Tommy Pham’s tiebreaking homer and Seth Lugo’s solid start lifted the Kansas City Royals over the visiting Cleveland Guardians 4-1 on Wednesday evening to salvage the series finale.
Lugo (15-8), who leads the majors with 186 innings pitched, allowed a run on six hits and a walk in seven innings, striking out four.
The Guardians grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third on Jose RamÃrez’s bloop two-out single to left. RamÃrez’s 106 RBIs trail only Aaron Judge for most in the majors this season.
The Royals opened the fourth with three consecutive singles. Michael Massey broke an 0-for-17 slump with an RBI single to center to tie the score at 1-1.
Guardians starter Ben Lively nearly escaped the jam with the score tied but with two outs, Pham hammered his fastball 423 feet to left-center for a three-run homer, his eighth, and a 4-1 lead. It was Pham’s first RBIs since joining the Royals via waivers Aug. 31.
The four-run fourth was Kansas City’s biggest inning since a four-run sixth in a 9-4 win at Cleveland on Aug. 26.
Lucas Erceg pitched a hitless ninth Wednesday to earn his ninth save, his sixth with the Royals.
The Royals (76-65) snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak in the season finale between the teams, cutting the Guardians’ American League Central lead to 4 1/2 games over Kansas City and the Minnesota Twins (75-64) who lost to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Lively (11-9) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts in four innings.
Kyle Manzardo filled in at first base for Josh Naylor, who left the game Tuesday after rolling his left ankle.
Left-hander Erik Sabrowski made his major league debut in the seventh inning for Cleveland (80-60).
