Indians Vs. Royals: Cleveland Outlasts Kansas City In Matchup Of AL Central's Best

The last time the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals were ranked first and second in the AL Central this late in the season was May 31, 1999. On Monday night, the two surprising top dogs squared off, and the Indians downed their hosts in ten innings, 7-3.

The teams traded runs early on, with the Indians taking a 2-1 lead in the third. The score remained that way into the bottom of the sixth, when the Royals pounded out four consecutive hits against starter Carlos Carrasco and jumped in front 3-2. However, a Matt LaPorta RBI single just minutes later off Jeremy Jeffress would knot things up.

From there, the bullpens combined for two and a half scoreless innings, taking the game into the tenth. That was when the Indians jumped all over rookie sensation Tim Collins. Carlos Santana led off with a walk, and scored on a subsequent double by Shelley Duncan. Duncan would then score on a throwing error by Alcides Escobar, and the Indians would score twice more on hits by Jack Hannahan and Grady Sizemore. Up 7-3, the Indians were in a comfortable position, and Justin Germano worked a 1-2-3 bottom half to seal the win and increase Cleveland's division lead to two games.

One bright spot for the Royals: Kyle Davies spun six strong innings, with seven strikeouts and zero walks. For the Indians, Sizemore went 3-for-5 in his second game back from the DL.

The four-game set continues Tuesday, with Cleveland's Jeanmar Gomez opposing Kansas City's Bruce Chen.

For more on the Indians and Royals, please check out team blogs Let's Go Tribe and Royals Review.