Teahen's red-hot bat overwhelms Indians

Victor Martinez's throwing error allowed the go-ahead in the Royals' 5-2 win.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Mark Teahen was 4-for-4 with a home run and two doubles, and scored the go-ahead run on Victor Martinez's throwing error Tuesday night, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
Odalis Perez (1-1) gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings for his first victory as a starter since April 21 when he beat Arizona while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Teahen hit a two-run homer in the first inning and hit his second double of the night in the sixth. He bolted for an attempted steal of third a moment later and came home, making it 3-2, when Martinez's throw sailed a couple of feet over the head of third baseman Andy Marte.
Since returning from a 27-game stint in Triple-A on June 3, Teahen has raised his average from .195 to .295. The second-year third baseman has hit in eight straight games and in the last 13 has scored 10 runs, hit six doubles and three home runs, with eight RBIs.
Hafner doubles twice
Travis Hafner was 3-for-4 with two doubles to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
Cliff Lee (10-9) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings while taking his first loss in five career decisions at Kauffman Stadium.
Lee, whose 18 wins last year were the most by a Cleveland lefty since 1988, came into the game 4-0 with a 3.67 ERA in seven starts in Kansas City. He had two walks and struck out five, matched his highest total since striking out seven against the Royals on May 18 -- 17 starts ago.
Perez, obtained in a trade with the Dodgers on July 25, walked one and struck out four. He retired 10 in a row after giving up Hafner's double in the second. Joe Nelson pitched the ninth for his third save in three chances.
Martinez drove in Jason Michaels with the first Cleveland run with an infield out in the first, then Hafner's second double put Michaels on third in the sixth and Ryan Garko's sacrifice fly made it 2-all.
The Royals scored two more in the eighth on Mike Sweeney's sacrifice fly off Brian Sikorsky, and Joey Gathright's infield out.
Cleveland center fielder Grady Sizemore was a last-minute scratch from the starting lineup with stiffness in the mid-back. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth.
Notes
Teahen has 11 hits in his last 19 at-bats against Cleveland. ... The Indians hope to get OF Casey Blake later this week. He's been on the DL since Aug. 6 with a sprained right ankle. ... Royals 1B Doug Mientkiewicz will be examined by a specialist this week and there is no indication when he might return from a back injury. Manager Buddy Bell said he certainly will not be back before Sept. 1. ... The Royals will throw three left-handed starters in this three-game series. ... Detroit's 4-0 victory over the White Sox officially eliminated the Royals from the AL Central race with 35 games remaining.
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