Das Team » the homegrown, albeit unfamiliar, feel of a 10-plu

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In the eyes of Indians manager Terry Francona, the biggest at-bat in Tuesday nights game against Kansas City may have come in the first inning, long before their game was decided. Theyd already loaded the bases against erratic Royals starter Luis Mendoza, and Carlos Santana was in a 0-2 hole. But instead of chasing something in the dirt, the veteran catcher kept staying off pitches, ultimately drawing a walk and bringing in the games first run. "Everybody in the ballpark is figuring fastball and he had enough to lay off it," Francona said after the game, "and that was huge." It was huge because the Indians kept staying off pitches the rest of the night. They drew eight walks and took advantage of a hit batter in a 6-5 victory, their fifth straight. "I think what stands out is that first inning," said Nick Swisher, referring to Santanas walk. "Thats the at-bat that got us going in the right direction." "It was an exciting game, but youre kind of shooting yourself in the foot when youve got eight walks and a hit batter," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Half their runs came off benefits of walks with guys on base and a hit batter." Cody Allen (3-0) earned the win in relief for Cleveland, while Chris Perez survived putting two runners aboard in the ninth inning for his eighth save of the season. After going on a 14-5 run to close June, the Indians (45-38) built on a four-game sweep of the White Sox by winning for the ninth time in 11 road games. The victory over another division rival also put them seven games over .500 for the first time since May 24. It was Clevelands fifth win in its past six games against the Royals. "The offence is putting up some big numbers," Indians reliever Joe Smith said. "Hopefully we can keep rolling like we have the past couple of weeks." The Indians wasted little time getting on the board. They loaded the bases with one out against Mendoza in the first before Santana recovered from a 0-2 count to walk in a run. Mendoza then uncorked a pitch that nicked Mark Reynolds in the shoulder -- and just barely missed his head -- to force in another run. Mendoza got out of the inning with a bases-loaded double play, but his erratic ways resulted in more trouble when the fourth inning rolled around. This time, Mendoza gave up consecutive singles to Giambi and Lonnie Chisenhall and a one-out walk to Michael Brantley to load the bases. Asdrubal Cabrera slipped a single through the right side of the infield to make it 4-0 before Jason Kipnis grounded into another inning-ending double play. "It was my command," Mendoza said. "I was just trying to figure what was wrong with my mechanics and my release points. I gave up a lot of ground balls in the hole." Corey Kluber, who gave up seven runs without making it through the fifth his last time out, was having his way with the Royals still-scuffling lineup the first couple times through it. The right-hander ran into trouble in the fifth inning. Mike Moustakas and David Lough singled and Johnny Giavotella walked to load the bases with nobody out. Jarrod Dyson flied to left field, and Moustakas thought about tagging up, but he ultimately thought better of it and scampered back to third base. No matter: Alex Gordon was waiting in the on-deck circle. The Royals leadoff hitter was swinging on a 3-0 pitch and drilled the ball to right field, clearing the fence with ease and pulling the Royals into a 4-4 tie. It was Gordons second grand slam of the season and the third for Kansas City. "I was just looking fastball and hopefully it was a strike," he said. "I was just trying to drive the ball with the bases loaded and one out, maybe try to put it in the gap. I just got out in front of it and put a good swing on it." It wound up being the Royals biggest highlight of the night. ""It was a big game. We could have gained some ground on the Indians," Gordon said. "Thats a good team over there, a lot of solid players. We know its going to be a grind when we play them. Thats what it was tonight. We just came just came up a little short." Notes: Santana walked his first three at-bats. ... RHP Luke Hochevar struck out four in two scoreless innings of relief. ... The Royals turned a season-high four double plays. ... Gordon is the ninth Royals player to hit two grand slams in a season. ... Indians RHP Zach McAllister (sprained right middle finger) felt good after throwing 45 pitches in a bullpen session, Francona said. ... LHP Scott Kazmir will start Game 2 of the series for Cleveland against Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys . 