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Royals build lead, hold off Indians

Apr 20, 2011 - 4:10 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Jeff Francoeur's RBI single in the fifth inning proved to be the difference, as the Kansas City Royals held on to beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4, at Kauffman Stadium.

Down 5-0, the Indians got two runs in the seventh on a double by Lou Marson, and Carlos Santana singled home Shin-Soo Choo in the next inning to draw Cleveland within two.

Joakim Soria took the mound in the ninth for Kansas City, and Austin Kearns reached on a throwing error by Wilson Betemit to begin the frame. Michael Brantley lined a two-out single, and Soria hit Asdrubal Cabrera with a pitch to load the bases for Choo, who walked to force in a run. Soria, though, struck out Santana on three pitches to end the game and notch his fifth save of the season.

Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar both had two hits and an RBI for the Royals, who avoided a season-high third straight loss.

"Tonight was a phenomenal game," said Kansas City manager Ned Yost. "(Gordon) did everything. Stole bases, got base hits. Big base hits. Diving plays in the outfield. Assists in the outfield cutting down big runs at the plate. He just did it all."

Bruce Chen (3-0) gave up two runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts over seven strong innings to record the win.

"Sometimes he's slow to the plate. Sometimes he's quick. He's just hard to time," Marson said of Chen.

Jeanmar Gomez (0-1) surrendered five runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 frames for Cleveland, which recalled the right-hander from Triple-A Columbus earlier Tuesday. Gomez started in place of Mitch Talbot, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a strained right elbow.

The Indians lost for just the third time in their last 15 games.

Kansas City pushed across two runs in the third inning, as Chris Getz followed a leadoff single by Escobar with a triple and scored on a Melky Cabrera groundout.

Escobar's two-out single plated Betemit in the next frame, then the Royals tacked on two more runs in the fifth. Cabrera and Gordon stroked back-to-back doubles to open the frame, and two batters later, Francoeur added an RBI single for a 5-0 lead.

Game Notes

Chen has now won his last seven decisions dating back to last season...Gordon extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games...Betemit's fourth- inning single boosted his hitting streak 11 games, a new personal best...To make room for Gomez, the Indians optioned outfielder Travis Buck to Columbus.