Sizemore leads Cleveland past Royals, 9-6, in opener

The Indians delivered 15 hits in handing Kansas City its sixth consecutive loss.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Grady Sizemore had four hits and two RBIs and Fausto Carmona survived five shaky innings to lead Cleveland past Kansas City 9-6 in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday night, the Royals’ sixth consecutive loss.

Thursday’s second game was not completed in time for today’s edition.

Sizemore was 4-for-5 with three singles and a solo home run and Casey Blake and Jason Michaels both had two RBIs amid Cleveland’s 15-hit attack. Blake followed his 4-for-4, six-RBI game on Tuesday night by reaching base three times in four at-bats, with two RBI singles.

Carmona (3-1) gave up nine hits and four runs to improve to 4-0 lifetime against Kansas City. He walked four and struck out one.

Brett Tomko (1-3) went four innings for the Royals and allowed 11 hits and seven runs — six earned. He struck out two and walked two.

Rafael Betancourt worked the ninth for his first save since taking over for injured closer Joe Borowski.

David DeJesus and Miguel Olivo homered for the Royals as every starter for both teams had either a hit or scored a run, or both.

After Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez singled leading off the Cleveland third. Third baseman Alex Gordon was charged with an error when Ryan Garko’s grounder went through his legs, allowing Hafner to score. Ben Francisco followed with an RBI double and Michaels flared a two-run single into right, making it 7-1.

The Indians took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the second. Blake hit an RBI single into right field and aggressively took second when Tomko had trouble getting control of the throw back to the infield. Blake then scored on Sizemore’s single.

Olivo, who had two singles, hit a two-run, 413-foot shot off Rafael Perez that made it 9-6 in the seventh. Then after two-out singles put runners at first and second, Jose Guillen pinch hit against Masa Kobayashi. Guillen, who had been benched after striking out four times Tuesday night, hit a weak grounder to first.

The Royals’ Billy Butler, who had an RBI single and a run-scoring infield out, has reached base in all 21 games, failing to hit safely only once.