Royals salvage series with Guardians, snap seven-game skid

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Tommy Pham's first home run as a member of the Kansas City Royals lifted the team back into the win column on Wednesday night. Pham's three-run shot capped off a four-run fourth inning, leading Matt Quatraro's crew to a 4-1 win over the Guardians and ending the team's seven-game losing streak.

Pham and Paul DeJong finished the game with multi-hit efforts, and six other Royals players recorded a hit in the team's 10-hit effort. Besides Pham, Michael Massey had Kansas City's only other RBI, driving home a run with an RBI single to spark the team's game-defining rally.

Seth Lugo held Cleveland to just one run on six hits while posting four strikeouts over seven innings of baseball, earning the win on the mound. Lucas Erceg secured his ninth save of the season with a clean ninth inning out of the bullpen. Kris Bubic also struck out three of the four batters he faced in his only frame of relief.

Kansas City's recent seven-game slide took a toll on its American League Central Division hopes, but the team is still safely secured in its league's final wild card spot with a 5.5 game lead over Detroit, Boston and Seattle. However, in the division race, the Royals and Twins are now both trailing the Guardians by 4.5 games entering their final seven series of the regular season.

Up next - Quatraro and company close out a pivotal six-game stretch with a weekend series against Minnesota, who are tied with the Royals for second place in the division and the American League's second wild card spot. First pitch for Friday's series opener is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.