Kyle Isbel and Maikel Garcia hit consecutive triples to kick off a sixth-inning comeback, and Vinnie Pasquantino’s sacrifice fly put the Kansas City Royals ahead in a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday night.
Sam Long (2-1) earned the win in relief by escaping a jam in the sixth inning and retiring the side in the seventh. John Schreiber managed the eighth inning, and James McArthur closed out the game with a perfect ninth for his 14th save of the season.
Kansas City, trailing Cleveland by eight games in the division standings, has a chance to narrow the gap in this four-game series. “There’s a lot at stake in this division right now,” Long commented. “We’re right in the mix with them.”
Ben Lively (7-4) received support from Cleveland’s defense, which turned two double plays to erase leadoff singles against his former team. Lively allowed two runs on six hits and a walk over six innings.
“He was excellent. Attacking the strike zone, efficient with his pitches,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt praised. “It’s unfortunate what happened in the sixth, but he battled through six strong innings.”
Michael Wacha gave up one run on seven hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings for the Guardians, striking out six batters.
“We know what kind of pro he is,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He kept attacking the zone, even though they made him work. His pitch count got high, but he kept grinding.”
Quatraro was ejected by third base umpire Tripp Gibson during the fifth inning for disputing a call on a play involving Nick Loftin and Hunter Renfroe. Loftin appeared to avoid a tag on a grounder, but Gibson ruled Loftin went out of the basepath.
“He wasn’t any farther out than if he were rounding third and heading home,” Quatraro argued.
