KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One night after clobbering Kansas City 19-1, the Cleveland Indians knew they’d better get off to a quick start. The red-faced Royals would be keyed up, yearning to put the embarrassing loss behind them.

Carlos Santana, left, is congratulated by Travis Hafner. (AP photo.)

No problem. Coming to bat with the bases loaded in the top of the first, hot-hitting veteran Travis Hafner unloaded a three-run double. In full possession of all the momentum, the Indians and Carlos Carrasco rolled to a 7-3 victory and a two-game sweep.

“We all know how baseball is,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “The fact we scored three runs right away in the first inning really helped our side. They probably were, ‘Hey, here it comes again. These guys can’t do anything wrong right now.’ It was very important to jump ahead right away.”

No one could blame the Royals for thinking the first-place Indians can do no wrong. They outscored them 26-4 in the two games and have beaten them five straight.

Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera homered as the Indians won their third in a row and improved to 26-13, the best record in the majors.

At this point a year ago they were 15-24. But counting Carrasco’s outing Tuesday night, Indians starters have rung up 27 quality starts in 37 outings.

“It’s been remarkable the amount of quality starts we have gotten out of these guys,” said Acta. “It helps so much because it gives us an opportunity to keep our bullpen fresh and be able to match up with the least amount of outs left in the game.”

.

Carrasco (2-2) went 5 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on five hits, with two walks and five strikeouts. It was his first victory after three straight no-decisions. The five strikeouts were one short of his season high.

“Today I feel great,” he said. “I feel I can throw my fastball. I was using my best pitch, my fastball.”

Getting the 3-0 lead did not affect him as much as it may have bothered the Royals.

“That felt good,” he said. “But I put it in my mind the game was 0-0. That made me attack the hitters. Every inning, I would say ‘0-0’ and try to do my best. Yesterday I see 19 runs and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, save some for tomorrow.’ But we got seven.”

But as Acta suspected, falling into a quick 3-0 hole did bother O’Sullivan.

“For me, the first inning, you’re trying to get settled in, coming down from the bullpen, trying to feel out the strike zone and see where you’re at that night,” he said. “Especially for me, that first inning’s big. If you can get through that unscathed, then you can really settle into a groove. Obviously, I wasn’t able to do that.”

Santana hit a solo home run off O’Sullivan in the fifth and Asdrubal Cabrera made it 7-2 with a leadoff home run in the seventh off left-hander Everett Teaford, who made his major league debut.

Royals rookie Eric Hosmer tripled and scored on Matt Treanor’s single in the second inning and had an RBI single in the sixth, going 2-for-4. But he was also picked off second in the sixth inning on a great throw from catcher Santana.
“That was a big play for us, no doubt,” said Acta.

O’Sullivan got off to a horrible start, giving up a leadoff double to Michael Brantley, hitting Shin-Soo Choo and walking Santana. Hafner then made it 3-0 with a bases-clearing double. He also doubled in the fifth following Santana’s home run and scored on a single by Travis Buck, who was called up Monday when Grady Sizemore went on the disabled list. Hafner has reached safely in his last 17 games. Orlando Cabrera singled in the fourth and eventually scored on Brantley’s sacrifice fly.

O’Sullivan, who has made five of his six starts at home, gave up eight hits and six runs in five innings. He had two walks and two strikeouts.

“They outplayed us in every phase of the game the whole series,” said Royals manager Ned Yost. “They outhit us, they outpitched us, they outdefensed us. They just outplayed us.”

Teaford, called up from Triple-A Omaha to replace Vin Mazzaro, the right-hander who was charged with 14 runs on Monday, went 1 1/3 innings and allowed two hits, including Cabrera’s home run.

Santana, who walked three times and doubled in the 19-1 win Monday, reached base three times with a walk, home run and single while scoring two runs.

Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera homered as the Indians won their third in a row and improved to 26-13, the best record in the majors.

At this point a year ago they were 15-24. But counting Carrasco’s outing Tuesday night, Indians starters have rung up 27 quality starts in 37 outings.

“It’s been remarkable the amount of quality starts we have gotten out of these guys,” said Acta. “It helps so much because it gives us an opportunity to keep our bullpen fresh and be able to match up with the least amount of outs left in the game.”

Carrasco (2-2) went 5 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on five hits, with two walks and five strikeouts. It was his first victory after three straight no-decisions. The five strikeouts were one short of his season high.

“Today I feel great,” he said. “I feel I can throw my fastball. I was using my best pitch, my fastball.”

Getting the 3-0 lead did not affect him as much as it may have bothered the Royals.

