Cleveland ? The silence in the Kansas City Royals’ clubhouse was a clear indicator of how important this loss was.

After winning four straight, the Royals lost to the Cleveland Indians, 9-1, Wednesday night and fell 4 1/2 games behind Minnesota in the AL Central race.

“Every time we lose, it’s quiet in here,” Royals starter Paul Abbott said. “It’s a somber mood. However, if we win tomorrow, we win the series. Our mindset is to win every series and to go from there.”

When Royals manager Tony Pena was asked if the loss took the wind out of their sails, the normally upbeat manager replied, “What do you think?”

Jake Westbrook scattered four hits over six-plus innings, and Travis Hafner and Alex Escobar homered as the Indians ended a four-game losing streak.

Jody Gerut hit a two-run single and Jhonny Peralta also drove in two for Cleveland.

The Royals quietly watched in the clubhouse as the Twins beat Chicago, 4-2, dimming Kansas City’s hopes of reaching the postseason for the first time since its World Series title in 1985.

Westbrook (7-9) allowed one run and struck out four in 6 1/3 innings. All of his outs were either on groundouts or strikeouts. He shut down a Royals lineup that averaged nine runs per game during its winning streak.

Westbrook is 1-1 with a 1.49 ERA in nine career outings against Kansas City.

¢ 6Sports video: Royals winning streak ends against Cleveland

“I don’t know what it is. I can’t put it on one certain thing,” Westbrook said. “I guess I match up well against them. I’m aggressive and go after guys. I can’t explain it.”

Abbott (1-2) allowed four runs on six hits in five innings.

“It’s frustrating because three of those runs were with two outs,” Abbott said. “You want to make sure you finish those innings. I tried to stay aggressive. Maybe I was too aggressive.”

After Abbott left, Kansas City’s bullpen allowed five runs — three unearned.

The Royals had an opportunity for a big inning in the seventh but scored just one run.

Raul Ibanez led off with a double, and Aaron Guiel hit a one-out RBI double to snap Westbrook’s scoreless innings streak at 10. Westbrook left after walking Ken Harvey.

Reliever Jack Cressend yielded a single to Desi Relaford to load the bases, but pinch-hitter Mike Sweeney hit into an inning-ending double play.

Kansas City made two errors in seventh, allowing Cleveland to score three runs. Escobar singled and Victor Martinez hit a soft grounder to second, but Relaford flipped the ball past shortstop Angel Berroa and it went into center field.

Reliever Kris Wilson bobbled a grounder in front of the mound to load the bases, then allowed three runs on a single, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly to make it 9-1.

The Indians have scored 23 runs in their last three games, going 1-2.

“We’re making the pitcher work harder and we’re doing it more consistently,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “We did the last two games, but it didn’t show up in wins. But we carried it over to tonight and it worked out for us.”

Martinez’s two-out RBI single in the first gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

Hafner hit his 13th homer in the third to make it 3-0.

Escobar homered in the fifth, his second in as many nights and fifth overall.

“I feel better. I’m swinging the bat better,” he said. “When you are doing the right things at the plate, you feel more relaxed.”

Reliever Nathan Field allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases with two outs in the sixth. Graeme Lloyd took over and surrendered a two-run single to Gerut to make it 6-0.

Notes: Berroa, 5-for-5 Tuesday night, went 0-for-3 with a walk. … Escobar tied a career high with his third three-hit game. He’s hitting .395 with two homers and seven RBIs in his last eight games. … Abbott dominated the Indians in seven previous appearances, going 5-0 with a 2.77 ERA.