KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals manager Ned Yost never lacks for confidence, even with his team struggling to score runs and trailing with two outs in the eighth inning against the best team in the division.

“I had a really good feeling about Sal coming up there and doing something special,” Yost said.

That would be Salvador Perez, of course. The All-Star catcher made Yost seem prophetic when he followed a single by Eric Hosmer with a two-run homer to center, propelling Kansas City to a 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

Joakim Soria (3-2) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for Kansas City, then proceeded to handle the ninth with setup men Luke Hochevar Kelvin Herrera and closer Wade Davis getting the night off — the three of them were unavailable after heavy usage the previous three days.

Soria got Jason Kipnis to pop out with runners on first and second to end it.

“If you can keep these guys in the game, they like the late-inning heroics,” said Dillon Gee, who tossed three scoreless innings in relief of Chris Young to make the comeback possible.

Whit Merrifield also went deep for the Royals, who have won four straight after an eight-game skid, while Perez’s shot off Bryan Shaw (0-3) was the first non-solo homer by the Royals in their last 12.

The comeback also scuttled a solid performance by Josh Tomlin, who allowed seven hits while striking out five without a walk. He exited with a 2-1 lead and in line to beat Kansas City for the third time.

“I don’t care about my win. I care about this team winning games,” he said. “It stinks to lose in that situation. We have the utmost faith in Shaw every time he goes out there. He’s one of the best relievers, in my opinion. He’ll make adjustments. We’ve seen what he’s done in the past.”

The Indians took their first lead of the series when Carlos Santana homered in the third, his 13th of the year. It was also the AL-leading 18th that Chris Young had allowed.

Merrifield matched it in the bottom half, the 27-year-old rookie sending a 2-2 pitch over the left-field wall. His second career homer came 24 hours after his first.

Young continued to struggle with his command in the fifth, walking two more batters to exceed his 85-pitch limit. Dillon Gee entered in relief and Kipnis promptly swatted the second pitch he saw for an RBI single that gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead.

The Royals had a chance to tie it in the seventh when pinch hitter Paulo Orlando slapped a single and Cheslor Cuthbert sacrificed him to second, but Jarrod Dyson and Merrifield were unable to get him home.

Perez made it a forgotten point with his big hit in the eighth.

“It’s a long season but you want to play night-in and night-out good baseball,” Young said. “Be nice to get on a streak now and finish up this series well.”

STAKING A CLAIM

The Royals claimed LHP Tyler Olson off waivers from the Yankees and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha, and created roster space by transferring 3B Mike Moustakas (ACL) to the 60-day DL. Olson has spent most of the season in the minors, though he did throw 2 2/3 innings of relief for New York in April.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: 3B Moustakas stopped in the clubhouse after surgery to repair a torn right ACL. He has already started rehabbed, most of which will take place in Florida. “It’s not fun to sit there and watch and not be out there,” he said, “but my job is to get better and get ready for next season.”

Indians: 3B Juan Uribe was feeling better after sustaining a testicular contusion Sunday against the Angels. He remained out of the lineup, though manager Terry Francona said Uribe did all pregame work.

UP NEXT

Indians RHP Corey Kluber tries to build on a complete-game victory over the Angels in the series finale Wednesday night. RHP Ian Kennedy is on the mound for Kansas City.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Whit Merrifield hit his first career homer, Edinson Volquez tossed seven innings of two-hit ball and the Kansas City Royals beat Cleveland 2-1 on Monday night to end a five-game skid against the Indians.

Alcides Escobar also drove in a run for the Royals, who have won three in a row after an eight-game losing streak. They also won their seventh consecutive game at Kauffman Stadium.

Volquez (6-6) walked the bases loaded in the first inning before settling down, allowing only a double to Jason Kipnis and a single to Lonnie Chisenhall. Volquez also hit a batter with a pitch and worked around an error, but ultimately kept the Indians from scoring.

Kelvin Herrera allowed a leadoff homer to Kipnis in the eighth but navigated the rest of the inning, and Wade Davis pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 18th save.

Carlos Carrasco (2-2) gave up both Kansas City runs and 10 hits over six innings.

Merrifield, who made his big league debut last month, tripled to start the game and scored when Escobar followed with a single. Then, the 27-year-old rookie lived up to his “Two-hit Whit” moniker by driving an 0-2 pitch over the left-field wall with two outs in the fourth.

He was greeted at the dugout by Royals catcher Salvador Perez, who playfully doffed his helmet.

Merrifield, considered a super-utility player, also helped turn a trio of double plays while getting another start at second base. One of them ended the eighth inning and preserved a 2-1 lead.

The Indians had plenty of opportunities, even after Chisenhall grounded out to leave the bases full in the first inning. Kipnis was left standing on second in the third, and the Indians left runners at the corners in the fourth when Rajai Davis grounded out to end the inning.

