Seth Lugo delivered a seven-inning brilliance and Tommy Pham delivered the Royals’ first home run as Kansas City defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 tonight.

The first inning saw a few baserunners but no results. In the second inning, MJ Melendez turned a single into a double when he was caught on a sinking line drive by Will Brennan. It didn’t matter, though, as Seth Lugo made the next two outs without incident. In the bottom of the inning, Robbie Grossman, in his first plate appearance as a Royal, worked a five-pitch walk. He reached third base when Freddy Fermin hit a single with two outs, but Kyle Isbel struck out, ending the inning.

In the third inning, the Guardians continued to chase Melendez in the outfield. With two outs, Andrés Giménez hit a double over Melendez’s head and into the outfield wall. José Ramírez then hit a ball down the left field line that Melendez initially misjudged and broke late. The ball fell to the ground in front of him as Giménez marched home with the first run of the game. Ramírez then attempted a steal, but was gunned down by a great throw-and-tag from Fermin and Michael Massey, ending the inning.

Melendez soon had a chance to redeem himself. Perez hit a liner down the left field line and got to first base. Steven Kwan got the ball back quickly and Perez was freaked out at second base, but he made perhaps the smartest baserunning play of his career, using a swim move to avoid the tag and reach base safely. That sent Melendez to the bench with two outs. He made the full count, but was eliminated on a fly out to end the inning.

Kansas City became dangerous again in the next inning. Paul DeJong started with an infield tapper that Ramírez couldn’t throw to. Grossman followed with a hard line drive to right to score a second time. Massey then hit a middle-middle sinker right back into the box to make it 0-17 and score Kansas City’s first run. After Ben Lively took Fermin and Isbel out of the game, Tommy Pham broke the inning open by smashing a fastball into the tube for a three-run jack. Witt retired with a fly out to end the inning, but the Royals led 4-1.

Lugo, who had four runs for the first time in a week, gave the Guardians a hard time, allowing the minimum number of runs from the fifth through the seventh innings to complete a strong start. The Royals had a chance to do even more in the seventh when Witt turned a Brennan error in center field into a hustle double. He got a wild pitch to third base with two outs and Yuli Gurriel at the plate, filling in for Melendez as a pinch hitter against a left-hander. Gurriel took a 3-0 lead but was eliminated in the bottom of the inning with a strikeout.

Fortunately, the bullpen remained relatively quiet after Lugo’s departure. Kris Bubic allowed a bloop single but otherwise struck out the team in the eighth inning. Lucas Erceg successfully shook off his last few rough appearances and took the centerpiece of Cleveland’s lineup off the field to secure the 4-1 victory.

The win improves Kansas City’s record to 76-65. They trail Cleveland by 4.5 games but have the tiebreaker to finish the season series with an 8-5 lead. They have tomorrow off before welcoming the Minnesota Twins to town for a crucial three-game weekend series.

Seth Lugo: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR

Ben Lively: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

Tommy Pham: 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI

Will Brennan: 2-3