The Kansas City Royals have a two-game winning streak for the first time since the opening week of the season.

“We can’t lose now,” left fielder Alex Gordon joked after Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. “It’s unbelievable.”

Kansas City’s 8-2 win a day earlier stopped a 12-game skid, tied for the third-longest in franchise history. The Royals (5-14) hadn’t strung together wins since beating the Los Angeles Angels on April 7-8.

“It feels good to get two out of three on the road,” Gordon said. “It’s a lot more fun winning than losing, especially 12 in a row. We’re enjoying it, but I think we came here today with the goal to win again.”

Luis Mendoza pitched into the sixth inning, and Kansas City’s bullpen made the lead stand up. Jeff Francoeur hit a go-ahead single in a three-run fifth for Kansas City.

Kansas City is tied for the worst record in the AL with Minnesota at 5-14. The cellar-dwellers meet in Minneapolis for a weekend series.

Manager Ned Yost hopes the Royals’ luck has changed.

“That’s why those streaks happen,” he said. “You can’t catch a break. You can’t find a hole. They’re making great plays. You’re not getting a call from an umpire. It’s always something. Don’t ask me what it is. Whatever it is, when it turns you get on the right side of it for a while.”

Cleveland, coming off a 7-2 trip, fell to 2-6 at home.

Mendoza (1-2) was pulled with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth, but the Indians scored only one run on Travis Hafner’s sacrifice fly. Relievers Tim Collins, Aaron Crow and Jonathan Broxton held Cleveland in check the last four innings. Broxton pitched the ninth for his second save.

Josh Tomlin (1-2) allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Broxton retired Jose Lopez to start the ninth, but Jason Kipnis singled. After Aaron Cunningham flied out, Michael Brantley walked on a 3-2 pitch and Asdrubal Cabrera flied out.

Kansas City broke a 1-all tie in the fifth with consecutive two-out hits by Francoeur, Mike Moustakas and Brayan Pena. Gordon had two hits and a walk and raised his average from .167 to .213 in two games. Billy Butler, who homered twice Wednesday, had two hits and was hit by a pitch.

“That’s what it takes, it takes some clutch hitting,” Butler said. “Those were the difference in the game for us.”

The fifth-inning rally started on one-out singles by Gordon and Butler. Eric Hosmer’s fly to deep right moved Gordon to third, and Francoeur’s broken-bat hit to left put the Royals ahead. Shelley Duncan attempted to make a diving catch, but came up short.

Moustakas followed with a grounder through the right side that scored Butler and finished Tomlin. Pena lined a single off Dan Wheeler to drive in the third run.

Cleveland outscored the Royals 32-19 in a three-game sweep at Kauffman Stadium earlier this month. Mendoza was the losing pitcher in a 13-7 defeat on April 15 in Kansas City. He allowed nine runs — five earned — and nine hits in four innings. This time he gave up two runs.

“He made some big pitches when he needed to,” Yost said. “He wasn’t in much trouble until the sixth inning. He did a good job.”

The game was delayed for several moments in the fifth when Kipnis got something in his right eye while batting. He initially stepped out of the batters’ box and then walked toward Cleveland’s dugout where he was assisted by trainer Lonnie Soloff. Although Kipnis still seemed distracted, he drew a walk and singled in his last two at-bats.

“I have no idea what happened,” Kipnis said. “All of a sudden, it just felt like a ton of eyelashes got in there. Then I started scratching it, but I had pine tar on the glove, so that irritated it even more and it started getting swollen shut. I had to open my stance up, so my back eye could see because I couldn’t see much of anything out of my front one.”

Following the game Kipnis was wearing tape above his eye to keep the eyelid open.

— Associated Press —

Kansas City manager Ned Yost insists the Royals are playing too well to have lost 12 straight.

The Royals matched their third longest losing streak in team history on Tuesday night when Cleveland’s Derek Lowe allowed one run over six innings in the Indians’ 4-3 win.

“We were one hit shy, but golly we were into it to the very end,” Yost said.

Kansas City scored once in the ninth inning and had the go-ahead run at the plate against closer Chris Perez, who got his seventh save when he got Jeff Francoeur to bounce into a game-ending forceout.

“One hit away, that seems to be the name of the game right now,” Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas said.

“It looks bad, 12 in a row, but we’re playing good baseball, playing the game the right way. We just need to find a way to get that one hit that breaks it for us.”

