KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Gerrit Cole pitched seven effective innings, and Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton each supplied key hits Thursday night to lead the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory against the Kansas City Royals in a decisive Game 4 of the American League Division Series.After failing to reach the postseason a year ago, the Yankees advanced to the American League Championship Series for the second time in three seasons and for the fourth time since 2017. New York won't learn of its opponent in the ALCS until Saturday, when the Cleveland Guardians are scheduled to host the Detroit Tigers for Game 5 of that ALDS. The Guardians extended their series with a 5-4 victory against the Tigers on Thursday.The Royals, coming off a 56-106 record in 2023, advanced beyond the wild-card round under manager Matt Quatraro in their first postseason trip since 2015, when they won their franchise's second World Series. Star shortstop Bobby Witt went 2-for-17 (.118) with a walk in the series.Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who came in struggling in the postseason after making himself the favorite to win AL MVP in the regular season, hit a hard double in two at-bats, scored a run, walked twice and stole a base.Benches and bullpens cleared briefly in the bottom of the sixth inning following a slide into second by the Royals' Maikel Garcia and Anthony Volpe's tag for a key double play.After grinding to a no-decision in the series opener, Cole (1-0) allowed a run and six hits to go with four strikeouts. He kept the Royals off the scoreboard through five innings and pitched out of a jam in the sixth.New York's bullpen continued to dominate with Clay Holmes taking the eighth and Luke Weaver finishing in the ninth for his third save of the series. Yankees relievers combined to allow zero runs in 15 2/3 innings in the series.The Yankees scored quickly against right-hander Michael Wacha who, like Cole, also started Game 1. Three pitches into the first inning, Soto lined an RBI single to right, scoring Torres after he had doubled, to give New York a 1-0 lead.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Giancarlo Stanton hit a long go-ahead home run in the eighth inning Wednesday night, leading the New York Yankees to a 3-2 victory against the Kansas City Royals in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.The Yankees lead the best-of-five set two games to one, and they can advance to the AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday in Kansas City.Stanton finished 3-for-5, driving in another run with a double and adding a stolen base. His 12th career postseason homer, a 417-foot shot to left field against left-hander Kris Bubic, came off his bat at 112.9 mph, according to MLB Statcast data. Bubic (0-1) had not allowed a run in three previous appearances during this year's postseason.New York's bullpen, with Luke Weaver getting the final five outs for his second postseason save, kept the Royals scoreless after the fifth inning. Tommy Kahnle (1-0) got the victory with 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief after following starter Clarke Schmidt and Clay Holmes to the mound.Kansas City's best late scoring opportunity came in the eighth when Weaver allowed a one-out single to Bobby Witt Jr. and a two-out single to Salvador Perez. Yuli Gurriel flied out to end the inning.Royals pitchers issued nine walks, and have allowed 22 walks in the series. Yankees batters managed four hits, collectively going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, and he is 1-for-11 with five K's in the series.

NEW YORK -- Salvador Perez hit a long homer off Carlos Rodon to start a four-run fourth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees 4-2 on Monday night to even their American League Division Series at one game apiece.Game 3 of the best-of-five set is scheduled for Wednesday night in Kansas City.The only remaining player from Kansas City's 2015 World Series team, Perez forged a 1-1 tie by hammering a 2-0 slider to the back of the left field seats.It was Perez's sixth career postseason homer and first since Game 5 of the 2015 AL Championship Series.The veteran catcher's 402-foot drive gives him 13 hits in 28 career at-bats off Rodon (0-1), whom he faced frequently when the Yankees left-hander pitched for the Chicago White Sox.Following Perez's homer, the Royals continued to pounce on Rodon's slider, as Tommy Pham and Garrett Hampson had run-scoring singles.Yuli Gurriel followed Perez's drive with a single to left on a 2-2 slider and took second on a wild pitch. After Rodon got the first out of the fourth, Pham lined another slider to center to plate Gurriel for a 2-1 lead, then stole second.With two outs, Pham easily scored when Hampson hit a slider to left for a 3-1 lead, chasing Rodon from the game in the process. Maikel Garcia added an RBI single off Ian Hamilton, but he got caught in a rundown for the final out of the frame.Kansas City starter Cole Ragans struggled with command at times but held the Yankees to one run on three hits in four innings before the Royals used four relievers to finish the game. Ragans struck out five and walked four.

