.

This date in Royals history: George Brett, hitting in the 9-hole, hit his first major league home run against Fergie Jenkins on May 8, 1974.