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Cleveland tops Kansas City

Apr 28, 2011 - 7:21 AM Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Orlando Cabrera drove in three runs as the Cleveland Indians took a 7-2 win over the Kansas City Royals in the middle portion of the three-game set.

Travis Hafner, Jack Hannahan and Lou Marson each drove in a run for the Indians, who have taken the first two games of this series after dropping their previous three.

Josh Tomlin (4-0) went six innings and gave up two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

"Tomlin was very good again tonight, 73 percent of his pitches for strikes. He attacked hitters with [his] four pitches. He could throw every one of them for strikes," said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. "A couple of guys got him good earlier, but he continued to attack the zone."

Jeff Francis (0-3) was tagged for six runs -- five earned -- on 10 hits in just three-plus innings for the Royals, who have dropped four straight. Jeff Francoeur extended his hitting streak to a career-high tying 16 games as he went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and Mike Aviles added a solo homer in the loss.

The Indians batted around in the first inning and plated five runs to take the early lead.

Three straight singles loaded the bases and Hafner got the first run across with a single to left. Cabrera followed with a double that chased home three and later scored on a Hannahan single for a 5-0 lead.

"I'm not sharp, and I think there's certain things I could have done, sequence-wise, that would have put me in a better position to have a little more room for error," said Francis.

A leadoff homer by Francoeur in the second and a solo shot from Aviles later in the inning made it a 5-2 game.

Consecutive singles in the third saw men on first and third and Marson's sac fly gave the Indians a 6-2 advantage.

Kansas City had two on with one out in the fifth, but Melky Cabrera lined out and Alex Gordon flied out to end the frame.

In the sixth, Grady Sizemore led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout and later crossed the plate on a passed ball for a 7-2 lead.

Game Notes

Cleveland has won four of the six games against Kansas City this season...Kansas City went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight...Kyle Davies will throw for the Royals on Thursday and will be opposed by Fausto Carmona.