Yan Gomes squandered another chance by grounding into an inning-ending double play in the sixth, and Jose Ramirez did likewise when he grounded to Merrifield in the eighth.

ROYAL INTRODUCTION

The Royals introduced their top pick in this year’s first-year player draft, 6-foot-4 RHP A.J. Puckett, prior to the game. The Pepperdine pitcher was taken in the second round at No. 67 overall and agreed to a signing bonus of $1.2 million.

FOUNDATION DONATION

The Kauffman Foundation announced a $1 million grant to the Urban Youth Baseball Academy, a project spearheaded by Royals GM Dayton Moore. The foundation was started in 1966 by Ewing Kauffman, who founded the Royals and owned the team until his death in 1993.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians 3B Juan Uribe got the night off after taking a hard grounder squarely in the groin Sunday against the Angels. Uribe left on a cart with a testicular contusion.

UP NEXT

Indians RHP Josh Tomlin tries to beat the Royals for the third time this season when the teams continue their series Tuesday night. RHP Chris Young pitches for Kansas City for the first time since June 5 in Cleveland, when he allowed four solo homers in a 7-0 loss.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — The Baltimore brawl is over. Yordano Ventura is concentrating on finding his form for the Kansas City Royals.

This was an awfully nice step in that direction.

Ventura pitched seven sharp innings in his first start since his fight with Manny Machado, and the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Sunday for their second straight win following an eight-game losing streak.

“Today (I) was feeling what (I’ve) been working on all along,” Ventura said, with catching coach Pedro Grifol serving as translator, “which is get the ball out of the glove quickly and get out in front.”

Ventura (5-4) struck out a season-high 10 and walked one in his first win since May 17 against Boston, making the most of Kansas City’s run-scoring singles in the first and second. Salvador Perez added a leadoff homer down the left-field line in the ninth.

The 25-year-old Ventura went 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA in his previous four starts.

“When we took him out of the game, I told him tomorrow his duty was to come in and watch every pitch of that ballgame because every pitch that he delivered for me was phenomenal,” manager Ned Yost said.

Ventura was suspended nine games by Major League Baseball after he hit Machado in the back with a 99 mph fastball in the fifth inning of a 9-1 loss Tuesday, leading to a bench-clearing fight. But the right-hander appealed the punishment and is allowed to pitch until the process is complete.

“For me, I mean, he was totally judged guilty without even a trial, without hearing any of the evidence,” Yost said. “To me, that wasn’t right, but it is what it is.”

Chicago put runners on first and third with no outs in the fifth, but J.B. Shuck struck out looking and Ventura got rookie Tim Anderson to bounce into a double play — one of three on the day for Chicago. After Jose Abreu homered in the sixth, Ventura struck out Melky Cabrera and Todd Frazier to end the inning.

Kelvin Herrera worked the eighth and Wade Davis finished for his 17th save in 18 chances, helping Yost improve to 500-499 in seven years with Kansas City.

The White Sox lost for the 14th time in their last 18 games — five of those defeats have come against the Royals.

“There’s no worry,” left-hander Carlos Rodon said. “We know we’re good enough. We’re just going through a rough patch.”

Rodon (2-6) shook off a slow start and pitched six effective innings after he was pushed back a couple of days due to a sore neck. He allowed seven hits, struck out seven and walked two.

“He threw well,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “He got into some binds there and I think he limited his chances. There could have been some big innings there and he bucked up and got out of it.”

Kendrys Morales’ two-out RBI single got Kansas City on the board in the first, and Whit Merrifield added another run-scoring single in the second.

OLD FRIENDS

White Sox right-hander James Shields chatted with Yost when he visited the Royals before the game.

Shields won 27 games over two seasons in Kansas City, helping the Royals reach the 2014 World Series. He signed with San Diego in February 2015 and was traded to the White Sox on June 4.

“He left a big impact here. It’s good to see him,” Yost said. “I’m glad he’s back in the American League.”

Shields lasted just two-plus innings in an 11-4 loss to Washington in his White Sox debut on Wednesday. He pitches again on Monday against Detroit.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Perez was checked on by Yost and a trainer after the catcher fell awkwardly while chasing a wild pitch in the fourth inning. Perez stayed in after catching a warmup pitch from Ventura.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez (5-6, 4.25 ERA) gets the ball when Kansas City begins a seven-game homestand Monday night against Cleveland. RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-1, 3.48) pitches for the Indians in the opener of a three-game series.

White Sox: Shields (2-8, 5.06 ERA) is 7-6 with a 4.10 ERA in 18 career starts against Detroit. LHP Matt Boyd (0-1, 3.38) goes for the Tigers.

— Associated Press —