Kyle Isbel singled in the eighth inning to give the Kansas City Royals a 4-3 victory against the Cleveland Guardians in a game that was tied with first place in the American League Central. Kansas City split the two-game series thanks to a run scored by Adam Frazier two innings after driving in the tying run. With their third victory in ten games dating back to May 25, the Royals drew within four games of Cleveland in the division.
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The Guardians are 40-21 and in third place in baseball, thanks in large part to Jose Ramirez’s two RBI and home run. Cleveland had the best home MLB record going into the day, at 21-7. Following his recovery from a head injury and minor facial fractures sustained when he fouled a ball off his face in Tampa Bay on May 25, Isbel made his return to the lineup on Sunday for the first time since then.
After MJ Melendez hopped over Guardians catcher Bo Naylor’s attempted tag and touched home on Isbel’s grounder, Kansas City scored twice in the sixth to tie the game at 3. Ramirez has 50 RBI in his last 46 games and has homered eight times in 20 games before the Royals’ replay challenge reversed the ruling. His 806 RBI put him in eighth place all-time, surpassing Manny Ramirez.
Starter Tanner Bibee of the Guardians threw five innings, getting seven strikeouts while allowing two earned runs on six hits. After missing his prior turn in the rotation due to illness, Singer worked 3 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs.
