Print edition: 
CLEVELAND — The road to redemption, it seems, starts with a good shower.
So testifies reliever Jesse Chavez after Sunday's 6-2 victory enabled the Royals to avoid a three-game weekend sweep by the Cleveland Indians.
It was Chavez who served up a walk-off homer Saturday night in the 10th inning by Asdrubal Cabrera. And it was Chavez whom manager Ned Yost summoned Sunday in the seventh inning to replace a tiring Bruce Chen with the Royals clinging to a one-run lead.
"No thoughts about (Saturday)," Chavez said. "No thoughts about missing again or pulling a pitch or anything like that."
No negative waves. And this time, no problems. Chavez protected that one-run lead by stranding two runners, which served as the second of the game's two turning-point moments.
The other occurred earlier in the seventh inning when Kila Ka'aihue sliced a one-out RBI double into the left-center gap against Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona.
Ka'aihue's double scored Mike Aviles from first base for a 3-2 lead that reversed momentum after the Indians pulled even on Jason Donald's two-run homer in the sixth.
"Mike had a good at-bat to get on," Ka'aihue said. "At the time, it was tied. So it was a big part of the game, the seventh inning, to get a run right back. That felt good."
There was more, certainly.
Chen worked six strong innings. Mitch Maier had a breathing-space homer. Blake Wood returned from a 10-day absence by striking out the side in the eighth inning.
And Joakim Soria was there at the end, which generally ensures handshakes all around. It was a non-save situation, but he also struck out the side.
The Royals, by avoiding a sweep, pulled two games ahead of the Indians in their battle to avoid last place in the American League Central Division. The two teams play seven more times over the season's final 30 games.
Chen (9-7) got the victory after yielding just two runs in six-plus innings. His nine victories are tops on the club; not bad for a guy who started the season in the minors and then pitched mop-up bullpen innings before an injury to Gil Meche created a spot in the rotation.
"Bruce was really on the attack," Yost said. "Again, around the 80-90 pitch mark, he started losing command a little bit. Up until that point, he was really getting after it. That's what he's capable of doing every time he steps out there."
The Royals scored twice in the second inning against Carmona (11-13) on sacrifice flies by Brayan Pen~a and Maier after loading the bases with no outs.
Chen carried that 2-0 lead into the sixth before surrendering Donald's 412-foot drive over the center-field wall.
"Anytime you come back strong, it helps," he said, "but it's just another game. The way I look at it, the way to get over a bad outing is to take a good shower. Just wash it all out and come back the next day."
