CLEVELAND – With only three home runs through Thursday, Travis Hafner hasn’t showed much power this season, but his bat has been alive and well as of late.

Entering Thursday, the designated hitter was batting .415 (17-for-41) with a home run and five RBIs to raise his season average from a paltry .208 to a respectable .270. Since May 4, Hafner had reached base in 30 of his last 54 plate appearances for an on-base-percentage of .556 (17 hits, nine walks and four hit by pitch).

“He’s been able to be more selective over the last month or so,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “That was hurting him, chasing too many pitches out of the strike zone. He’s just been having better at-bats, and we need him big, especially with the injuries (to Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore).”

The Indians, who rank at the bottom of the majors in homers, need Hafner to find his power stroke as well.

The club’s all-time leader in homers by a designated hitter averaged 34.3 homers per season from 2004-06, but has gone deep just 48 times since. He has hit just one homer in May and two over his last 23 games.

Big league Choo

Shin-Soo Choo has cooled off substantially, hitting .250 (13-for-52) with five RBIs over his last 13 games through Wednesday, and with just two hits in his last 15 at-bats (four games).

Choo has been a much better hitter at Progressive Field, batting .365 (19-for-52) with three homers and 15 RBIs at home through Wednesday, compared to a .239 (22-for-92) average with one homer and six RBIs on the road.

Iron Mike

When Mike Redmond appeared and completed a 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay without an error Tuesday, the veteran broke the major league record for consecutive games (252) without an error by a catcher.

The 39-year-old 12-year veteran also owns the American League record in the department (232 games).

Next up

The Indians begin interleague play with a three-game series against intrastate rival Cincinnati that opens tonight (7:05) at Progressive Field.

Jake Westbrook (2-2, 4.27 ERA) pitches the series opener for the Indians, opposing RHP Bronson Arroyo (3-2, 4.78), while Fausto Carmona (4-1, 3.33) and RHP Johnny Cueto (3-1, 3.67) square off Saturday (7:05 p.m.).

David Huff (1-6, 5.36) goes for Cleveland in the series finale Sunday (1:05 p.m.), while the Reds counter with RHP Homer Bailey (1-2, 5.21).

The Indians own an all-time 113-116 (.493) record since interleague play began in 1997, and have gone 11-25 (.306) the past two seasons.  

Minor details

Outfielder Chris Gimenez is on a tear for Triple-A Columbus, batting .371 (23-for-62) with 12 RBIs and 17 runs over his last 17 games through Wednesday, to raise his season average from .231 to .317. … Right-hander Joe Gardner is on a roll since being promoted to advanced Class A Kinston, going 2-0 without allowing an earned run in three starts, while striking out 17 batters over 16 2/3 innings. Gardner, a third-round draft pick last year, went 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA in six starts for Single-A Lake County.  

Roundin’ third

The Indians had turned 51 double plays through Wednesday, which ranked at the top of the majors. They had the fourth-fewest errors (24) in the American League. … Entering Thursday, the Indians had scored 64 of their 145 runs (44 percent) with two outs. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM/WEOL 930-AM.  

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

CLEVELAND – Mitch Talbot couldn’t save the sinking ship this time.

Talbot, the Indians’ resident skid stopper, was off the mark Thursday afternoon at Progressive Field, and the home team suffered the consequences in a 9-3 drubbing from Kansas City.

Talbot entered the game with four of his five wins on the season coming after a Cleveland loss, but he wasn’t able to turn the tide this time around, as the losing streak reached four games via a (two-game) sweep-clinching victory from the lowly Royals.

As a result, Kansas City moved up to fourth in the Central Division, while the Indians returned to last place.  

“I just wasn’t throwing strikes pretty much the whole game,” said Talbot, who allowed six runs on eight hits over six innings. “I let them sit there and wait for the fastball.”

Talbot (5-3, 3.88 ERA) walked three and allowed all of his runs within the first three innings.

It was an ill-located fastball that led to the big blow of the game from Alberto Callaspo, who capped Kansas City’s four-run third inning with a three-run home run that put the Royals in front 6-1.

“It was a fastball over the plate,” Talbot said. “It was a good one to hit. I think I could’ve hit that one.”

Talbot was able to settle in after the third, shutting KC out and holding the Royals hitless over his final three innings of work.

“Mitch struggled with his command the first couple innings,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “But he pitched six innings with our bullpen short, and he deserves credit for that.”

“I try to pull something good away from every start,” Talbot said. “That’s what I’m going to take from this one.”

Talbot didn’t pitch well but he wasn’t the only one to blame for the latest Indians’ loss – not with an offense that has pretty much been stuck in low gear all season.

Cleveland managed just four hits off Royals starter Luke Hochevar, who entered the game with a 5.86 ERA, but was able to pitch his third career complete game nonetheless. It was the right-hander’s first win since May 4 at Chicago.

The Indians scored once in the first on an RBI single from Travis Hafner, but didn’t cross the plate again until Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run homer in the sixth to pull his team within three runs.

The Royals tacked on three runs in the seventh off relievers Rafael Perez and Hector Ambriz, Ambriz allowing a two-run homer to Jose Guillen.

The Indians had no answer from there.   

“We continue to scuffle offensively,” Acta said. “It’s been a struggle. Our numbers don’t correlate well. We’re in the top three in strikeouts and at the bottom in home runs.

“It’s an offense that is not giving our guys much margin for error.”

The Indians were swept for the fourth time this season and have been swept in consecutive two-game series against Tampa Bay and Kansas City.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

Mitch Talbot allowed six runs within the first three innings as the Royals rolled to a 9-3 win over the Indians at Progressive Field on Thursday.

It was the fourth straight loss for Cleveland, which was swept by last-place Kansas City in the two-game series.

Kerry Wood allowed five runs in the ninth inning, sending the Indians to an 8-4 loss to the Royals on Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

In his first save opportunity of the season, the right-hander entered the game with a one-run lead, before surrendering all of his runs in just 1/3 of an inning.

It was Cleveland’s third straight loss.