Pinch hitter Adam Frazier delivered a tiebreaking two-run single in the top of the ninth as the visiting Kansas City Royals inched closer to a wild-card berth by completing a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 7-4 victory on Thursday afternoon.Hunter Renfroe hit a home run and Salvador Perez had two hits and an RBI for Kansas City (85-74), whose magic number to clinch a playoff spot is two.The Royals close the regular season with a three-game series at the Atlanta Braves.Kris Bubic (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth and Lucas Erceg tossed a perfect ninth to notch his 14th save.Luis Garcia Jr. homered for Washington (69-90) which has lost four straight games and nine of its last 10.Kyle Finnegan (3-8) entered in the ninth and was tagged for three runs on two hits and three walks before being pulled with two outs.Finnegan walked pinch hitter MJ Melendez and Michael Massey to start the ninth with the game tied 4-4. Massey and pinch runner Dairon Blanco advanced on Kyle Isbel's sacrifice bunt before Frazier drove them in with a soft single to left.Frazier stole second and later scored on Perez's two-out single.Washington scored an unearned run in the first to take a 1-0 lead and snap a 31-inning scoreless inning streak, one off the franchise record.

Robbie Grossman supplied a two-run single, and the visiting Kansas City Royals survived the early departure of starter Michael Lorenzen in a 3-0 win against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.Michael Massey and Salvador Perez had two hits each for Kansas City (84-74), which helped its American League wild-card chances by winning its second straight game after losing seven in a row.Both Kansas City and Detroit (also 84-74) won on Wednesday to hold the second and third wild-card spots behind the Baltimore Orioles, who have already clinched a postseason berth.Lorenzen, making his first start back from a hamstring injury, motioned for a trainer and left the game with one out in the third inning.Daniel Lynch IV (2-0) tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the win as six Royals pitchers combined on the two-hit shutout. Lucas Erceg pitched the ninth for his 13th save.The Nationals (69-89) have been shut out three games in a row for the second time in franchise history and have gone 31 innings without a run. Washington has lost eight of nine and scored one run or less in seven of those games.

Five Kansas City pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout and the visiting Royals scored an unearned run to beat the Washington Nationals 1-0 in 10 innings Tuesday night, snapping a seven-game losing streak.With one out in the 10th and runner Kyle Isbel on second, Bobby Witt, Jr. hit a slow roller to short. Nasim Nunez charged the ball but bounced his throw to first. Witt was safe and Isbel scored the game's first run on the throwing error.Angel Zerpa (2-0) pitched one inning for the win and Lucas Erceg picked up his 12th save. Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan (3-7) took the loss.Witt had two hits for the Royals, who have scored one run in their past three games. Kansas City (83-74) and the Detroit Tigers are tied for the last two American League wild-card spots and trail the Baltimore Orioles by four games for the first wild card.The Nationals (69-88) were shut out for the second straight game and have lost seven of eight. Kansas City went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position; Washington was 0-for-8.The Royals loaded the bases with no outs in the first but failed to score. Tommy Pham reached on an error and Witt and Salvador Perez singled. Yuli Gurriel smacked a line drive, but Nunez made a leaping catch and doubled Witt off second. Nationals starter Mitchell Parker fielded Freddy Fermin's grounder up the middle behind his back and threw to first for the out.The Royals had first and second with one out in the third, but Perez struck out. Gurriel walked to load the bases, but Parker got Fermin to ground out.

