Flynn isn’t spot on as Royals fall to Indians

KANSAS CITY — There was no late-inning magic for the Royals this time around.

The Indians, who gave up seven runs in the eighth inning on Monday night in a loss, took a commanding six-run lead through five innings on Tuesday night en route to a 7-3 win at Kauffman Stadium.

Mike Napoli blasted a two-run homer in the first, his 21st, and red-hot Carlos Santana delivered a two-run single to help starter Danny Salazar notch his 11th win this season. Francisco Lindor later matched his career best with his 12th homer of the year, a solo shot in the ninth.

Salazar sat out the All-Star Game due to mild elbow soreness, though it didn’t appear to be serious at the time and he proved on Tuesday it wasn’t. He gave up just two earned runs through 6 2/3 innings while giving up eight hits. He walked one and struck out seven.

Left-hander Brian Flynn made his first start as a Royal, but couldn’t make it out of the third inning. He gave up four hits and three runs through 2 1/3.

The Indians increased their lead in the American League Central to 6 1/2 games over the Tigers and 8 over the Royals.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDSantana stays scorching: The switch-hitting Santana has recorded at least one hit in 17 of his last 19 games, batting .342 (25-for-73) in that span. In the fifth inning, he pulled a pitch from Dillon Gee into right field for a two-run single with the bases loaded, giving the Indians a 5-0 …

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