The Royals also lost 12 straight in 1997 and 2008. Kansas City lost 13 straight in 2006 and had a team-record 19 consecutive losses in 2005.

“We’ll break through,” Yost said. “I find it hard to believe we’ve lost 12 in a row, the way we are battling to the very end. That’s a good sign with a young team.”

The Royals have been outscored 73-44 during the streak, though five of the losses have been by one run.

Cleveland built upon a recently completed 7-2 trip by returning to Progressive Field and earning their second home win in six games. They did it with starting center fielder Michael Brantley resting a sore right wrist until he was used as a defensive replacement. Manager Manny Acta said right fielder Shin-Soo Choo left in the ninth with a tight left hamstring and will be evaluated Wednesday.

Lowe (3-1) gave up eight hits and struck out five. The right-hander used a good sinker to get nine outs on grounders as he bounced back from a 4-1 loss at Seattle in which he walked six without a strikeout on April 18. In addition, the pitcher’s home in Florida was recently burglarized. Among items taken were his 2004 World Series ring, earned with the Boston Red Sox. The losses were estimated at $90,000.

“It was obviously a tough week,” Lowe said. “Anytime you have something like that happen and not being there, it’s tough. That’s what law enforcement is there for. Major League Baseball knows about it. The good thing is there’s nothing you can’t replace. Luckily, no family members were there.”

Jack Hannahan had a two-run double in Cleveland’s three-run fifth against Jonathan Sanchez (1-1), who struggled to command his fastball.

Beforehand, the Royals continued to try anything to get out of their funk. On Monday, they vented frustrations in a closed-door pregame meeting in which voices were raised in anger. Before opening a three-game series in Cleveland, players gathered around a clubhouse television to play a baseball video game.

That didn’t help either, though Yost liked the idea.

“It was good to see them relaxing and enjoying themselves,” Yost said. “That’s a good sign. Our kids need that right now.

“When they step on that field, they’re playing the game extremely hard. They’re all trying to break out of this slump. We’re trying to get them to try easier. We get runners on base and our numbers drop pretty dramatically.”

Mitch Maier had an RBI single for Kansas City in the fourth and doubled home a run in the eighth. Overall, the Royals went 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position. The Royals are 13 for 73 (.178) in that situation over their last eight games.

Sanchez hit Indians leadoff batter Jason Kipnis in the hand with his fifth pitch. Kipnis eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Santana to put Cleveland ahead 1-0.

On April 14, Sanchez hit Choo with a pitch. Indians starter Jeanmar Gomez retaliated the next inning by plunking Moustakas, leading to a brief bench-clearing scuffle. Gomez drew a five-game suspension and was suspended. Hannahan and Acta also were ejected and fined.

A year ago with San Francisco, Sanchez broke Choo’s left thumb with a pitch. The Royals acquired him in a trade for outfielder Melky Cabrera in November.

Sanchez walked the bases loaded in the second, but got Kipnis on a first-pitch popout, followed by a double-play grounder by Asdrubal Cabrera.

“We’ve seen that before, Sanchez getting out of bases-loaded jams,” Yost said. “He had no fastball command, but a good breaking ball. He starts to command that fastball and he’s going to be in great shape.”

The left-hander also loaded the bases with walks in the fifth. One run scored on a sacrifice fly by Shelley Duncan. Hannahan followed with a double to right-center to make it 4-1 and finish Sanchez.

Sanchez walked seven over 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and four hits. He threw 115 pitches, only 56 for strikes.

Kansas City closed to 4-3 in the ninth. Chris Getz doubled and later scored on a groundout by Billy Butler.

— Associated Press —

Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer, Kelly Johnson also went deep and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the bumbling Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep.

The Blue Jays improved to 6-1 on the road this season, while Kansas City lost its 11th straight to finish up a winless 10-game homestand. The Royals became the first team to lose its first 10 at home since the Chicago Cubs dropped 12 in a row at Wrigley Field in 1994.

Eric Hosmer scored the Royals’ only run with a homer leading off the second inning.

Otherwise, Brandon Morrow (1-1) took care of the struggling Kansas City lineup. The right-hander allowed seven hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings, and Luis Perez and Francisco Cordero did the rest. Cordero got some help from a double-play groundout in the ninth for his second save.

— Associated Press —

Ricky Romero keeps winning and the Kansas City Royals keep losing.

Romero won his third straight start, Brett Lawrie stole home and drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Kansas City 5-3 Sunday, sending the Royals to their 10th straight loss.

The Royals have only six skids longer than 10 in franchise history. It is their longest losing streak since dropping 12 straight May 19-30, 2008. Romero (3-0), who is 11-2 in 17 starts since July 21, gave up two runs on five hits in eight innings to earn the victory. In winning his past three starts, Romero has allowed 16 hits and six runs over 22 1/3 innings.

“He was efficient with his pitches,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “He got an early ground ball double plays. He pitched ahead in the count for the most part. I think given the conditions today, it wasn’t his cleanest game, but it shows the kind of stuff he has and the late life to all his pitches.

“With their aggression and his life in through the zone, he’s going to get a number of miss-hits and that was the case today. We scratched out some runs and that was the difference particularly the way Ricky pitched.”

The Royals managed a couple of runs off Romero in the fifth, but those were aided by a Blue Jays error.

“I got outs and got deep into the game,” Romero said. “That’s my goal every time I take the mound. By doing that you’ve got to throw strikes. I had a little bit of a hiccup in that one inning. I thought I battled pretty good back from that. I just kept pounding the zone and let the defense work. ”

“When you throw strikes and pound the zone, you keep the hitters swinging, let the defense work and get some quick innings here and there and the next thing you know you find yourself in the eighth.”

The Blue Jays scored four runs in the fifth to chase Royals left-hander Danny Duffy. Lawrie’s two-out single to right scored Yunel Escobar and Jose Bautista. Rajai Davis led off the inning with a double and scored on Escobar’s single. Bautista, who walked three times, singled home J.P. Arencibia with the other run.

Duffy labored through 4 2/3 innings, throwing 113 pitches and walking five. He did not give up a hit until Ben Francisco singled with two outs in the fourth, but yielded four hits and two walks in the fifth while retiring only two.

The Royals cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning, which Jeff Francoeur and Mike Moustakas started with singles. Francoeur scored on an Alcides Escobar fielder’s choice grounder, while Moustakas scored on Yunel Escobar’s throwing error.

The Blue Jays added a run in the eighth, when Lawrie, who had walked and went to third on Arencibia’s single, pulled off a double steal. Arencibia broke for second and catcher Humberto Quintero fired to second baseman Yuniesky Betancourt. Lawrie broke for home and beat Betancourt’s throw to the plate.

“We ran a double steal in the eighth inning, which turned out to be a pretty big run,” Farrell said.

The Royals, who have had one winning season since 1994, again find themselves in a deep hole to start this season.

“This is not even a hole,” Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said. “We finished 32 games under .500 (in 2009) That’s a hole.”

Francisco Cordero gave up a run in the ninth, but logged his first save in his first opportunity. Cordero, who will serve as Toronto’s closer with Sergio Santos going on the disabled list, collected his 328th career save.

Moustakas singled home Betancourt for the ninth inning run, but pinch-hitter Brayan Pena grounded into a game inning double play on the first pitch with runners on the corners.

“If you get nervous, you’re in the wrong business,” Cordero said. “I talk to myself and say we’ve got a chance for a double play right here, just make a good pitch or just go one hitter at a time. In the beginning when I was young, sometime I get nervous, but not anymore. I’ve been doing this for so long. All I’ve got to do is step off, take a little breather and make a good pitch.

“You’re in trouble, but one pitch can get you out of the inning. That’s what I did. I threw a good two-seam down-and-away, he grounded to second and the perfect double play. Now we go home happy. I get the save, we get the ‘w.’ ”

— Associated Press —

Jose Bautista singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays turned their first triple play in 33 years Friday night, beating Kansas City 4-3 to hand the slumping Royals their eighth straight defeat.

Kansas City had runners on first and second in the third inning when Eric Hosmer lined out to first baseman Adam Lind, who stepped on the bag to double off Yuniesky Betancourt. Lind then fired to shortstop Yunel Escobar to retire Alex Gordon, who had strayed off second.

It was Toronto’s first triple play since Sept. 21, 1979, against the New York Yankees.

Al Cowens was the previous Royals batter to hit into a triple play, on June 19, 1979, against Oakland.

The Royals took a 2-1 lead into the eighth when Greg Holland, the fourth Kansas City pitcher, threw only seven strikes in 22 pitches. He gave up three runs on three hits, two walks and a balk without retiring a batter.

Colby Rasmus led off the inning with a double. J.P. Arencibia, who was hitting .132, delivered an RBI single.

Holland (0-2) walked Escobar and Kelly Johnson on eight pitches to load the bases, and Bautista’s sharp single to right scored pinch runner Rajai Davis. Edwin Encarnacion’s sacrifice fly scored Johnson to make it 4-2.

The Royals’ losing streak is their longest since dropping 10 straight from July 10-24, 2010.

Toronto starter Kyle Drabek left after walking six in 5 1/3 innings and throwing only 49 strikes in 100 pitches. He allowed two runs, one on a wild pitch, and gave up four hits.

Drabek’s wild pitch with two outs in the fourth allowed Jeff Francoeur to score, putting Kansas City up, 2-0. Mike Moustakas homered in the second for the first Kansas City run.

Luis Perez (2-0) replaced Drabek and worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the victory. Sergio Santos got three outs for his second save in four tries.

Santos gave up an RBI single to Betancourt with two outs but retired Hosmer on a grounder with a runner on second to end it.

Royals starter Luke Hochevar, working on six days’ rest, allowed one run and two hits in five innings before being pulled after 84 pitches. Eric Thames scored in the fifth on Arencibia’s single for the only run off Hochevar.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Royals owner David Glass believes his young team will be in contention by the All-Star break, despite starting 3-9 and failing to win a home game yet this season.

Glass said he has “no concern” that the Royals will turn things around.

He spoke Thursday at a public appearance in Kansas City to promote the All-Star Game, which the Royals will host in July.

Major League Baseball unveiled the ballots for this year’s All Star Game in Kansas City.  Voting begins Friday.

Glass says even if the Royals are not in contention by the All Star break, they plan to put on a tremendous party anyway.

It will be the first All-Star Game the city has hosted since 1973.

“It generates an economic benefit of upwards of $60 million,” Glass said.

“We’ve always believed Kansas City is the premier city of the Midwest. This is our chance to show not only the rest of the country, but the world, what we have here.”

There are nine Royals on the ballot this year: (1B) Eric Hosmer,  (2B) Chris Getz, (3B) Mike Moustakas,  (SS) Alcides Escobar,  (C) Salvy Perez,  (DH) Billy Butler,  (CF) Lorenzo Cain,  (LF) Alex Gordon and  (RF) Jeff Francoeur.

The 2012 All-Star Game Online Ballot will launch on Friday, the same day in-park balloting begins at Kauffman Stadium, and that begins the process of fans deciding on starting position players.

More than 20 million Firestone All-Star ballots will be distributed at the 30 Major League ballparks, each of which will have 23 dates for balloting, and in approximately 100 Minor League ballparks.

The online ballot is up through June 28 — exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 club sites, wired or mobile — allowing you to cast up to 25 ballots per email address.

Then, comes the always-frenetic finish with the All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote from July 1-5 and the annual MVP Vote during the Midsummer Classic to help decide who wins the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award.

Jim Leyland had already decided after the eighth inning Monday night that he was sticking with Justin Verlander in the ninth, no matter what happened against the Kansas City Royals.

So when the crusty Detroit manager ambled out to the mound, with two on and two out in a 3-2 game, his message for his ace was simple: “You’re going to get me fired.”

“Seriously,” Verlander said afterward. “That’s what he told me.”

Leyland’s heart must have really been racing when he headed back to the dugout and watched Verlander plunk Alcides Escobar to load the bases. And the relaxation must have been just as quick to come when the reigning Cy Young winner struck out Alex Gordon to preserve the victory.

“He came in after the eighth and said, ‘I feel great,’ ” Leyland said. “I said, ‘Well, it’s your game. You’re either going to win it or lose it. I’m not taking you out.’ ”

So what was Verlander’s response when Leyland had to visit the mound?

“Sorry,” Verlander said.

“That’s just the way he is,” added Verlander, who used 131 pitches to improve to 14-2 in his career against the Royals. “He’s relaxed in a situation where a lot of guys might be panicking. And he might be panicking on the inside, but he doesn’t show it.”

Austin Jackson hit a leadoff homer and Brandon Inge added a two-run shot in the fifth for the Tigers, giving Verlander (1-1) just enough support in a pitcher’s duel against Danny Duffy.

The young left-hander kept the Tigers’ potent attack at bay most of the game, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. Duffy (1-1) also struck out seven.

Detroit nearly added to Jackson’s homer when Brennan Boesch singled and Miguel Cabrera worked a walk in the first inning. Prince Fielder grounded into a double play, though, and Delmon Young flied out to end the threat and keep Kansas City within striking distance.

Gordon eventually matched the run when he doubled in the bottom half of the inning, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Billy Butler’s base hit.

That was just about all the Royals could muster until the ninth inning, when Butler led off with a single. Pinch runner Jason Bourgeois eventually scored, setting up the dramatic ending.

Verlander changed speeds and took advantage of the corners to flummox the young Kansas City lineup most of the night. He retired 11 straight at one point and struck out nine overall.

Of course, his dominance was nothing new to folks in Kansas City.

The right-hander has made a mockery of the Royals in recent years, especially at Kauffman Stadium, where he improved to 9-2 and has allowed only 18 earned runs in 88 1/3 innings.

“It was a big task facing Verlander,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, whose club has lost five straight. “We gave him a good game, but it’s not the way we wanted it to end.”

Verlander finally had something to show for his third consecutive strong start.

He he allowed four runs over 8 1/3 innings in a 4-2 defeat to Tampa Bay, and received no decision despite allowing a pair of hits over eight scoreless innings against Boston — making those 24 wins he piled up last season look all the more impressive.

“A lot of those last year came pretty easy,” he said. “I told everyone my goal this season is to be a better pitcher, even if my numbers might not be as good.”

Duffy did his best to make Monday night another fruitless outing.

The young left-hander, who went six scoreless innings against Oakland his first time out, used his overpowering fastball to blow through most of the Detroit lineup. Alex Avila struck out twice against Duffy, and Fielder and Cabrera also went down at the plate.

His only major mistakes were to Jackson in the first inning and Inge in the fifth.

It was all that Verlander needed.

“It was a big, see-saw battle, back and forth,” Yost said. “A lot of excitement at the end.”

— Associated Press —

Travis Hafner gave a powerful reminder of what he’s meant to the Cleveland Indians.

Hafner hit one of the longest home runs in Kauffman Stadium history, Shelley Duncan homered and drove in three runs and the Indians romped past the Kansas City Royals 13-7 Sunday for a three-game sweep.

Casey Kotchman and Jason Kipnis homered on consecutive pitches for Cleveland in the eighth inning.

For the first time in the Indians’ 111-year history, they scored at least eight runs in their first three road games of a season.

Hafner’s home run in the fifth inning off Luis Mendoza went an estimated 456 feet and was the first to land in a sports bar behind the right-field bleachers. It was the longest home run at Kauffman Stadium since David Ortiz, then with Minnesota, hit one 458 feet on April 8, 2001.

“I’ve seen a lot of games here and I haven’t seen a ball hit that far,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “That was pretty impressive. He’s hit two balls already that the people in Cleveland were used to seeing before he hurt his shoulder.”

Hafner hit 42 home runs in 2006, then had shoulder surgery in 2008. In the next three seasons while recovering, he hit a total of 42 homers.

“I feel great and really have a good approach at the plate and the swing feels good. I’m in a good spot,” Hafner said.

It was not the longest home run of Hafner’s career, but close.

“I think there have been some measured like in the 470s, but that’s about as good as I can hit them,” he said. “I followed it. I didn’t see it at the very end. I thought it made it over the seats. I was just able to stay back on an off-speed pitch and put a good swing on it and backspin it. It’s fun to hit them that good.”

It was not fun for the Kansas City pitchers, who gave up seven home runs, 17 extra-base hits and 32 runs in the three games.

Things got so bad for the Royals that manager Ned Yost put outfielder Mitch Maier on the mound in the ninth. Maier was the only Kansas City pitcher to not give up a run, getting Asdrubal Cabrera to ground into a double play after giving up a single.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again,” Maier said. “I don’t like to be put in that situation, but we needed an inning.”

Hafner went 3 for 4 and drew an intentional walk. Duncan hit a three-run homer in the Indians’ six-run third inning and walked in his next three plate-appearances.

Kotchman and Kipnis connected against Louis Coleman.

