Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians

Joey Cantillo pitches 8 innings, José Ramírez homers as Guardians beat Royals 2-0

Cantillo (5-3) struck out five and didn't issue a walk. Cade Smith pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save for the Guardians, who entered play 2 1/2 games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot.

Ramírez, who had three hits, hit a solo homer off Royals starter Noah Cameron (7-6) with two outs in the first. David Fry hit the second of back-to-back to doubles to drive in Ramírez in the fourth.

Cameron, a 26-year-old rookie, gave up two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings.

The Guardians, who has won six of seven, beat the Royals 10-2 in the series opener Monday.

Bobby Witt Jr. returned from a three-game absence and Jonathan India was activated off the 10-day IL for Kansas City.

Key moment Cantillo gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Isbel in the ninth and was replaced by Smith, who got Mikael Garcia to fly out. Isbel moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third when Witt singled before Smith struck out Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez to end the game.

Key stat The Guardians clinched the season series — and the head-to-head tiebreaker for any postseason implications — over the Royals.

Up next Kansas City has not announced its starter against Logan Allen (7-11, 4.46 ERA) on Wednesday in the third of a four-game series.

How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Guardians?

• TV Channel: Royals at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.