“That felt good,” he said. “But I put it in my mind the game was 0-0. That made me attack the hitters. Every inning, I would say ‘0-0’ and try to do my best. Yesterday I see 19 runs and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, save some for tomorrow.’ But we got seven.”

But as Acta suspected, falling into a quick 3-0 hole did bother O’Sullivan.

Santana hit a solo home run off O’Sullivan in the fifth and Asdrubal Cabrera made it 7-2 with a leadoff home run in the seventh off left-hander Everett Teaford, who made his major league debut.

Royals rookie Eric Hosmer tripled and scored on Matt Treanor’s single in the second inning and had an RBI single in the sixth, going 2-for-4. But he was also picked off second in the sixth inning on a great throw from catcher Santana.

“That was a big play for us, no doubt,” said Acta.

O’Sullivan got off to a horrible start, giving up a leadoff double to Michael Brantley, hitting Shin-Soo Choo and walking Santana. Hafner then made it 3-0 with a bases-clearing double. He also doubled in the fifth following Santana’s home run and scored on a single by Travis Buck, who was called up Monday when Grady Sizemore went on the disabled list. Hafner has reached safely in his last 17 games. Orlando Cabrera singled in the fourth and eventually scored on Brantley’s sacrifice fly.

O’Sullivan, who has made five of his six starts at home, gave up eight hits and six runs in five innings. He had two walks and two strikeouts.

“They outplayed us in every phase of the game the whole series,” said Royals manager Ned Yost.

Melky Cabrera had an RBI single off Chris Perez in the bottom of the ninth.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Vin Mazzaro made major league history.

It cost him his spot in the big leagues.

Shin-Soo Choo hits a fly ball during the fourth inning yesterday. (AP photo.)

The Royals reliever gave up 14 runs and got just seven outs against the Cleveland Indians, who beat Kansas city 19-1 Monday night. He was sent down to the minors after the game.

No pitcher has allowed 14 runs in fewer innings than Mazzaro, according to STATS LLC, whose database goes back to 1919.

“It’s tough. It was a tough game,” said Mazzaro, whose ERA is now 22.74. “Some of the plays didn’t go my way. It’s a funny game.”

Only a handful of relief outings have gone worse. They all were longer, or included unearned runs.

The well-rested Indians pounded out 20 hits and walked eight times. Starter Kyle Davies didn’t make it out of the first and Mazzaro had to come on after 1 2-3 innings from Nate Adcock.

Mazzaro hung in there until the fourth inning, when he gave up 10 runs.

After the brutal fourth inning, the right-hander allowed four more in the fifth before he was removed.

“We do have a few guys who see a lot of pitches,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “On those days when the pitchers are not on top of their game, these guys can really work a number on them.”

.

The 25-year-old Mazzaro erased the Royals’ record of 11 runs allowed in a game, which had been done three times.

Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta each had four RBIs in the Indians’ biggest offensive outburst since scoring 22 runs at New York on April 18, 2009. Hafner and Orlando Cabrera each had three RBIs.

LaPorta reached base five times with a walk and four hits.

“You see a couple of guys in front of you get a hit and you want to be right there, you want to be able to drive them in,” LaPorta said “And I think it’s the same way, guys behind you want to drive you in.”

At least Mazzaro didn’t get the loss.

That went to Davies (1-6), who left after walking the bases full in the first inning and retiring only one batter. The Royals said later that he would have an MRI for soreness in the front of his right shoulder. He was charged with two runs after Adcock gave up a two-run single to Orlando Cabrera.

The Indians added another run in the second on an RBI single by Brantley, who set a career high with his four RBIs.

Asdrubal Cabrera’s RBI single got the Indians rolling in the fourth. Mazzaro then issued Carlos Santana’s third walk of the game, and walk No. 7 on the night for the Indians, which loaded the bases.

Hafner then hammered a three-run double into left-center. Orlando Cabrera followed with an RBI single, then Travis Buck singled and LaPorta hit a two-run double that made it 10-0. After Jack Hannahan singled, Brantley hit a 1-1 pitch for a three-run home run and a 13-0 Cleveland lead.

“I personally didn’t even know we had that many runs,” said LaPorta. “We were just going up there. Everybody was trying to get on base and do their job. I was just trying to see the ball well and put a good swing on it.”

The Indians, who were coming off back-to-back rainouts, sent 13 men to the plate in the fourth. For the game, they had a season-high 20 hits, including seven doubles, and drew eight walks.

