Royals top Tribe -- again



Kansas City is 8-1 against Cleveland this season.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Winning never gets old to Jose Lima.
The resurgent right-hander stopped Cleveland for seven innings Thursday night as the Kansas City Royals beat the Indians 4-1 to complete a three-game sweep.
"To see 'Jose Lima, winning pitcher' on the board just feels great," said Lima (2-0).
"I'm with a winning team and I feel like wow, I must be doing something right."
The 30-year-old right-hander allowed five hits and one run in his third start since signing with the Royals on June 11. He was 6-1 with a 2.33 ERA for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League before that.
"He's the Jose Lima I know," manager Tony Pena said.
"He's got the same good stuff, but has matured a lot. He's not the way he used to be, except when it comes to changing speeds and making good pitches."
Back on top
The Royals retained first place in the AL Central with leading hitter Mike Sweeney back home in Kansas City with tightness in his upper back. The slugging first baseman was put on the 15-day disabled list before the game.
"Everybody has to step up now and that's what we're doing," Pena said. "Every day, it's somebody else."
This time, it was the ever-buoyant Lima and rookie outfielder Aaron Guiel, who hit a two-run homer.
The Royals improved to 24-6 within their division and won for the 10th time in 13 games overall.
"We're not getting funny breaks or lucky, but things are going our way," Guiel said. "We're just playing solid baseball."
Les Walrond, recalled before the game from Triple-A Omaha, pitched the eighth and Mike MacDougal worked the ninth for his 19th save in 24 chances.
The Indians loaded the bases with none out in the fourth, but did not score.
"Make no mistake about it, we have to do a better job offensively," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "There are no excuses. What we are doing is unacceptable."
Poor offense
The fourth-inning flop made the Indians 2-for-24 (.083) with runners in scoring position in the series and gave them a .211 average (12-for-57) with the bases loaded this season.
"Right now, any pitcher in the league has to be salivating to get a chance at our lineup," Milton Bradley said.
Kansas City scored in the first off Ricardo Rodriguez (3-8), who was activated before the game.
Rodriguez hit the first batter he faced, Guiel, who advanced on a one-out single by Carlos Beltran and scored on a single by Raul Ibanez.
In the fifth, Guiel followed a two-out single by Carlos Febles by hitting a 2-2 pitch over the wall in right-center for his second homer and a 3-0 lead.
Cleveland cut it 3-1 in the seventh on John McDonald's sacrifice fly, and Kansas City's Michael Tucker had an RBI single off reliever Jason Boyd in the eighth.
Rodriguez, in his first outing since leaving a June 8 start in Arizona with a strained right triceps, gave up three runs and five hits over six innings. He struck out four without a walk as Cleveland fell to 1-8 against Kansas City this year and lost for the fifth time in six games overall.
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