KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Harold Ramirez hit a go-ahead double in the eighth, pinch-hitter Jake Bauers added a two-run homer later in the inning and the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3.
Strong bullpen work by Nick Sandlin, Nick Wittgren and Cal Quantrill shut out the Royals over the final four innings as Cleveland (15-13) rallied from a three-run deficit. Wittgren earned the win, while reliever Josh Staumont took the loss for Kansas City.
Salvador Perez had the big highlight for the Royals (16-12) with a homer that splashed into the fountains an estimated 460 feet from home plate. But starter Mike Minor lost his stuff in the sixth to give up the lead, and KC's bullpen allowed the last four runs.
There was a confusing moment in the third when Perez hit a ball to right field that bounced off the warning track, but was initially called an out by first base umpire Angel Hernandez. With one runner continuing towards home and another retreating, the crew eventually tried to sort things out and awarded Perez an RBI single. Tribe manager Terry Francona went out to argue that one of the runners should've been forced out, but in the end, Hernandez's blunder likely prevented an extra run from scoring.
With their third straight victory, the Indians now sit just a game behind the Royals and Chicago White Sox for first place in the American League Central division. They'll attempt to make it four in a row Wednesday night when ace Shane Bieber (3-2, 2.76 ERA) battles KC's Brady Singer (1-3, 3.09).