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Indians-Royals Preview

Sep 17, 2010 - 4:10 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Cleveland (59-86) at Kansas City (60-85), 8:10 p.m. EDT

Well out of the AL Central race, the Kansas City Royals are just trying to close the season with as many victories as possible. Giving the ball to Kyle Davies could be a good way to do that.

Davies looks to win his ninth consecutive September start Friday when the Royals open a three-game series against the visiting Cleveland Indians.

While the Royals (60-85) are 27 1/2 games out of the division lead, they are seeking their first three-game winning streak since Aug 15-18 - a run which included a pair of home games against Cleveland (60-86).

Kansas City had five home runs and scored 17 times while winning the final two of a three-game set versus Oakland this week.

"We did it against two of the best young pitchers (Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill) in the American League," manager Ned Yost said following Wednesday's 6-3 victory. "That was pretty impressive."

Davies (8-9, 4.95 ERA) is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two outings this month, and 8-0 in his last eight September starts since a loss at Minnesota on Sept. 10, 2008.

"I'm pitching better in September. ... I don't think there's any explanation for it," Davies said after pitching six innings of one-run ball in Saturday's 8-2 victory at the Chicago White Sox.

The right-hander, who is looking to match a career high in wins, is 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA in two starts against Cleveland (60-86) this season.

Davies and the Royals will face Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 2.18) in the series opener.

The 23-year-old right-hander is still looking for his first career win, but is making a strong case for a spot in the Indians' rotation for 2011. In his third start since being called up from Triple-A Columbus on Sept. 1, Carrasco gave up five hits in 7 1-3 innings of Saturday's 1-0, 12-inning loss to Minnesota.

"We're very encouraged," manager Manny Acta told the Indians' official web site. "He looks like he could be one of the pieces we're missing in our starting rotation. At the least, he has middle-of-the-rotation stuff."

Carrasco has been much improved from his September stint in the majors last year, when he went 0-4 with an 8.87 ERA in five starts including a 7-0 loss to Kansas City on Sept. 13, 2009.

Carrasco should be careful pitching to Royals third baseman Wilson Betemit, who hit his first career grand slam Wednesday and is batting .448 with two homers and nine RBIs in his last seven games. Betemit has three home runs and eight RBIs in six games against Cleveland this season.

Indians center fielder Michael Brantley will try to extend his career-high hitting streak to 17 games, which would be the club's longest by a rookie since Cory Snyder hit safely in 17 straight in 1986.

Kansas City has won six of 11 against Cleveland this season, with the teams splitting six matchups at Kauffman Stadium.