CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Jhonkensy Noel hit home a seventh-inning single off Josh Naylor to bring home the game-winning run, and the Cleveland Guardians cruised to a 7-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals and regained sole possession of the top spot in the AL Central on Wednesday.
The Guardians trailed 5-2 early in the seventh but scored four runs to take their first lead of the afternoon. Bo Naylor hit a home run off starter Michael Wacha, while Josh Naylor, Will Brennan and Noel hit RBI singles off Lucas Erceg (2-4).
Erceg was charged with one run allowed, his first in 12 appearances and 13 1/3 innings since joining the Royals in a trade from Oakland on July 30.
Andrés Giménez added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to help Cleveland avoid a four-game sweep of the Series. The Guardians and their rookie manager Stephen Vogt were alone atop the Central for 154 days until Kansas City reached a tie on Tuesday.
Eli Morgan (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. Emmanuel Clase earned his AL-best 39th save — along with his career-high 26th straight conversion — and tied Cody Allen’s franchise record with 149.
Kansas City’s seven-game road winning streak has ended, and since the All-Star break, the record is 23-14. The Royals have secured the season tiebreaker against the Guardians.
Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Michael Massey hit solo home runs against Guardians ace Tanner Bibee, who allowed five runs in five innings.
Pasquantino had a career-high four hits and is fourth in the major leagues with 97 RBIs. Witt continues to lead baseball with a .346 batting average, 185 hits and 114 runs.
Kansas City starter Michael Wacha was denied his 100th career win. The right-hander pitched six innings and allowed five runs with seven strikeouts.
TRAINING ROOM
Royals: SS Bobby Witt Jr. (right middle finger bruise) has started all 134 games at second in the batting order. The AL MVP candidate was hit by a pitch from Pedro Avila in the seventh inning on Tuesday but stayed in the game.
Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (torn right fingernail) played catcher at Progressive Field a day after throwing three innings of live batting practice. The 36-year-old starter is eligible to come off the 15-day injured list on Aug. 31.
Next
Royals: RHP Brady Singer (9-9, 3.38 ERA) starts the opening game of a four-game series at AL West leader Houston on Thursday.
Guardians: RHP Ben Lively (11-8, 3.62 ERA) will pitch the first game of a three-game home series against Pittsburgh on Friday.
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