Grant McCray tripled in a run and scored another in a two-run second inning, Blake Snell combined with three relievers on a shutout and the San Francisco Giants completed a surprising three-game road sweep over the playoff-contending Kansas City Royals with a 2-0 win Sunday afternoon.A seventh straight defeat dropped the Royals (82-74) into a tie with the Detroit Tigers for the second American League wild-card playoff spot with just six games to play. The Minnesota Twins also had a chance to join the tie by the end of the day pending the result of the second game of their doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.The Giants (77-79) did all their scoring against Royals ace Seth Lugo (16-9) in the second after Jerar Encarnacion singled with one out. McCray lashed his triple to right field to open the scoring. One out later, he jogged home on a single by Brett Wisely.Those were the only two runs and the only three hits the Giants got off Lugo in his seven innings. He struck out five and didn't walk anyone.Snell (5-3) was even better in his six innings, limiting the Royals to two hits and one walk. He struck out nine in his second consecutive no-run effort and his seventh of the season.

LaMonte Wade Jr. and Matt Chapman each belted a pair of solo homers and Mike Yastrzemski also went deep, lifting the visiting San Francisco Giants to a 9-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.Landen Roupp (1-1) picked up his first career major league win after scattering three hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out three. The 26-year-old was making his 22nd appearance (third start) of the season for San Francisco.Wade homered in the first inning and joined Chapman in going deep in the fourth. Chapman added his team-leading 26th homer of the season in the sixth to celebrate his return from the paternity list following the birth of his daughter.Yastrzemski launched a three-run homer and Curt Casali added a two-run single to highlight a six-run sixth inning for the Giants (76-79), who have won four of their past five games.The reeling Royals (82-73), in turn, are heading in the opposite direction. Kansas City had five hits and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position en route to losing its sixth game in a row. The Royals have also dropped 15 of their past 22.Wade deposited a first-pitch fastball from Kansas City starter Brady Singer (9-12) over the wall in right to open the scoring in the first inning. Wade doubled the advantage to lead off the fourth, sending an 0-1 sweeper from Singer over the wall in right once again.

Heliot Ramos went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run to help the San Francisco Giants record a 2-1 victory over the host Kansas City Royals on Friday night.Mason Black pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first major league victory. Patrick Bailey also drove in a run as the Giants (75-79) won for the third time in the past four games.Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits for Kansas City to raise his major league-leading average to .334. The Royals have dropped five straight games and 14 of their past 21 but remain in possession of the American League's second wild-card spot.Kansas City threatened in the ninth as Giants closer Camilo Doval threw eight straight balls to Yuli Gurriel and Robbie Grossman to start the inning.Adam Frazier struck out before Maikel Garcia hit a grounder to shortstop. Tyler Fitzgerald couldn't get the ball out of his glove and Grossman beat his throw to second to load the bases.Garrett Hampson then hit a liner down the third-base line that was narrowly foul -- it would have at least tied the game -- before hitting a sacrifice fly to right to score Gurriel. Doval then struck out Tommy Pham to notch his 23rd save.Ramos fell a homer short of the cycle, and Casey Schmitt added two hits for the Giants.Black (1-4) struck out four and gave up four hits and one walk. Sean Hjelle got the final out in the sixth, Erik Miller struck out two in the seventh and Tyler Rogers worked around a hit from Witt in the eighth to keep the Royals off the board.

Tarik Skubal won his fifth straight decision and Riley Greene homered as the Detroit Tigers beat the host Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday evening, completing a three-game sweep.In the wild-card chase, Detroit (80-73) closed the gap to two games behind Kansas City (82-71) and a half game behind the Minnesota Twins (80-72) for the third and final wild-card spot. Minnesota lost to the Cleveland Guardians in 10 innings.After allowing three hits and a run in the first inning, Skubal held the Royals hitless over his final four innings, permitting just one runner past first base.Skubal (17-4) completed five innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. His 221 strikeouts lead the majors, and he leads the American League in wins and ERA, at 2.48.Yuli Gurriel's sharp two-out single put the Royals ahead 1-0 in the first.Kansas City gifted the tying run in the second with a walk to Zach McKinstry, who advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Jake Rogers' infield hit plus pitcher Alec Marsh's throwing error.Greene blasted a 427-foot homer over the right field bullpen to open a three-run third inning. His 24 home runs lead the Tigers, and he has four homers and 11 RBIs in his last 10 games.Trey Sweeney added a two-run double for a 4-1 lead to chase Marsh (8-9), who allowed four runs -- three earned -- on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings.

