Surprise, Ariz. ? The Kansas City Royals are looking for Kyle Davies to be more consistent in his sixth year in the big leagues.

Davies felt he took a step in the right direction Friday, allowing two runs and six hits over five innings to help the Royals beat a Cleveland Indians split-squad, 6-5.

In his previous start, Davies gave up five runs and eight hits in two innings.

“There were ups and downs, but I thought it was a better rebound game from that aspect,” Davies said. “The last time I couldn’t get the ball down, and it showed. I gave up eight hits, a lot of extra-base hits. Today I give up some hits, all singles.”

In the third, Davies yielded two runs on two hits, a walk, a stolen base and a wild pitch.

“The third inning was bad,” Davies said. “I didn’t command the ball at all. Balls were all over the place. I was 3-0 to a couple of hitters, and that’s not good. The first, second, fourth and fifth innings, I was ahead in most counts. I was much better in the zone and down in the zone.”

In the search for a left-handed specialist, manager Ned Yost said he’d break camp without one.

Rookies Tim Collins and Robert Fish, picked up off waivers after the Yankees released the Rule 5 pick, are the only left-handed relievers still remaining in the Kansas City camp.

Yost said the decision is “whether we’re going to keep one, two or none.”

Fish pitched a scoreless eight, giving up a single, but coaxed Jordon Brown to ground into an inning ending double play. He has worked two scoreless innings since arriving from the Yankees.

“It was another good outing for him,” Yost said. “He’s throwing strikes, too. That’s key. We’re looking for guys to throw strikes, keep the ball down and get outs.”

Collins permitted two runs on two hits, both doubles, and a walk in the seventh, after striking out the first two hitters.

“He got inconsistent with his command on all three pitches,” Yost said. “But he did a much better job of changing up his pitches today.”

Jenmar Gomez and David Huff, two of three candidates for the final slot in the Indians’ rotation, had mixed results. Gomez allowed three runs on four hits — three doubles — and two walks in four innings, throwing 42 strikes in 66 pitches.

Huff gave up three runs and six hits in 21/3 innings. His ERA jumped to 8.25.