CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Jhonkensy Noel singled home Josh Naylor with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Cleveland Guardians rallied for a 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals, reclaiming sole possession of first place in the AL Central on Wednesday.
The Guardians trailed 5-2 entering the seventh, but scored four times to take their first lead of the afternoon. Bo Naylor homered off starter Michael Wacha, while Josh Naylor, Will Brennan and Noel had RBI singles against 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 July 30 trade with Oakland.
Andrés Giménez tacked on a sacrifice fly in the eighth as Cleveland avoided a four-game sweep in the series. The Guardians and rookie manager Stephen Vogt had been alone atop the Central for 154 days until Kansas City pulled into a tie Tuesday.
Eli Morgan (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the victory. Emmanuel Clase earned his AL-best 39th save — with his career-high 26th straight conversion — and matched Cody Allen’s franchise record with 149.
Kansas City had its seven-game road winning streak snapped and is 23-14 since the All-Star break. The Royals have clinched the season tiebreaker over the Guardians.
Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Michael Massey hit solo homers off Guardians ace Tanner Bibee, who gave up five runs in five innings.
Pasquantino had a career-high four hits and is fourth in the majors 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 gave up five runs with seven strikeouts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: SS Bobby Witt Jr. (right middle finger bruise) has started all 134 games in the second spot in the batting order. The AL MVP candidate was hit by a pitch from Pedro Avila in the seventh inning Tuesday, but remained in the game.
Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (right fingernail tear) played catch at Progressive Field, one day after throwing three innings of live batting practice. The 36-year-old starter is eligible to be activated from the 15-day injured list on Aug. 31.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Brady Singer (9-9, 3.38 ERA) starts the opener of a four-game series at AL West-leading Houston on Thursday.
Guardians: RHP Ben Lively (11-8, 3.62 ERA) pitches the first game of a three-game home series against Pittsburgh on Friday.