Parker Meadows' 10th-inning bloop single lifted the Detroit Tigers over the host Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Tuesday evening.After Lucas Erceg (2-6) balked Trey Sweeney to third base with one out, Meadows dropped a broken-bat hit into shallow left field for the Tigers, who have won eight of 10. Riley Greene's two-out single capped the scoring.In the wild-card race, Detroit (79-73) remained 1 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins, who beat the Cleveland Guardians and climbed to three games behind Kansas City (82-70) for the No. 2 wild card.Tyler Holton (7-1) recorded six outs without allowing a baserunner and Jason Foley earned his 25th save with a hitless 10th.The Tigers struck early, taking a 1-0 lead when Andy Ibáñez was hit by a pitch to open the game and scored on Matt Vierling's double to the left-field wall.The Royals tied the game in the third when Bobby Witt Jr. walked with two outs and scored on Michael Massey's hit. Meadows prevented a big inning by running down Hunter Renfroe's deep drive at the center-field wall.

Matt Vierling's sixth-inning single capped a rally that would carry the visiting Detroit Tigers past the Kansas City Royals, 7-6, in Monday's opener of a three-game series.After pinch hitter Wenceel Perez's two-run double tied the game at 6, Vierling collected his third hit, an opposite-field line drive to right, highlighting a three-run frame against reliever Sam Long (3-2).Trailing 4-0, Detroit began their comeback in the fourth on Zach McKinstry's triple and Trey Sweeney's sacrifice fly, then added three in the fifth, highlighted by Colt Keith's 13th homer, a two-run shot to right-center.The Tigers collected four hits in the fifth to chase Royals starter Seth Lugo, who threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits.Despite allowing four baserunners over the final three innings, relievers Brenan Hanifee (1-1), Will Vest and Bo Brieske held the Royals scoreless over the final four innings, then Jason Foley earned his 24th save with a hitless ninth.Loading the bases to open the third, Kansas City took a 4-0 lead when Bobby Witt Jr. lifted Reese Olson's one-out curveball into the left field stands.Returning from a right shoulder strain to pitch for the first time since July 20, Olson threw 2 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa finished 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, helping lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Sunday.Pirates starter Jared Jones went four innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, while striking out five and walking three. The Pittsburgh bullpen allowed just two hits over five scoreless innings as the Pirates (71-78) snapped a two-game skid.Brady Singer (9-11) pitched five innings of four-run, six-hit ball, striking out six and walking four for Kansas City. Maikel Garcia went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Michael Massey also had two hits, as the Royals (82-68), who had their two-game winning streak snapped.Kansas City is in possession of the American League's second wild-card berth, and stands two games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the battle for the top spot.Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, as Kiner-Falefa's leadoff single was followed by Bryan Reynolds' RBI double.Kansas City loaded the bases in the top of the second as Massey led off with a walk, before Paul DeJong's single and Frazier's base on balls. Yuli Gurriel then drove in Massey with a game-tying sacrifice fly.Still tied at one in the top of the fourth, Gurriel and Garcia hit consecutive one-out doubles to push the Royals ahead, 2-1.Nick Gonzales tied the score again for Pittsburgh with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fourth.

