Shin-Soo Choo hit three homers and Carlos Carrasco continued his push for a 2011 rotation spot as the Cleveland Indians put a 11-4 pasting on the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.

Choo drilled his 17th homer of the season in the fourth against Kansas City starter Kyle Davies, then smashed his third career grand slam two frames later against Bryan Bullington to push the edge to 9-0. He drilled a solo homer in the eighth to cap his first three-homer night, and finished with four hits and seven RBIs.

Carrasco (1-0), acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies last season in the Cliff Lee deal, yielded three runs and six hits with six strikeouts in six innings to record his first major-league victory. The 23-year-old had pitched to a 2.18 ERA in his first three starts without a decision, including 7 1/3 scoreless in his last outing.

Mike Aviles and Billy Butler spoiled Carrasco’s shutout bid with back-to-back homers in the sixth inning for the Royals, who have lost 10 of their last 14 games. Aviles has three homers in his last four games.

Davies (8-10), who entered 9-1 with a 1.78 ERA in his last three Septembers, was tagged for five runs and eight hits in five frames.

Michael Brantley extended his hitting streak to 17 games for Cleveland, which evened the 12-game season series. Brantley’s streak is the longest by a Cleveland rookie since Cory Snyder hit in 17 straight in 1986.