Moose collects four hits as Royals jump all over reigning Cy Young winner

With each passing game, Mike Moustakas keeps proving that he's a threat in the Royals' lineup.

Moustakas went 4 for 5 with an RBI, a double and two runs scored during Monday's 6-2 Royals win over Cleveland at Progressive Field. It was the third four-hit game in Moustakas' career, and the third game with at least three hits in his last six games.

None of the four hits by Moustakas went to right field, where many teams have played the left-handed hitter to pull the ball. The 26-year-old third baseman is now hitting .342 on the season, a far cry from the .212 average he posted last season.

The Kansas City win snapped a brief two-game losing streak after a weekend series in Chicago.

3 UP

• Hitting Kluber hard. The Royals' bats punished last year's Cy Young Award winner, knocking 10 hits off of Kluber and scoring six runs in 6 1/3 innings. Most of the hits were ripped, as well. Salvador Perez's ground-rule double hopped the center-field fence. Mike Moustakas' two-bagger was scorched to left-center. Eric Hosmer's single was a hot liner.

The Royals had a baserunner in all but one of the innings Kluber began, a 1-2-3 fifth the only exception. Kansas City also went 4 for 8 with runners in scoring position against Kluber, who entered the evening 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA against the Royals.

• Dyson stolen bases. Jarrod Dyson earned just his fifth start of the season Monday night, starting in right field and hitting ninth. Dyson took advantage of the opportunity, going 1 for 4 with three stolen bases. He now ranks ninth in Kansas City history with 123 stolen bases.

Dyson, known for his blazing speed, entered Monday evening without a stolen base. But he stole two in the second inning and one in the seventh, scoring one run. It is the third time in his career that he has stolen three bags in one game.

• Madson sharp again. Ryan Madson delivered his seventh scoreless appearance of the season, sitting down the Indians in order in the sixth. He got David Murphy to ground out to second before striking out both Brandon Moss and Roberto Perez.

Madson now has 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings and has given up just five hits. On Monday night, he was part of a relief effort that threw four more scoreless innings, lowering the bullpen's ERA to 0.73.

3 DOWN

• Vargas' command. Jason Vargas tied a career high with five walks, laboring through five innings of two-run ball. Vargas had walked five men six previous times, but only once in the last four seasons.

Vargas surrendered only three hits, but gave up a line-drive home run by Mike Aviles in the fifth that tied the game at two. None of the five men who reached on a walk came around to score.

• Escobar's struggles continue. Alcides Escobar went 0 for 5, extending his recent slump to a 6-for-39 (.154) stretch. Escobar had hits in the season's first eight games -- including four multi-hit games -- but has only one extra-base hits since his hitting streak ended.

In his last nine games, Escobar's average has dipped from .412 to .274 and he also missed two games because of a mild left knee sprain. He has scored one run in the last nine games.

• Gordon's bad dive. One day after an astounding catch in the stands at U.S. Cellular Field, Alex Gordon made a poor defensive play in the seventh inning. Jason Kipnis sliced a line drive to left field, but Gordon was slow coming in on the ball. Gordon dove well short and Kipnis ended up with a two-out double. He did not score, though.

It was a rare miscue for the four-time Gold Glove winner in the outfield.

WHAT'S NEXT

Jeremy Guthrie will take the hill Tuesday evening, looking to give the Royals their second win in a row. Guthrie struggled in his last start, walking six batters and giving up three first-inning runs in a loss to Minnesota. He has given up at least three runs in each of his three starts this season. Current Indians are hitting a cumulative .372/.401/.622 against the right-hander, Kipnis with two home runs in 22 plate appearances.

Cleveland will send right-hander Trevor Bauer to the mound. Bauer has been fantastic this season, owning a 0.95 ERA in his first three starts. Bauer pitched seven innings of shutout ball his last time out, giving up four hits and striking out seven. He has struck out 26 hitters in 19 innings,but has also walked 11.

You can follow Matthew DeFranks on Twitter at @MDeFranks or email him at matthew.defranks@gmail.com.