Bobby Witt Jr. went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs and Michael Wacha hurled five quality innings, helping lead the visiting Kansas City Royals to a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.Wacha (13-7) allowed just one run on four hits, while striking out eight and walking three.The Royals (82-67) won their seventh game in nine tries and secured the three-game series win heading into Sunday's finale.Mitch Keller (11-10) gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits over six innings. The Pittsburgh starter struck out six and walked one. Bryan Reynolds and Jared Triolo each tallied a pair of hits for the Pirates (70-78), who lost their second straight.Kansas City began the scoring two batters in as Witt launched his 31st homer of the season, a solo shot off Keller.Neither team scored again until the fifth, when Adam Frazier's leadoff triple was followed by Maikel Garcia's RBI double for the Royals. After Kyle Isbel was hit by a pitch, he and Garcia pulled off a double steal with one out.Witt drove in Garcia on a sac fly, extending the Royals' lead to 3-0.Triolo began the home half of the fifth with a single before advancing to second on Isiah Kiner-Falefa's single two batters later. After Reynolds struck out, Oneil Cruz's run-scoring single to center accounted for Pittsburgh's only run.

The Kansas City Royals placed right-hander Chris Stratton on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right forearm flexor strain and recalled left-hander Angel Zerpa from Triple-A Omaha.Stratton allowed two runs on three hits in the ninth inning of Kansas City's 8-3 victory over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.He is 4-3 with four saves and a 5.55 ERA in 57 relief appearances this season.Stratton, 34, is 41-27 with 16 saves and a 4.53 ERA in 359 career appearances (42 starts) with the San Francisco Giants (2016-18), Los Angeles Angels (2019), Pirates (2019-22), St. Louis Cardinals (2022-23), Texas Rangers (2023) and Royals.

Alec Marsh threw 5 1/3 quality innings, helping lead the visiting Kansas City Royals to an 8-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.Marsh (8-8) allowed just one run on five hits, while striking out 11 and walking two. Salvador Perez and Kyle Isbel each homered and tallied two hits, both driving in two runs. Tommy Pham also drove in two, guiding the Royals (81-67) to their sixth win in eight tries.For Pittsburgh (70-77), Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz each tallied two hits and an RBI, as the Pirates had their four-game winning streak snapped. Joey Bart went 1-for-3 with a run driven in.After a scoreless first, Robbie Grossman led off the top of the second with a walk against Pittsburgh starter Luis Ortiz. Adam Frazier then reached on Ortiz's throwing error before Yuli Gurriel's RBI single scored the game's first run.Isbel followed with a run-scoring double to right, scoring Frazier. Pham then doubled the Royals lead with a two-run single, becoming the fifth straight Kansas City baserunner off Ortiz.After Bobby Witt Jr. lined out, Perez launched his 27th homer of the year, a two-run shot that ballooned Kansas City's lead to 6-0.In the top of the fourth, Isbel belted his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot to give the Royals a 7-0 lead.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled in pinch-runner Jon Berti from third base with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the New York Yankees a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Kansas City Royals in the rubber game of their three-game series on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.Chisholm hit a line drive into the hole at short against a drawn-in infield that shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. made a diving stop on but Berti, who pinch ran for automatic runner Gleyber Torres and had advanced to third on Juan Soto's groundout, easily beat Witt's throw to the plate for the game-winner.It was the first walk-off hit of Chisholm's career. Soto reached the 100-RBI mark for the second straight season and the third time in his career with a two-run homer for New York (84-62). With the win, the Yankees extended their first-place lead in the American League East to 1 1/2 games over the Baltimore Orioles.Soto joined Aaron Judge (126) as the first pair of Yankees teammates to have 100-plus RBIs in a season since 2011 when Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira all accomplished the feat.Luke Weaver (5-3) struck out three while pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win for the Yankees.Michael Massey homered and Tommy Pham went 3-for-4 with a walk for Kansas City (80-67), which dropped 4 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the A.L. Central. Kris Bubic (0-2) suffered the loss.Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on Massey's 13th home run of the season, a 375-foot drive to right off Yankees starter Luis Gil.