In the fifth, Buck had an RBI single, LaPorta added a second two-run double and Hannahan brought in a run with an infield out.

Josh Tomlin (5-1) got the win, going six innings and giving up five hits and one run, on Billy Butler’s infield out in the fourth.

Tomlin tried not to think he was working with a gigantic lead.

“I was up there still trying to take the same approach and pitch like it was a tie ballgame,” he said. “Sometimes you can lose focus a little bit. But for the most part, it puts you at ease a little bit and you can go after them.”

According to STATS LLC, the last pitcher to give up 10 runs in an inning was Texas’ Scott Feldman against the Red Sox on Aug. 12, 2008, although not all the runs were earned. Before Mazzaro, the only pitchers since 1947 to get clobbered for 14 runs were Milwaukee’s Bill Travers in 1977, and Oakland’s Mike Oquist in 1998 against the Yankees.But those were starters.

No reliever had given up 14 runs in the major leagues since 1942, when Lester McCrabb did it for the Philadelphia Athletics, STATS said.

Their research also showed that three relievers have given up 16 runs in a single appearance. Lefty O’Doul gave up 16 runs in a 1923 game with the Boston Red Sox, though only three runs were earned.

Johnny Stuart of the Cardinals gave up 16 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1925, but it took him 8 1-3 innings to do it. Dutch Schesler took eight innings in his 16-run appearance for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1931.

Mazzaro’s name now joins theirs in major league history. Mazzaro, meanwhile, will join the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers.

“It’s kind of a tough call,” he said. “You’ve just go to keep battling. Things will work out.”

Notes

• Indians are in the unusual position of playing a pair of two-game series on a four-game road trip. After two in KC, they’ll fly to Chicago for two with the White Sox before returning home.
• It was LaPorta’s second four-hit game. The other was Aug. 29, 2009 at Baltimore.
• The last Royals pitcher to give up 11 runs was Brian Bannister on June 12, 2010 against Cincinnati.
• The Indians also scored 10 runs in the fourth inning on April 8 at Seattle.

CLEVELAND — The Indians and Mariners wound up all wet again Sunday at Progressive Field.

For the second straight day rain postponed a game between the American League rivals, with no official makeup date set for either of the final two games of a scheduled three-game series.

This time around, the poor weather made for a bizarre occurrence. The Indians actually took the field to begin the game, then were sent off again without Indians starter Josh Tomlin ever throwing a pitch.

The scheduled 1:05 start had been delayed 45 minutes before former Indians pitcher Len Barker threw out the ceremonial first pitch in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of his perfect game at Municipal Stadium.

.

Cleveland took the field to light rain, but as Tomlin warmed up a downpour arrived with heavy winds, and umpires called for the tarp. The teams waited out another hour-plus delay before the game was called.

“The weather was so unpredictable,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “Once we were ready to start, (the rain) got a little harder. That’s no condition to start a ballgame.

“Basically, (the bad weather) was going to be there the whole day.”

Acta said the players’ safety was the main concern in deciding not to play.

“It’s one thing to sit in the dugout and manage a game or sit in the stands with a poncho and watch a ballgame,” he said. “But these guys have to go out and play on the field. It’s been wet since yesterday. We don’t want to put anybody at risk.”

The weather not only wreaked havoc on Progressive Field, it has shaken up the schedule.

Though nothing is official, Saturday’s rainout is expected to be made up as part of a doubleheader during the Mariners’ trip through Cleveland on Aug. 22-24. Sunday’s postponed game is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 19, an open date for both clubs.

The Indians already have a doubleheader scheduled with the Twins on July 18 from a postponed game in Minnesota on April 22.

“You want to play,” Acta said. “You don’t want to be playing all these doubleheaders late in the season.”

The rain also stole Cleveland’s momentum from a walk-off win in the series opener Friday night, with Travis Hafner belting a two-run home run in the ninth inning of a 5-4 win.

It was the Indians’ first victory at Progressive Field since Tampa Bay snapped their 14-game home winning streak Wednesday, then beat them again the following day.

“It feels like it was ages ago,” Acta said of Friday’s dramatic win. “We really wanted to use that energy from that walk-off home run. It’s too bad. It seems like it was a long time ago that Travis hit that home run.”

The Mariners are no strangers to weird weather in Cleveland. They were the Indians’ opponent during a snowed-out game at Progressive Field in 2007 — the same season snow forced Cleveland to move a series with the Angels to Milwaukee’s Miller Park.

Eric Wedge, now Seattle manager, managed the Indians in that game, while former Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove was in charge of the Mariners.

