Francona pulled Corey Kluber two outs short of a complete

CLEVELAND -- Terry Francona heard the boos from the home crowd, and the Cleveland Indians manager didnt mind one bit. Francona pulled Corey Kluber two outs short of a complete game in Clevelands 4-1 win over Kansas City on Sunday. The crowd of 16,991 wanted to see Kluber, who allowed four hits and struck out 10 in 8 1-3 innings, finish the game, and the fans let Francona know they didnt agree with his decision. "I dont blame them," Francona said. "If I was managing with my heart, Id have left him in there, too." Kluber (8-6) took a three-hitter into the ninth before Eric Hosmer started the inning with a double. The right-hander, who gave up a solo homer to Mike Moustakas in the fifth, was removed after striking out Salvador Perez. Kluber also heard the boos and used the opportunity to take a good-natured jab at his manager. "Kip (second baseman Jason Kipnis) was giving him a hard time, too," he said. "It was pretty funny, I guess." Cody Allen recorded the final two outs for his ninth save, and Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes homered in a three-run second inning. Kluber, who walked one, retired the first seven hitters before Jarrod Dysons infield single with one out in the third. Lorenzo Cain also had an infield hit in the sixth. Kluber has been Clevelands ace all season. He has four double-figure strikeout games. "It sure is nice, man, to write his name in there," Francona said. "He has weapons, he has poise, and he competes." Francona said. Kluber is working to stay on an even keel throughout the season. "Im trying to be as consistent as I can from start to start," Kluber said. "I try to avoid the downs as much as possible and keep the good stuff rolling." Kluber rarely shows any emotion on the mound, but Francona thinks appearances can be misleading. "Hes very locked in," Francona said. "Maybe his demeanour belies the real fire thats in there. He gets after it." Even Moustakas, who walked in the seventh and is 7 for 18 against Kluber, was impressed. "Everything he was throwing was nasty," he said. A lack of run support has kept Kluber from having a better record. He allowed three runs over 20 2-3 innings in his last three starts, but lost twice. Kluber held the Dodgers to one run in 6 2-3 innings on Monday, but was the losing pitcher in a 1-0 defeat. Both of Clevelands home runs came off Danny Duffy (5-8). Santana led off the inning with a line drive that barely cleared the fence in right. Gomes followed with a two-run homer to centre. Michael Brantley, who went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .321, had an RBI single in the fifth. Santanas homer came on a 1-1 pitch and was his 13th of the season, tying him with Brantley for the team lead. Ryan Raburn followed with a single, and Gomes hit his 10th home run on a 1-0 pitch. Cleveland has won four of five and moved within two games of second-place Kansas City in the AL Central. The Royals, who trail first-place Detroit by 4 1-2 games, dropped their first road series since losing two of three against the Los Angeles Angels from May 23-25. Duffy allowed 10 hits and struck out six in six innings. The left-hander had a 1.69 ERA in six June starts and was 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA in his last four road starts. The Indians placed leadoff hitter and centre fielder Michael Bourn on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Bourn has been battling the injury all season and hurt it again running the bases on Saturday. Left fielder Alex Gordon and designated hitter Billy Butler, who are both in lengthy slumps, were out of Sundays lineup. Gordon is mired in a 3 for 40 skid, and Butler has just three hits in 26 at-bats. NOTES: The Royals signed LHP Scott Downs, who was released by the White Sox on Thursday. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning. RHP Casey Coleman was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. ... The Indians called up OF Tyler Holt from Triple-A Columbus to take Bourns roster spot. Holtz made his major league debut as a defensive replacement in the ninth and caught Danny Valencias fly ball to end the game. ... Royals OF Nori Aoki (strained left groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Northwest Arkansas this week. ... RHP Justin Masterson (4-5), who lasted three innings in his last start, will open Clevelands four-game series against the Yankees on Monday. ... The Royals continue their nine-game road trip Monday at Tampa Bay with RHP James Shields (8-4) facing his former team. Kirk Gibson Jersey .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Mike Piazza Jersey . - Wesley Matthews got a chance to practice his bow-and-arrow 3-point celebration on Sunday night. http://www.dodgersteamproshop.com/Dodgers-Alex-Wood-Kids-Jersey/ . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. Julio Urias Jersey . -- Omar Infante walked past the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, where he dressed so many times as a member of the Detroit Tigers, and slipped on a crisp, new Kansas City Royals jersey. Kenta Maeda Jersey . The Goldeyes (10-7) lost 4-1 to the Saltdogs (8-9) Sunday afternoon before 5,834 sizzling fans at Shaw Park. The loss drops Winnipegs record to 3-4 during this past weeks seven-game homestand.PHOENIX -- Mike Moustakas accounted for all of Kansas Citys runs with a long ball, a liner and a bit of hustle after a diving stop by Arizona second baseman Aaron Hill. His hustle play was the one that made all the difference. Moustakas homered and drove in his fourth run by beating a relay throw to first in the ninth inning, helping the Royals beat the Diamondbacks 4-3 Wednesday night to win their fifth straight series. "He (Hill) made a great play on that and Im just running down the line to get to first and get that run, which turned out to be pretty big," Moustakas said. Kansas City rolled over Arizona in the opener and had just enough offence for Yordana Ventura (9-8) to take the second game. Moustakas, who was 1 for 13 to start the six-game road trip, hit a two-run homer off Josh Collmenter (8-6) in the third inning and added a run-scoring single off the right-hander in the fourth. He was initially called out on the groundball in the ninth inning, but a review showed his headfirst dive beat the throw, allowing Billy Butler to score for a 4-2 lead. The Royals needed the extra run, too. Closer Greg Holland gave up a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly to Mark Trumbo in the bottom half before closing out his 32nd save. The scrappy victory was the Royals sixth in seven games, pulling them within 3 1-2 games of Detroit in the AL Central. "This was a big win for us with Detroit losing," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Every game is huge." The Diamondbacks certainly had their chances, particularly against Ventura. Miguel Montero had three of Arizonas 12 hits and Hill had his 1,300th career hit with a run-scoring single in the third inning. The Diamondbacks just couldnt come up with the big hits when they needed them, stranding 11 runners while going 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position. "It was a game we should have done better, a more productive job of taking care of our opportunities," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. The Royals turned the series opener into a laugher, scoring 10 runs on three swings. Nori Aoki hit a grand slam, Butler had a three-run homer among his four hits, and Salvador Perez added a three-run shot in the 12-2 rout. Kansas City had another long ball early against Collmenter, this one a two-run shot byy Moustakas in the second inning, his team-leading 14th of the season.dddddddddddd The Royals tacked on another run in the fourth, going up 3-2 on Moustakas run-scoring single. Collmenter was good against everyone except Moustakas, though, allowing one other hit while striking out six in six innings. "That is the difference: him (Ventura) pitching and getting out of jams and me pitching myself into a jam and not getting out of it," Collmenter said. Ventura had at least seven strikeouts in his previous two starts, including a win over Minnesota after allowing a run in seven innings his last outing. The rookie right-hander kept piling up the Ks against the Diamondbacks, notching eight while working around baserunners nicely. He gave up run-scoring singles to Hill and David Peralta in the third inning, but little else despite struggling with his command on off-speed pitches. Ventura allowed eight hits. PERALTAS YEAR Peralta hasnt stopped hitting since being called up on June 1. The rookie outfielder went 2 for 4 against the Royals for his 23rd multi-hit effort in 53 games. Peralta also is second among rookies in the majors with a .315 average. YOSTS 800th Yost reached a big milestone, notching his 800th victory as a manager. Yost spent his first six years as a manager in Milwaukee, where he played. Hes been in Kansas City for the past five seasons, racking up 343 wins. "You sit back and look at 800 wins, I didnt win any of those games," he said. "Those guys and a lot of guys like them did." TRAINERS ROOM Diamondbacks: RHP Daniel Hudson made his first rehab appearance with Arizonas rookie league team Tuesday night, allowing a run on two hits with two strikeouts in an inning. He had Tommy John surgery for the second time last year and hasnt pitched in the majors since mid-2012. UP NEXT Royals: RHP Jeremy Guthrie had his first scoreless appearance of the season the last time out, holding Oakland to three hits while striking out six in six innings on Saturday. Diamondbacks: LHP Vidal Nuno, Thursdays starter, has yet to win with the Diamondbacks despite pitching decently since being traded from the New York Yankees. Hes 0-2 with a 3.07 ERA in five starts with Arizona and allowed a run in six innings of a no-decision against Pittsburgh his last outing. 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