Cleveland Indians sweep Kansas City Royals

Francisco Lindor #12 celebrates with Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians after Santana hit a three run home run during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on September 22, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Sept. 22, 2016 - Source: Jason Miller/Getty Images North America)

The Cleveland Indians sweep the defending World Series Champion as they beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 in game three.

Cleveland took an early lead in the first inning. 2B Jason Kipnis hit a one-out homer for the first run of the game. It was his 23rd long ball of the season.

SS Francisco Lindor followed with a walk and stole second base with two outs. 1B Carlos Santana doubled next and drove in Francisco Lindor to put the Indians up 2-0.

Kansas City responded one inning later. LF Alex Gordon singled with two outs and SS Alcides Escobar homered to tie the game at two runs apiece.

The Indians stroke back in the sixth. Jason Kipnis was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Francisco Lindor walked next. Carlos Santana followed with a one-out home run to give Cleveland a 5-2 lead.

CL Cody Allen pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his 29th save of the year. He now posts a 2.67 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP.

Kansas City’s SP Jason Vargas, who underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2015, made his second start of the season. In 4 innings he allowed 2 runs, 1 walk and 2 earned runs while fanning 4. Jason Vargas has a 3.86 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP this year.

Cleveland’s SP Mike Clevinger worked 5 innings, giving up 4 hits, 2 walks and 2 earned runs while striking out 4. His ERA and WHIP now stand at 4.65 and 1.39, respectively.

Carlos Santana went 2-for-3 with 1 run, 1 HR and 4 RBI. He is batting .253 and has 83 runs, 34 HR and 83 RBI on the season.

The Kansas City Royals (77-76) continue their road trip with a three-game series at the Detroit Tigers (82-70) from Friday to Sunday.

The Cleveland Indians (89-63) host a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox (72-80) from Friday through Sunday.