CLEVELAND (AP) — Patrick Carney wasn’t nervous before his first live drumming gig in more than a year, just honored.
A lifelong Indians fan and one half of Black Keys, the Grammy Award-winning rock duo from Akron, Ohio, Carney filled in at Cleveland’s home opener for drummer John Adams, who is recovering from heart surgery.
Adams missed his first home opener since 1973, ending a run that has featured him sitting high in the left-field bleachers and pounding a steady beat whenever the Indians are hitting.
Carney has been coming to Indians games since he was a kid.
The Indians played their home opener in front of fans for the first time since 2019. The announced attendance was 8,914.
The Indians are allowing 30% of ballpark capacity.
Last season, fans couldn’t attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic and health protocols.
Danny Duffy pitched six innings of two-hit ball to beat a longtime nemesis and Whit Merrifield drove in all of Kansas City’s runs with a homer and sacrifice fly, leading the Royals over the Indians 3-0.
Merrifield hit a two-run homer off starter Logan Allen in the second and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
The Indians managed just three hits.