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United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Greetings not from Section 416, but from Car K on the 15:30 Edinburgh-to-London train. Your faithful correspondent is on a two-week holiday away from Chicago -- and its killing him. Things have gone terribly wrong, and I dont just mean the recent pair of tough losses to the Cardinals that ended the Cubs 11-game winning streak.Being away from my sweetheart, friends, regular bartenders and Chicago is always rough. But missing any of this seasons action has turned out to be tougher than Id anticipated, even if being abroad during the baseball season isnt the utter disconnection it once was.When I first studied in Ireland in the early 1980s, Id get the baseball scores a day late, via the International Herald-Tribune; and no box scores either, just line scores. As recently as 2003, I had to learn of Kerry Woods NLDS victory over the Braves via a phone message from a student. The landlady in my Oxford B&B told me Caroline rang to tell you that Chicago beat Sri Lanka. A cricket test match, I thought -- or perhaps we beat Atlanta.Nowadays, the minute I wake up six hours ahead of Chicago time, the ever-giving gift of the geek geniuses (aka the internet) lets me check the prior days score on my phone before getting out of bed. Then I read the local beat writers and columnists, the play-by-play game account, the blogs, ESPN.com and the Twitter chatter.If theres any time left in my day, I go to a museum or a play, visit my friends or do some other tourist thing that brought me across the Atlantic. Occasionally check the Twitter chatter again. Then maybe just one more time after that.And theres the rub.I cannot get chatter abroad; live conversation about the Cubs virtually doesnt exist here.Theres no one to dissect the game details with, no one to help me comprehend the bullpen injury flow chart, or the crazy roster squeezes, much less the Tommy La Stella drama (the Cubs version of the South Siders Adam-and-Drake LaRoche soap opera?).Dublin, Cork, Edinburgh and London are of course full of Americans during tourist season, and some folks who live on this side of the water do follow baseball, but that doesnt mean youll automatically connect with someone to talk Cubs baseball with the way you can in the Windy City.Brian and Peggy, whom I met at my Dublin hotel bar on Custom House Quay, are from Boston and keen to talk Red Sox, but admitted to knowing little of the Jorge Soler saga. Milwaukees Kaylie and Aaron, over a pint in a pub on the Western Road in Cork, for some inscrutable reason were more interested in talking about Packers vs. Bears than Cubs vs. Brewers..ddddddddddddMy oldest friend in Dublin did her best, but being asked. So, how are the Cubs doing this season? by a White Sox fan who emigrated back to Ireland in the 1970s wasnt gonna cut it. I despaired of finding anyone to talk Cubs with.And then it got worse.I suffered an unprecedented loss, one that obliterated my chances of randomly meeting a Cubs fan to talk about how crucial Dexter Fowler is.I lost my Cubs cap.Every year, on Opening Day, I buy a new cap for that season. This year, it was a replica 1918 cap. In a minor rainy squall, a gust of wind tore it off my noggin and deposited it in a 20-feet-below-grade front yard on Lombard Street in Dublin.Id have needed a fishing rod and reel to retrieve it, and a Twitter plea for them came up dry.So, there was no way that a fellow Cubs fan in the Easter Rising exhibit at the National Museum of Ireland might spot my cap and say. To heck with 1916, this is the year. No one in St. Patricks Cathedral would tip her own cap and say, Joe Maddon is my personal savior. I was not visibly a Cubs fan, and so it was unlikely to randomly meet any other Cubs fans who might have some insight into whether the Aroldis Chapman deal was a moral failing.I sought a new cap immediately, to no avail. The souvenir shops had plenty of Irish Drinking Team caps, complete with bottle openers built into their bills, but the only actual MLB baseball gear available on OConnell or Patrick streets was, of course, New York Yankees caps. And its not safe to assume someone in a Yankees cap will want to talk about Starlin Castro and Adam Warren.The Yankees are the Manchester United of baseball. Americans who know nothing about Premiere League football sport a Man U kit, and Europeans who dont know a double play from Abner Doubleday recognize the Yankees brand and logo. Ive seen a couple dozen people wearing Yankees caps since my Cubs chapeau pulled a La Stella, and not one was worn by someone Id feel right approaching to chat about whether Jake Arrieta will get his control back.Well see if I have any better luck in London, where perhaps the metropolis will include a few North Siders also missing the homegrown, albeit unfamiliar, feel of a 10-plus-game NL Central Division lead.With any luck, the Cubs will still be rolling along when I return, and I will surely have some fellow fans to talk about the game with in person. I kind of pity the first person I see wearing a Cubs hat on the Blue Line in from OHare. 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