Royals 5, Indians 3: Billy Butler went 3-for-4 and recorded his 100th RBI while Will Smith pitched seven solid innings as host Kansas City extended its winning streak against Cleveland to seven games.
Irving Falu collected two hits and an RBI for the Royals, who have won four straight overall and improved to 5-3 on their nine-game homestand.
The Royals, whose winning streak is their longest versus the Indians since a nine-game run in 1973, took an early lead as Alcides Escobar delivered an RBI double against Ubaldo Jimenez (9-17) and scored on Butler's single in the first inning. Butler became the first Royal to reach the 100-RBI mark since Carlos Beltran drove in 100 runs in 2003.
Falu's RBI single capped a three-run fifth that snapped a tie and made a winner of Smith (6-8), who allowed two runs and eight hits en route to just his second victory in six starts. Kelvin Herrera worked a scoreless ninth for his second save.
Cord Phelps belted a two-run homer for the Indians, who have lost 11 of 14 games and 20 of their last 22 series.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kansas City 3B Mike Moustakas extended his errorless streak to 44 games. ... Royals RF Jeff Francoeur recorded his American League-leading 19th outfield assist when he threw out Shin-Soo Choo at second base in the ninth inning. ... Jimenez remained winless since Aug. 9, losing his sixth straight decision after yielding five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Cleveland | Kansas City | |
Ubaldo Jimenez | Player | Will Smith |
Loss | W/L | Win |
4.1 | IP | 7.0 |
3 | Strikeouts | 5 |
7 | Hits | 8 |
4.15 | ERA | 2.57 |
Cleveland | Kansas City | |
Shin-Soo Choo | Player | Billy Butler |
2 | Hits | 3 |
0 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 5 |
.667 | Avg | .750 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Cleveland | 10 | 1 | 13 | .286 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
Kansas City | 9 | 0 | 14 | .281 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |