Royals 9, Indians 4
CLEVELAND -- Eric Hosmer had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs, and Kendrys Morales had three hits and three RBIs as the Kansas City Royals routed the Cleveland Indians 9-4 Monday night at Progressive Field.
Hosmer's three-run home run in the first inning off right-hander Cody Anderson set the tone, and the Royals rolled over the reeling Indians. Cleveland has lost five games in a row and has been outscored 35-9 in the five games.
Shortstop Omar Infante also homered, his first of the year for the Royals, who became the first team in the American League to win 60 games.
Right-hander Edinson Volquez (10-5) pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and five walks. Anderson (2-2), a rookie right-hander, gave up seven runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. Right-hander Joe Blanton pitched three innings to get the save, his second.
The Royals used a three-run fifth inning to take a 7-1 lead, then added two runs in the seventh. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain led off the seventh with a single off left-hander Marc Rzepczynski. First baseman Hosmer ripped a single to right field, moving Cain to second. Morales followed with a single to center, scoring Cain to make it 8-1. Catcher Salvador Perez greeted right-hander Jeff Manship with a sacrifice fly, scoring Hosmer to give Kansas City a 9-1 lead.
Volquez was removed from the game after walking the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh inning. Blanton relieved Volquez, and shortstop Francisco Lindor hit Blanton's first pitch into the seats in right field for a three-run home run, Lindor's fourth of the season, as Cleveland cut the Royals' lead to 9-4.
The Royals have outscored their opponents 69-33 in the first inning this season, and they outscored Cleveland 3-0 in the first inning Monday.
With one out in the first, third baseman Mike Moustakas lined a single to left field off Anderson. Cain drew a walk. Hosmer then belted the first pitch he saw from Anderson over the left-field wall, a 421-foot, opposite-field three-run home run, Hosmer's 10th homer of the year. Four of Hosmer's 10 home runs have come against Cleveland.
The Royals used the long ball again to add to their lead in the second inning. With one out, Infante hit a home run over the left-field wall to make it 4-0. The home run was Infante's first since August 13 of last year. He went 479 at bats between home runs.
Cleveland got a run back in the bottom of the second inning when first baseman Carlos Santana led off with a booming home run over the center-field wall, a drive estimated at 433 feet, on a 1-2 pitch from Volquez.
The Indians had a chance to score again in the third inning when they had runners at first and second with no outs, but Volquez retired the next three batters in order to end that threat.
Kansas City widened its lead with a three-run fifth inning. Shortstop Alcides Escobar led off with a double and went to third on a Moustakas groundout. Cain walked and Hosmer lined a single to right, scoring Escobar to extend the Royals' lead to 5-1. Designated hitter Morales followed with a double into the right-center field gap, scoring Cain and Hosmer to make it 7-1.
NOTES: RHP Johnny Cueto, acquired in a trade with Cincinnati, is expected to join the Royals on Tuesday. He will make his first start for the Royals on Friday at Toronto. ... Royals 1B Eric Hosmer came into Monday hitting .361 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 36 at-bats vs. Cleveland this season. He improved those numbers on Monday, when he was 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs. ... Rookie SS Francisco Lindor leads the Indians with 14 hits since the All-Star break. Lindor is hitting a team-leading .368 (14-for-38) since then.