Carmona mystifies K.C.

? Fausto Carmona is doing his part to help the Cleveland Indians win their first AL Central title since 2001.

Carmona pitched three-hit ball over eight innings, retiring his final 16 batters and leading the Indians over the Kansas City Royals, 6-0, Saturday night.

Travis Hafner homered for Cleveland, which cut its magic number to nine for clinching the division. The Indians, who have won 17 of their last 21 games, remained 51â2 games ahead of second-place Detroit.

Carmona (17-8) struck out nine and walked none, winning his third straight start. Rafael Perez finished with a perfect ninth, striking out the side.

“I was in a groove and feeling good,” Carmona said through interpreter Luis Rivera, Cleveland’s first-base coach. “I had command of all my pitches.”

The 23-year-old right-hander took over the AL lead with a 3.07 earned-run average.

“I’m not thinking about that,” he said. “I’m only thinking about my next start and giving my team a chance to win the game.”

Indians manager Eric Wedge would have left Carmona in to go for the complete game if the Indians hadn’t scored four runs in the eighth inning.

“It’s fun to watch him go out there and keep getting better and learning,” he said. “He’s done a great job.”

Carmona combined with C.C. Sabathia (17-7) to give the Indians two pitchers with 17 or more wins in a season for the first time since Bartolo Colon (18) and Charles Nagy (17) in 1999. Carmona is 6-4 with a 2.19 ERA in 13 starts since the All-Star break.

Cleveland first baseman Ryan Garko left the game in the bottom of the eighth when he was hit on the middle finger of the right hand by a throw from shortstop Jason Smith. Garko said after the game the finger felt better and he hoped to play Sunday.

Kansas City, which lost for the ninth time in 10 games, advanced one runner to third base.

Zack Grienke (6-6) allowed two runs – one earned – and four hits in 51â3 innings. He also was impressed with Carmona.

“He was amazing today,” Grienke said. “Just watching him pitch, he would have shut anybody down. The stuff he had was really impressive. There’s not much you can do about it.”

Cleveland went ahead in the first after first baseman Billy Butler fielded Grady Sizemore’s grounder but made an errant underhand toss that pulled Grienke off the bag for an error. Sizemore scored on Asdrubal Cabrera’s double.