After failing to move in front of first-place Detroit over the weekend, the Kansas City Royals got some help to remain close in the race for the AL Central crown.
Trailing the Tigers by just one game, the Royals will also look to push the fading Indians to the brink as the two clubs continue a key series Tuesday in Cleveland.
Kansas City (85-71) lost Monday in the completion of a suspended game from Aug. 31 before Danny Duffy pitched six strong innings for his first win in more than a month, leading the Royals to a 2-0 victory over Cleveland in the regularly scheduled game.
It was a badly needed win for the Royals, who dropped two of three at Detroit over the weekend and continue chasing their first postseason appearance since 1985. The Chicago White Sox helped tighten things up by beating the Tigers 2-0 a short time later.
"The teams we needed to lose, lost tonight," said Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, who had an RBI single. "We gained some ground, especially playing these guys. They're a tough team. If we get a chance to put these guys away we need to make the most of it."
After waiting 23 days, the Indians needed nine minutes to close out a 4-3, 10-inning win over the Royals to finish a game that was halted in Kansas City. Scott Atchison gave up a two-out RBI single to Nori Aoki in the 10th before getting Omar Infante to pop out.
The victory briefly pulled the Indians (82-75) within 2 1/2 of the Royals for the second wild-card spot. Oakland holds the first spot by a narrow margin and Seattle is also standing in Cleveland's way.
With only five games remaining, the Indians have virtually no margin for error.
"Any loss from here on out is going to make it more difficult because it just puts us in a situation where we really need help from other people," second baseman Mike Aviles said. "We need Seattle to lose. We need the Royals to lose, the Tigers to lose. We need everybody to pretty much lose."
The Royals now turn to Yordano Ventura (13-10, 3.19 ERA), who is 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA in his last five outings. The right-hander is riding a streak of 10 straight quality starts and hasn't allowed a homer since July 31.
In his previous outing, which came on the one-year anniversary of his major league debut, Ventura outworked White Sox ace Chris Sale by allowing one run and three hits over seven innings in a 6-2 victory Wednesday.
Ventura has been outstanding against Cleveland this season, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA over three starts - all Kansas City victories.
Danny Salazar (6-7, 4.02) will oppose him looking to end a three-start winless streak since going the distance to beat the Tigers on Sept. 3. He is 0-1 with a 5.09 ERA in that span after going 6-3 with a 2.89 mark over his previous 11 starts.
The right-hander went 7 1-3 innings his last time out, giving up one run and five hits while striking out nine in Thursday's 2-1 win at Houston.
One of Salazar's roughest performances of the season came in his only start against the Royals on April 22. He lasted just 4 1-3 innings and allowed five runs and seven hits in an 8-2 home defeat.
