Indians ace Trevor Bauer gets season-high 12 strikeouts, beats Royals

June 27 (UPI) -- Cleveland Indians ace Trevor Bauer tossed a season-high 12 strikeouts and earned his sixth victory of the season in a 5-3 win against the Kansas City Royals.

Bauer allowed three hits, one run and one walk in 6.2 innings in the Tribe's triumph Wednesday at Progressive Field in Cleveland. He also threw a career-high 127 pitches and had a no-hitter going into the fifth frame.

"I felt pretty good the entire game," Bauer told reporters. "I finally felt like myself, which is nice after two months of feeling like someone else."

Second baseman Jason Kipnis drew first blood for the Tribe in the first inning, scoring Francisco Lindor on a sacrifice fly to center field. Indians center fielder Oscar Mercardo also plated Lindor to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead on a third inning single.

Utility man Jake Bauers hit his 10th home run of the season to leadoff the bottom of the fourth frame. The 361-foot solo shot left Progressive Field in 5.7 seconds, according to Statcast. Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin also hit a solo home run three at-bats later, giving the Tribe a 4-0 advantage.

Royals speedster Billy Hamilton ripped an RBI double in the fifth frame to make the score 4-1. Indians pinch hitter Jordan Luplow scored Kipnis on an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning for Cleveland's fifth run.

The Royals attempted a rally in the ninth inning, but couldn't fully close the gap. Jorge Soler struck out to begin the final frame. Lucas Duda smacked a solo shot off Indians reliever Nick Wittgren in the next at-bat. Humberto Arteaga followed with a double for the Royals, before being brought home on an Alex Gordon single for the game's final run.

Lindor was 3-for-4 with two runs scored for the Tribe. He is now hitting .298 on the season. Arteaga was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two strikeouts for the Royals.

The Indians begin an eight game road trip with a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles, starting at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Royals travel for a showdown with the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:07 p.m. Friday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.