Indians help KC end skid
CLEVELAND (AP) -- One big swing ended one bad losing streak, and one brutal month for the Kansas City Royals.
Ken Harvey hit his first career grand slam and Eli Marrero homered twice to back rookie Denny Bautista as the Royals snapped a nine-game losing streak with an 8-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.
Harvey, an All-Star last season who struggled in the second half of 2004 and began this year in the minor leagues, connected in a five-run third off Cliff Lee (2-1) as the Royals won for the first time since beating the Indians on April 19.
"It's good to see guys coming in and cheering," Marrero said. "It's been so long. It feels good to finally break this."
Marrero homered after Harvey's slam and added a two-run shot in the seventh for the Royals, who finished April at 6-18 -- the AL's worst record.
Six-plus innings
Bautista (2-1) limited the Indians to just one run and five hits in six-plus innings. The lanky right-hander is the first Kansas City starter to win since April 10, a span of 17 games.
"After last night, I said somebody has to stop this," Bautista said. "I knew we had to go out and get a win and I wanted to do it. I had one rough inning, but I got through that."
Travis Hafner homered for Cleveland, which can't string two good games together and ended April at 9-14 -- the second straight season the Indians have opened poorly. They went 9-13 a year ago.
"It's getting to the point where we can't say it's early anymore," Indians right fielder Casey Blake said.
Lee, who didn't allow a run in his previous 14 innings over two starts, gave up five earned runs and eight hits in five innings.
Lee's scoreless streak ends
The left-hander's scoreless streak came to a crashing halt at 16 innings, and in grand style as Harvey connected for his slam in the third. He was barely back in Kansas City's dugout when Marrero's homer put the Royals ahead 5-1.
David DeJesus walked leading off and went to third when Indians shortstop Alex Cora's throw to second on a possible force play sailed into right for an error. After walking Mike Sweeney, Lee was visited on the mound by pitching coach Carl Willis.
Whatever advice Lee heard didn't help him as Harvey, recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Thursday, drove the next pitch over the wall in left to make it 4-1.
"I made a bad pitch to Harvey," Lee explained. "I was trying to go fastball in, and I left it out over the plate. He hit a home run, and there's nothing I can do about it now."
As the Indians were carefully working around Sweeney, and then devising a game plan to face Harvey, he was making plans of his own.
"I knew they would pitch around Mike," said Harvey, who is 6-for-14 since coming up. "I knew when the pitching coach went out there, he would try to get ahead of me. I was looking for something over the plate."
Two pitches later, Marrero connected, and the Royals were on their way to ending the fourth-longest losing streak in club history.
Pena relieved
"No question, it's a relief," Royals manager Tony Pena said. "We needed this game. We needed to score early and get ahead, so we could relax a little."
Kansas City's biggest inning this season came one frame after it loaded the bases but failed to score off Lee.
"I was trying to stop them again, but I couldn't," Lee said.
The Royals took a 6-1 lead in the fifth on Matt Diaz's RBI single, and tacked on two more in the seventh on Marrero's second homer of the game and third this season.
Hafner opened the second with his first homer, pulling a 1-0 fastball from Bautista into the right-field seats. It was the first homer in 95 at-bats for Hafner, who hit a career-high 28 last season.
Three relievers blanked the Indians on one hit over the final three innings to finish the six-hitter.
KANSAS CITYCLEVELAND
abrhbiabrhbi
DJesus cf4110Cora ss5000
Grffnno 3b5100Crisp lf5000
MiSwy 1b4210VMrtnz c3000
Harvey dh5134Bard c1010
Mrrero rf4333Hafner dh3111
Berroa ss4030Blake rf3000
Diaz lf4011Brssrd 1b4020
ACstillo c4000Blliard 2b3010
Gotay 2b4000Szmore cf4010
JHrndz 3b4000
Totals388128Totals35161
Kansas City005010200--8
Cleveland010000000--1
E--Graffanino (5), Berroa (5), Cora (1). DP--Cleveland 1. LOB--Kansas City 6, Cleveland 10. 2B--MiSweeney (8), Bard (1), Broussard (4), Sizemore (3). HR--Harvey (1), Marrero 2 (3), THafner (1).
IPHRERBBSO
Kansas City
Bautista W,2-1651115
Sisco100002
Cerda110022
MacDougal100000
Cleveland
ClLee L,2-1586533
Sauerbeck1 1-332202
Riske1 2-310001
Howry100000
Bautista pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Umpires--Home, Larry Young; First, Eric Cooper; Second, Ed Hickox; Third, Marvin Hudson. T--2:48. A--15,771.