By CODY FRIESEN
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Seth Lugo struck out 10 in six shutout innings to earn his major league-high 11th win, and Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer as the Royals beat the Guardians, 6-2, on June 30.
Bobby Witt Jr. had a run-scoring triple among his three hits for the Royals, who took three of four from the AL Central leaders. Vinnie Pasquantino also had three hits and an RBI.
Lugo (11-2) allowed four hits and one walk in his third straight start with eight or more strikeouts. It was his third double-digit strikeout game of the season.
“I thought it went pretty well,” Lugo said. “I was able to keep them off balance. … Was able to stay focused and make the right pitches.”
Perez had an RBI groundout in the first inning and added a two-run shot to left field that made it 6-0 in the seventh. He leads the Royals with 14 home runs.
“We need to do that kind of offense regularly against every type of team,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “To get the early lead was nice and the two in the middle innings was nice, but the Perez home run was huge to expand the lead there.”
Logan Allen (8-4) lasted 4 1/3 innings for the Guardians, giving up three runs and six hits with three strikeouts.
“I thought Allen battled today,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Early in the game he was getting in tough counts, but he made pitches when he needed to and gave us a chance.”
Witt had his ninth three-hit game of the season. This one came after he went 0 for 4 on June 29, which snapped a 23-game home hitting streak.
Garrett Hampson doubled home an early run for the Royals. Pasquantino finished the series with six RBIs.
Jose Ramírez put Cleveland on the board with a two-out RBI double in the eighth. That tied him with Hall of Fame slugger Jim Thome for third in franchise history with 620 extra-base hits. Josh Naylor followed with an RBI single.
Bo Naylor had three hits for the Guardians, who finished 14-11 in June.
Kansas City went 12-15 in June, its first losing month this season. But it was the most wins in June for the club since racking up 17 in 2017.
Up next
Guardians >> Carlos Carrasco (3-6, 5.27 ERA) pitches July 2 at home against the Chicago White Sox.
Royals >> Continue a 10-game homestand July 2 against Tampa Bay. Kansas City had not announced a scheduled starter.
THE SCORE
Royals 6, Guardians 2
Up next: The White Sox visit for three games beginning July 2.