Shelley Duncan's patience has been tested this season, but the right-handed slugger has persevered.
Duncan began the year with the Indians before he was demoted to AAA Columbus in early-June. That was the start of a frustrating trend for Duncan, who spent much of his summer traveling from Cleveland to Columbus and back again.
However, because injuries have decimated the Tribe lineup, Manny Acta has turned to Duncan to provide leadership and a productive bat.
On Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, Duncan had his best game of 2011. The veteran outfielder belted 2 home runs and collected 5 RBI as the Indians defeated the Royals to conclude a weekend series.
The Indians led, 4-1, in the 6th inning, when Duncan stepped to the plate and delivered his 1st bomb of the afternoon, a 2-out, 3-run shot that sailed over the left field wall and into the bullpen.
Duncan then wrapped a 2-run homer inside the left field foul pole in the 8th, increasing the Tribe's advantage to 9-3.
The Royals plated 3 runs in the last of the 9th, but Chris Perez recorded the final 2 outs to notch his 32nd save.
Jeanmar Gomez pitched 5 1/3 frames of 1-run baseball, and the young righty earned his 2nd victory in less than a week.
Jason Donald (RBI single), Jerad Head (RBI double), and Asdrubal Cabrera (2-run double) provided the early offense.
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| Duncan watches the flight of his 1st home run |
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