CLEVELAND (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. homered leading off the eighth inning to break a tie as the Kansas City Royals pulled closer to Cleveland in the AL Central with a 4-3 victory over the Guardians in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Monday.
Witt connected on a 0-1 pitch from rookie Hunter Gaddis (4-3), driving it 413 feet into the left-field bleachers for his 27th homer of the season — and his 11th in 34 games since the All-Star break.
Witt came in batting .417 since the break, the fourth-highest average (with at least 125 at-bats) in the second half since World War II. Only Ted Williams (.454), Ichiro Suzuki (.429) and George Brett (.421) have hit higher.
MJ Melendez belted a three-run homer and made a sensational catch in left field for the Royals, who pulled within two games of the first-place Guardians. Cleveland has led the division since April 14.
It was the first of seven games over the next 10 days between the Guardians and Royals.
Logan Allen is set to be recalled from Triple-A Columbus to start Game 2 for Cleveland against Royals right-hander Alec Marsh.
John Schreiber (4-3) worked 1 2/3 innings and Lucas Erceg put the tying run on with a walk in the ninth before getting his fifth save since coming to Kansas City in a July 30 trade from Oakland.
Kansas City starter Cole Ragans was lifted while leading 3-2 lead in the fifth inning because of cramping in his left calf and hamstring.
After issuing a leadoff walk, Ragans was replaced by closer James McArthur, who got two outs before intentionally walking Josh Naylor.
Rookie Jhonkensy Noel followed with a shot toward the corner in left. Melendez raced across the grass and was able to snag it with a headfirst catch before sliding across the warning track to save at least two runs.
Melendez’s 17th homer gave the Royals a 3-2 lead in the fourth.
Vinnie Pasquantino reached when Cleveland shortstop Tyler Freeman couldn’t corral his pop to shallow left and Perez followed with a single. Melendez then lined a 0-1 pitch off the railing just above the right-field wall.
The Guardians scored twice in the second with help from Ragans, who walked in a run with the bases loaded. Cleveland’s second run scored on a passed ball by catcher Salvador Perez, who appeared to get crossed up by Ragans.
Reliever Nick Sandlin made his first major league start for Cleveland in the opener and pitched one inning. The right-hander hadn’t started a game since his junior year at Southern Miss in 2018, when he went 10-0.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: LHP Will Smith (back spasms) was placed on the 15-day injured list, one day after he allowed five runs in one inning against Philadelphia. Manager Matt Quatraro said Smith’s back issue has “been lingering for a while.”
Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (broken fingernail) didn’t have any problems while throwing a bullpen session Sunday. He’s scheduled to throw live batting practice Tuesday. Cobb was acquired at the trade deadline from San Francisco. The teams completed the swap Monday, with Cleveland sending INF Nate Furman to the Giants.
UP NEXT
Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (2-6, 5.13 ERA) starts Tuesday against Royals RHP Michael Lorenzen (7-6, 3.47), who threw seven scoreless innings in his most recent outing.
