KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Seven minutes.
That's all it took for the Cleveland Indians to club a pair of 411-foot home runs on Friday night off Royals starter Ian Kennedy and take a lead they would never relinquish in a 10-1 win at Kauffman Stadium.
And 49 minutes after Kennedy toed the rubber and delivered the first pitch, he handed the ball to manager to Ned Yost and walked off the field.
There are still 41 games to be played this season, but if the Royals harbor hopes of claiming a second AL Central Division championship in three years, the road got a little steeper. Cleveland now holds a 6{-game lead over the Royals (61-60).
Kennedy faced 16 batters and recorded just eight outs on Friday night as the Indians collected five runs on six hits and two walks. He left after giving up a bases-loaded single to light-hitting Indians catcher Yan Gomes that brought home a pair of runs.
While Kansas City has enjoyed unseasonably cool weather in August, the month has not been kind to Kennedy. In four starts, he's allowed 18 earned runs and five home runs in 19 innings as his ERA has jumped to 5.06.
Designated hitter Brandon Moss hit a solo home run against Cleveland ace Corey Kluber in the second inning, but that's all the Royals could muster on the night.
Down 5-1, the Royals threatened with one out in the sixth inning when Eric Hosmer beat out a grounder to first baseman Carlos Santana. Kluber was late covering first because he was moving gingerly as he left the mound.
As Cleveland's training staff looked on, Kluber threw a few warm-up pitches and stayed in the game. However, Melky Cabrera singled, and that was the end of Kluber's night. He was later diagnosed with a sprained right ankle.
Left-hander Andrew Miller, who came off the disabled list on Friday, entered the game and struck out Mike Moustakas. Brandon Moss walked and the bases were loaded, but Alcides Escobar flied to right to end the threat.
The Indians added a run in the sixth inning and essentially put the game away in the seventh when Jay Bruce thumped a three-run homer off Jake Junis to make it 9-1.
Edwin Encarnacion's solo shot in the ninth inning against Ryan Buchter was the cherry on top of a terrible night for the Royals.
They entered the night hoping to make a dent in the Indians' division lead. Instead, they added to their work load.
