Royals Take AL Central Lead with Win
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Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — Just over a week ago, Kansas City was five games behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central. Now, the Royals (64-53) won their eighth straight on Monday and overtook the Tigers in the division race with a 3-2 win over Oakland.
Kansas City jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after two innings, but Brandon Moss singled home a pair of runs for the Athletics (72-46) in the third to tie the game.
It remained deadlocked until Alcides Escobar singled in a run in the seventh, giving the Royals a 3-2 advantage.
Yordany Ventura out dueled Sonny Gray by allowing two runs on two hits over six innings. Gray went seven strong, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out a pair.
Kansas City was able to gain the top spot in the AL Central when Pittsburgh defeated Detroit 11-3. It marks the latest point in the season since 2003 that the Royals have been in first place.
“You want to be in first place. Our goal was to get back to first place,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, who has won eight games in a row. “Now our goal is to stay in first place.”
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