Francisco Lindor had an exceptional Monday after a very good Sunday.

Lindor homered twice Authentic Blake Wheeler Jersey , including a grand slam, and finished with a career-high seven RBIs as the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 9-3 on Monday night.

On Sunday, he had two doubles and a solo homer in Oakland.

Lindor homered in the fourth after Yan Gomes singled and Jakob Junis hit Tyler Naquin and Rajai Davis with pitches. He added a three-run homer in the sixth to finish Junis’ evening.

”One was a changeup and the other one was a slider,” said Lindor, who has 23 home runs. ”My approach is hit the ball and if it goes out it goes out. It was a good pitch to hit (on the grand slam). I was just trying to get one guy in. I’m not a power hitter. Just get a good pitch to hit and drive it.”

Lindor has 17 home runs and 54 RBIs in 54 games against the Royals.

”Just a routine day for him, today and yesterday,” Indians starter Corey Kluber said. ”He continues to get better, which is kind of scary.”

Kluber (12-4), who failed to make it out of the second inning in his previous start at St. Louis, gave up two runs in the first, but little after that. He allowed three runs and seven hits, walked none and struck out five over six innings.

Davis had three hits and scored three runs.

”I got myself into trouble with a couple of hit batters and good teams are going to take advantage of that,” Junis said.

Junis (5-10) has lost his last seven starts and is tied with teammate Jason Hammel for most losses in the American League. He has yielded a major league-high 24 home runs, including 12 in his last five starts over 27 innings.

”You worry about his confidence more than anything else,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”Again, it’s an easy fix. When you’re off the side of the slider, it’s gonna be a cement mixer. He started off good, just didn’t end that good.”

Whit Merrifield homered on Kluber’s third pitch for his fourth career leadoff home run. Salvador Perez singled home Mike Moustakas, who had doubled, in an 11-pitch at-bat for the other Kansas City run in the first.

Jorge Bonifacio logged his first RBI of the season in the Kansas City sixth after being suspended the first 80 games for taking a performance enhancing drug.

The Royals have lost 23 of their last 28 games. They are tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the most losses in the majors with 54. They scored four runs or fewer for the 23rd time in the last 24 games.

ROYALS SIGN FIRST-ROUND PICK

The Royals signed right-hander Jackson Kowar, a first-round compensation selection and the 33rd overall pick, to a $2.118.700 signing bonus. He went 10-5 with a 3.04 ERA as a Florida junior.

GOODBYE LEBRON

LeBron James has left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Los Angeles Lakers. ”If someone gave me $154 million I’d probably go somewhere too,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. ”He did what he said he was going to do. He got them a championship. When you’re a free agent, you’ve earned that right. I will miss him, because I loved going to games when he played. It’s hard to begrudge somebody. He earned it.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: RF Lonnie Chisenhall was a late scratch with a strained left calf. Francona said Chisenhall would definitely go on the disabled list. … RHP Danny Salazar underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in Dallas. ”It just kind of came to a point,” Francona said. ”That’s the last option. You try everything else before you go into somebody’s shoulder. The good side is there was no structural (damage). The rotator cuff was good. They cleaned him out. It’s a shame we lost him for the whole year.”

UP NEXT

Indians: RHP Shane Bieber is 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA in his first four big league starts.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy is winless in six home starts this season, going 0-3 with a 6.32 ERA.

—

Jose Altuve was more than due when he came to bat in the 10th inning, and got a winning rally started for the Houston Astros.

”He hadn’t gotten a hit in four at-bats,” manager A.J. Hinch said of the second basemen who led the American League in hits each of the past four seasons and is the MLB leader so far this year.

Altuve was actually in an 0-for-13 slide before his fifth at-bat Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers. His 115th hit of the season was a one-out single off Chris Martin Bryan Little Jersey , who then hit Yuli Gurriel with a pitch before an errant pickoff throw allowed both runners to move up. That set up Evan Gattis‘ tiebreaking sacrifice fly in a 5-4 victory.

Gurriel homered, doubled and scored twice as the Astros overcame an early four-run deficit. His fifth homer, leading off the fifth against starter Mike Minor, tied the game at 4.

Josh Reddick also went deep for the Astros, who their eighth consecutive road game against Texas and are a majors-best 32-14 on the road this season. The Astros have a 12-4 advantage in the season series between the instate division rivals that has only a three-game set remaining in Houston later this month.

Shin-Soo Choo homered and had a single to extend his on-base streak to 44 games, the longest in his career and in the majors this season. That matches Otis Nixon’s streak in 1995 for the Rangers, and trails only Julio Franco’s 46-gamer in 1993 for the team record.

Texas led 4-0 after Choo’s one-out solo homer started a three-run outburst in the third off starter Gerrit Cole.

Collin McHugh (4-0), who won 48 games as a starter for the Astros the past four seasons, allowed only one hit over three scoreless innings. Ken Giles worked the 10th for his 12th save in 12 chances.

”You’re talking about a 19-game winner in the big leagues. Those don’t grow on trees,” said Astros reliever Will Harris, who worked out of a jam in the sixth before McHugh took over. ”He goes out there and he knows who he is. He mixes it up, he’s a strike thrower and he’s a fearless guy out there.”

MESSY MOUND

The start of the game was delayed for a few minutes after Minor had issues with the mound during warmups. The ground crew came out to work on the slippery dirt. Cole also was unhappy with the mound. Martin (1-2) slipped and fell down when throwing the pitch that hit Gurriel. The Rangers said afterward that Martin was being evaluated for a left groin issue.

”The mound early seemed to be slick,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.

DEEP ON THE ROAD

The Astros have homered in 24 consecutive road games, three short of the MLB record set by the Oakland Athletics earlier this season. Baltimore also went deep in 24 consecutive road games in 1996.

RACKING UP K’s

Cole, who threw 108 pitches to get through five innings, struck out seven to increase his season total to 158. The only Astros pitcher with more strikeouts before the All-Star break is Mike Scott, with 167 in 22 starts in 1986. Cole has made 18 starts, with two more scheduled before the break. … In four starts against Texas this season, Cole has 40 strikeouts in 25 innings.

FAR FROM PERFECT

Minor retired the first 19 San Diego batters he faced in his previous start a week earlier. The lefty allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits over six innings against Houston with four strikeouts and three walks.

”Probably not as sharp as he’s been,” Banister said. ”Looked like they were sitting on slider.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Hinch said C Max Stassi was feeling better than expected after getting hit by a pitch on his right (throwing) wrist in the first inning Tuesday, on the same day starting catcher Brian McCann had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

Rangers: 3B Adrian Beltre, baseball’s active career hits leader (3,108), was scratched from the lineup about an hour before the game because of an infected tooth. He had a root canal and then traveled with the team to Detroit. … RHP Tony Barnette went on the 10-day disabled list. An MRI revealed a strained lat that will keep him from throwing for at least four weeks. He left Tuesday night’s game in the middle of a batter.

UP NEXT

Astros: Justin Verlander (9-4), who has lost his last two starts, is on the mound when the Astros return home for the opener Thursday night of a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox.

Rangers: The Rangers open a 10-game, 11-day trip that will take them to the All-Star break when they play Thursday night at Detroit. Texas also plays at Boston and Baltimore before their next home game July 20.

—