Indians 2, Royals 1
Ezequiel Carrera's bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning provided the go-ahead run as the Cleveland Indians celebrated the return of Jim Thome with a 2-1 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Friday.
Thome was given a raucous ovation when he came to the plate in the bottom of the second, wearing a Cleveland jersey for the first time in nearly nine years. The slugger, who was acquired Thursday in a trade with the Minnesota Twins, didn't fare well - he finished 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.
Cleveland scored both its runs in the seventh to prevail, remaining 6.5 games behind Detroit for top spot in the American League Central. The Tigers defeated the Twins 8-1 Friday.
Jack Hannahan knocked in the other run for the Indians with an RBI single off Royals starter Felipe Paulino (2-10), who was denied his second straight win. Paulino, who limited the Indians to six hits over 6 2/3 frames, hasn't won consecutive games since Sept. 30, 2007, as a rookie with the Houston Astros.
Ubaldo Jimenez (2-1) earned the win with a sensational outing. The trade deadline acquisition allowed a run on seven hits while striking out 10 over seven frames.
Chris Perez worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to record his 28th save.
Eric Hosmer homered in the fourth for the Royals, his 12th of the season.