KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tarik Skubal allowed three hits in five innings to earn his 17th win as the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night to move within a half-game of a playoff spot with 10 games to go.

Riley Greene hit a home run that put the Tigers (80-73) ahead and gave them their fourth straight victory and ninth in the last 11 games. With the series win, Detroit won for the 25th time in 35 games and moved within a half-game of Minnesota (80-72), which now holds the third AL wild-card spot.

“First of all, we believe in these guys, and secondly, we come every day to try to win the game and we win a lot of times, and it’s fun to watch these guys learn and grow and fight until the end of the game,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said.

Skubal (17-4), who has won his last five decisions, bolstered his chances for the AL Cy Young Award by catching Atlanta’s Chris Sale at the major league level in wins and lowering his AL-leading earned run average to 2.48. He allowed one walk and struck out seven times.

“I’m really proud of the guys. Last time we were here, we were on the other side of the sweep,” Skubal said. “We have a great group, a resilient group. I mean, just looking at the season we’ve had, I think you can see that in this series.”

Skubal has struggled against the Royals in the past and came into Wednesday’s game with a 2-9 record and a 5.05 ERA in 12 starts in 14 appearances. After allowing three hits and Yuli Gurriel’s RBI single with two outs in the first inning, he threw four hitless innings.

“We gave him some good at-bats early on, but when he got the runs, five of the next six hitters were 0-2. He’s chasing us,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Skubal. “But that’s the way he pitches. He doesn’t pick the corners. He’s got top-notch stuff and he knows it.”

Skubal screamed after striking out Royals All-Star catcher Salvador Perez with two on base for his final out in the fifth inning.

“For me, it’s all about making shots,” Skubal said. “If I can make shots at high speed, I have a good chance against anyone, no matter how many times they’ve seen me.”

Hinch was happy to see his ace battle through 95 throws, even though he wasn’t as good as in his previous appearances.

“It was a big struggle for him, but he did a great job,” Hinch said. “Sometimes five is enough, and he did his job by getting the biggest out against his biggest nemesis and showing a lot of emotion. … If he somehow doesn’t get a throw to Salvy, who was good against him, this game is totally different. He’s our guy. We needed our guy to do his part, and he did.”

The Royals (82-71), who lost for the fourth straight year, were beaten at home for the first time this season and the third time overall. They remained 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the first wild-card spot and 1 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota for the second wild-card spot. The Orioles and Twins both lost the previous Wednesday.

Skubal struck out major league hitter Bobby Witt Jr. twice before hitting him with a pitch in the fifth inning. Witt, who on Tuesday became the first player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and 30 steals in his first three seasons, broke Hal McRae’s 1977 franchise record with his 87th extra-base hit of the season with a bloop double to lead off the eighth inning.

Perez then singled Witt off reliever Brenan Hanifee. Sean Guenther defended the 4-2 lead with a double play and a fly out. Guenther got the first out of the ninth inning and Will Vest got the last two outs for his second save.

Royals starter Alec Marsh (8-9), who set a career-high with 11 strikeouts in his last start, lasted just 2 2/3 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks.

Perez and Gurriel, who has a .385 batting average since being signed by the Atlanta Royals, each had two hits for the Royals.

TRAINING ROOM

Tigers: Rookie 3B Colt Keith is day-to-day after re-injuring his right shoulder during Tuesday’s game while attempting to jump on the field. He has had right shoulder problems for three straight seasons. He did not play Wednesday, but Hinch said he would bat in the batting cage during the game. “It could have been a lot worse,” Hinch said.

Next

Tigers: Detroit has not yet announced a starter for Friday’s series opener in Baltimore.

Royals: RHP Michael Wacha (13-7, 3.29) is scheduled to start the first home game of the series against San Francisco on Friday. Wacha is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in nine career starts against the Giants and 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA at home this season.

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