“I’ve seen a little bit of everything (here),” Wedge said. “It’s tough here with the weather. It’s always been tough.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

CLEVELAND – Travis Hafner’s two-run rocket over the 400-foot sign in center field Friday night did more than beat former Tribe manager Eric Wedge and the Seattle Mariners.

It brought back memories of the magical 1990s. It further energized a fan base slowly but surely re-embracing its Tribe. It added buzz to the downtown streets Saturday afternoon as the Indians returned to Progressive Field about 15 hours after Hafner’s heroics.

It couldn’t beat back Mother Nature.

Five outs into Saturday’s matinee with the Mariners, the skies opened. (Maybe the dense fog encompassing the city’s skyscrapers and hiding them from view was a sign.) In a matter of seconds, the rain was coming straight down – and hard. The umpires stopped the game, and the grounds crew rolled out the tarp.

The rain eventually stopped – not for long, it’s Northeast Ohio – but not until the damage had been done. A big pond/small lake replaced deep center field. The warning track was primarily puddles.

The game was called after two hours, disappointing the optimistic souls who stayed and were given cartoons, an Abbott and Costello routine and the Phillies-Braves game on the giant scoreboard.

The weather also deprived the Indians of building on the momentum generated by Hafner.

“We would much rather play,” manager Manny Acta said after the postponement, his office television showing the Doppler radar still dominated by a rainbow of colors that had nothing to do with the sun.

The rainout temporarily stopped the Indians’ streak of five straight last-at-bat victories at home. But it wasn’t enough to dampen spirits of the Indians and their followers.

Six weeks of the season is enough to know the Indians aren’t an April apparition. I’m not convinced the Indians will keep the best record in the American League, or even remain in first place in the Central Division. But I think they’ve shown enough, and have built enough confidence, to contend for the duration.

Really, that’s all fans can ask from a team not expected to sniff first place. And it should be enough to keep people interested and coming to the ballpark.

This team has earned that. It’s played smart, solid, exciting baseball.

And it was never better than Friday night. On the brink of just the second three-game losing streak of the season, Hafner changed the conversation and the perspective with the two-run shot for a 5-4 win.

He thrilled fans, gave them reason to brave the weather and stemmed the fears that are so Northeast Ohio. Two losses in a row are a blip. Three in a row, including two with your best two starters on the mound – Justin Masterson and Fausto Carmona – get the doubts really humming inside the region’s fragile psyche.

But there’s no need to worry for now. Not after Hafner’s big swing.

“It’s fun. I’m not going to deny it,” Acta said of the 24-13 start.

Acta would argue with the notion that Cleveland’s spot in first place is a complete surprise. He sees the roots in the 93 losses of 2010, and the 35-39 record in the second half.

“What’s satisfying is being able to see the work you’re putting in and the time you have spent teaching and preaching to these kids come to fruition,” he said. “You see results.

“People think that everything started this year. It didn’t. It started last year, and it’s a process.”

The bats have cooled since a seven-game winning streak to end April and begin May, but that’s understandable against the collection of quality arms they’ve faced. The recent absence of Grady Sizemore and the continued slump of Shin-Soo Choo have also contributed to a scoring average of 3.5 runs over the last 10 games.

But if the Indians are going to hang around and make this a summer and fall to remember – we’ll need something if the NFL lockout drags on, depriving us of beloved Browns training camp – the starting pitching will be the biggest factor. The starters are 15-6 with a 3.03 ERA and an AL-best 26 quality starts over the last 35 games.

The rotation is why the Indians have been in just about every game. It’s the reason they’ve been able to rally in the final innings at home, where they posted a club-record 14-game winning streak.

Most impressive is that it’s been able to withstand the loss of Carlos Carrasco and Mitch Talbot to injuries. Carrasco is back and Talbot is on his way, but might not be necessary if former first-round pick Alex White keeps going strong. He’s 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts and pitched a perfect first Saturday before the rain washed out all stats.

With a consistent Carmona, a masterful Masterson and an efficient Josh Tomlin, solid will cut it from the other two starters. Throw in a deep and dependable bullpen and clutch hitting, and a bunch of 4-3 wins seems very doable.

Sprinkle in a little ninth-inning magic, and anything’s possible.

After all, there’s plenty of room on the cement-block wall outside the Indians clubhouse. That’s where they’ve started a gallery of photos depicting their head-pounding, gut-punching celebrations after walk-off victories.

Hafner’s arrival at home plate Friday night was the latest addition to the collection. So far, it’s the greatest, but there are a lot of ninth innings yet to come.

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.