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CLEVELAND -- Lorenzo Cain had three hits and Alcides Escobar and Brandon Moss homered as the Kansas City Royals halted the Cleveland Indians' American League-record 22-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory Friday night at Progressive Field. It's Cleveland's first loss since Aug. 23. The Indians' 22-game winning streak is the second longest in major league history. The 1916 New York Giants won 26 in a row.
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Jason Vargas (16-10) gave up three runs on five hits in five innings to get the win for Kansas City. Mike Minor pitched the ninth to pick up his first major league save.
Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer (16-9) gave up four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss.
With the score tied 1-1, Alex Gordon singled with one out in the sixth inning, knocking Bauer out of the game. Joe Smith relieved Bauer and struck out Drew Butera for the second out.
But Whit Merrifield singled to right, moving Gordon to second, and Cain followed with a single up the middle, scoring Gordon to give Kansas City a 4-3 lead.
The Indians, who won in electrifying fashion Thursday night, scoring runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and bottom of the tenth to win it, had no such magic on Friday. Royals pitchers held Cleveland scoreless on three hits over the last six innings.
The Indians' last chance to score came in the seventh inning when they had runners at first and second and one out. But Trevor Cahill got Austin Jackson to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Francisco Lindor led off the bottom of the first inning with a double to left field. Austin Jackson walked, and both runners moved up a base when Jose Ramirez grounded out to first. Edwin Encarnacion flied out to the base of the left field wall, far enough to allow Lindor to score the first run of the game.
Kansas City got that run back in the second inning, when Escobar pounded a 2-2 pitch from Bauer over the left field wall for his fifth home run.
Cleveland countered with a two-run third inning. Jackson doubled with two outs and cruised home on Ramirez's 27th home run. The blast into the left field bleachers gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead.
Bauer gave up a line drive home run over the center field wall by Moss to lead off the fourth inning, cutting the Cleveland lead to 3-2.
Kansas City tied it in the fifth inning. Cain doubled with one out, and scored on a single by Eric Hosmer. Through five innings, Bauer had given up eight hits and thrown 90 pitches.
NOTES: Indians OF Lonnie Chisenhall was not in the starting lineup Friday and is listed as day-to-day after leaving Thursday's game in the seventh inning with tightness in his right calf. ... Indians LHP Andrew Miller's next relief appearance is schedule for Sunday. Miller was activated off the disabled list and pitched a scoreless inning Thursday night. He had been bothered by tendinitis in his right knee. Manager Terry Francona said he wants to get Miller into six or seven games before the end of the regular season. ... Royals C Salvador Perez did not start Friday's game due to a strained muscle in his right side. ... RHP Joakim Soria is expected to rejoin the Royals on Saturday. He had left the club to be with his wife for the birth of their child. ... The Royals and Indians entered Friday night's game with 68 errors each, tying them for the second-lowest total in the majors. The Royals are on a pace to break the club record for fewest errors in a season, which is 85, set in 2013.