Ubaldo Jimenez (0-1), who had not pitched since April 7 while serving a five-game suspension from a spring training incident against Colorado, gave up four runs on nine hits and three walks in five innings to pick up the victory.

“Throwing 112 pitches in five innings is not good,” Jimenez said. “It feels good to feel part of the team again. It was the first time I’ve been suspended. It’s not good at all. It doesn’t feel good. You don’t feel like you’re part of the team. It’s good to be back.”

Mendoza (0-2) was pulled after four-plus innings, permitting nine runs — five earned — on nine hits and four walks. The Royals’ starting pitchers allowed 24 hits and 21 runs in 10 2/3 innings in the three losses.

Brayan Pena had his first career-four hit game. Chris Getz added three hits, including a triple, and drove in a pair of runs with a second-inning single as the Royals took a 3-0 lead.

— Associated Press —

Michael Brantley had one hit in 17 at-bats during Cleveland’s season-opening homestand. One measly hit.

He had two of ’em in the first inning alone Friday.

The Indians’ anemic offense broke loose against Luke Hochevar and the Royals. Cleveland pounded out seven runs in the opening frame, and Asdrubal Cabrera tacked on a ninth-inning homer for good measure in an 8-3 victory that spoiled Kansas City’s home opener.

“That’s the way the game goes,” Indians manager Manny Acta said, almost shrugging in his chair. “Water usually goes to the level it’s supposed to be. I knew those guys would bat better, and the first inning was a great example of that.”

Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Kipnis each drove in a pair as the Indians scored more times in the opening inning than they had in any of their first five games.

The seven runs allowed by Hochevar (1-1) in the first inning matched the number of runs that Kansas City starters had allowed during a six-game road trip to begin the season.

“You couldn’t ask for a better way to start off,” Kipnis said.

Derek Lowe (2-0) gave up three runs and 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings for Cleveland. The 38-year-old right-hander routinely worked out of trouble, getting help from a pair of double plays that kept Kansas City from mounting much of a comeback.

“When you’re pitching on the road in the other team’s home opener, there’s going to be a lot of buzz,” Lowe said. “To sort of silence them right away, you can’t ask for much more.”

Hochevar’s miserable start got a whole lot worse in the fourth inning, when he took a liner off his left ankle hit by Cleveland slugger Carlos Santana.

The right-hander went down in a heap as the ball caromed to first base for the final out of the inning. Team officials rushed out to tend to Hochevar, who put almost no weight on his ankle while being helped to the dugout by manager Ned Yost and trainer Nick Kenney.

The team said that Hochevar had a “left medial ankle contusion” — or, a really bad bruise. X-rays taken at the ballpark came back negative and he is day to day.

“When it hit him, I was real nervous. It got him solid,” Yost said. “I had some fears there it might have fractured his leg, but the X-rays came up negative.”

Yost said he’s not sure whether Hochevar will make his next scheduled start.

“We’ll see,” Yost said. “It’s five days away.”

The first inning was a revelation for Cleveland, which batted just .176 during a miserable 1-4 start that even prompted management to work out a deal with veteran outfielder Johnny Damon to provide some eventual pop in the Indians’ punchless lineup.

Perhaps the Indians jumped to some conclusions.

Brantley snapped a 0-for-15 skid with a leadoff single, and Cabrera’s double and Choo’s two-run single put an early jolt in the Indians’ struggling offense.

Shelley Duncan and Casey Kotchman added back-to-back singles later in the first inning, and Kipnis brought both in with a shot to center that center fielder Jarrod Dyson — called up to replace the injured Lorenzo Cain — misjudged in the wind as he approached the warning track.

Brantley’s RBI double in his second at-bat of the inning gave Cleveland a 7-0 lead.

“It’s a funny game,” Acta said with a wry smile. “That inning was a pretty good indication that these guys, they’re better than that.”

The Royals got a run back in the first on three straight hits, including Eric Hosmer’s single, but Billy Butler’s double-play grounder and Alex Gordon’s strikeout ended the threat.

Kansas City got two more in the fourth on a single by Gordon and a shot into the gap in right by Mike Moustakas, but he was left stranded when Humberto Quintero flied out.

Lowe and the Indians’ bullpen kept the Royals in check the rest of the way.

“We didn’t get off to the start we wanted,” Hosmer said, “but it’s a long season, and we haven’t played our best baseball yet.”

— Associated Press —