Seth Lugo struck out 10 in seven outstanding innings as the Kansas City Royals ended a six-game road losing streak with a 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.Lugo (16-8) yielded three hits and no walks in his 105-pitch outing. He tied Atlanta's Chris Sale and Detroit's Tarik Skubal for the major league lead in wins and became Kansas City's first pitcher to win 16 games since Jason Vargas went 18-11 in 2017.The Royals (80-66) won for the fifth time in six games overall.Lugo allowed a leadoff single to Gleyber Torres in the first inning, then retired 17 straight until Torres singled again with two outs in the sixth. After allowing Torres' second hit, Lugo retired Juan Soto on a fly ball to deep left.New York's Austin Wells singled with one out in the seventh. Lugo retired Giancarlo Stanton on a fly ball, and then struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. to end the inning.The veteran right-hander notched his fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season and finished two shy of his career high. Lugo did not issue a walk for the third time this season and threw 77 of 105 pitches for strikes.Bobby Witt Jr. had an RBI single in the third off New York's Marcus Stroman (10-8), and Salvador Perez followed with an RBI single. Perez also hit a run-scoring single in the fifth. He has five RBIs in the past two games after going 4-for-4 in with a homer in Kansas City's 10-4 loss on Monday.

Austin Wells hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the seventh inning and drove in four runs as the New York Yankees opened a three-game series against the visiting Kansas City Royals with a 10-4 win on Monday.Alex Verdugo added a two-run homer for New York (83-61), which tallied 12 hits and won for the third time in its past four games. Gleyber Torres had three hits and an RBI.Kansas City (79-66) led 4-3 before the Yankees scored four runs in the seventh inning. With two runners on and one out, Aaron Judge singled in a run before Wells hit his three-run homer to right-center field against James McArthur (5-7).Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe each homered for the Royals, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Perez went 4-for-4 with three RBIs.Yankees starter Carlos Rodon allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits to go along with one walk and nine strikeouts over six innings. Jake Cousins (2-1), Luke Weaver and Ian Hamilton each pitched one scoreless inning of relief.New York drew clear with three runs in the eighth inning. Torres singled in a run and Verdugo scored on Judge's double-play grounder. Wells capped the rally with a run-scoring double.Kansas City capitalized on two errors to push a run across in the first inning. Tommy Pham began the game by reaching on third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s throwing error.After Bobby Witt Jr. struck out, Pham stole second base and moved to third on the play on a throwing error by catcher Wells before scoring on Perez's single to center.Perez added a solo homer with two outs in the third inning. The 422-foot blast was his 26th long ball of the season.

Michael Wacha delivered seven shutout innings as the Kansas City Royals got past the visiting Minnesota Twins 2-0 on Sunday afternoon, completing a three-game weekend sweep.Despite allowing two hits and a walk in a difficult first inning, Wacha escaped unscathed when right-fielder Hunter Renfroe threw out Jos� Miranda trying to score on Trevor Larnach's double.Wacha (12-7) faced the minimum thereafter to earn his 100th career victory in his 12th season. He allowed four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts and has allowed three runs or less in 17 of his last 19 starts, going 11-3 in that span.MJ Melendez walked and Freddy Fermin singled to open the Royals' fifth inning. Unable to execute a sacrifice bunt, Maikel Garcia slapped an infield single to second, loading the bases, and Garrett Hampson followed with a sacrifice fly to left, breaking the scoreless tie.Tommy Pham walked to load the bases again and, with two out, Salvador Perez tapped an infield hit along the third base for a 2-0 lead. Three of the Royals' six hits came in the fifth inning, two of them infield hits.Kris Bubic pitched a hitless eighth and Lucas Erceg had a strikeout in the ninth to earn his 11th save, and eighth with Kansas City.The Royals completed their ninth sweep of the season, most in the American League, and have won four straight on the heels of a season-high seven-game losing streak.