The Kansas City Royals are on fire. Tuesday night, they extended their winning streak to five games with a hard-fought 5-3 victory over division rival Cleveland Guardians. The hero of the night? Michael Massey, who crushed a go-ahead two-run homer to turn the tide and keep the Royals rolling.
The game started strong for Kansas City. Salvador Perez singled in the first inning to plate two runs and give the Royals an early 2-0 lead. But Cleveland struck back in the fourth. With two runners on base, Rhys Hoskins launched a 2-1 pitch off the left-field foul pole for a three-run homer, putting the Guardians ahead 3-2.
That’s when Massey stepped up. In the bottom of the fourth, with the count 2-2, he sent a 392-foot blast over the fence. The momentum shifted after a key moment: Guardians catcher Bo Naylor had just challenged a called ball that would have been a strikeout, but the challenge failed. Massey made them pay.
Isaac Collins added insurance in the sixth with a solo homer, finishing 3-for-3 on the night—just a triple shy of the cycle. On the mound, Stephen Kolek delivered a gutsy season debut. Despite allowing Hoskins’ three-run shot, he held Cleveland to just those runs over six innings. Kolek, who strained his oblique during spring training, had rehabbed with four starts at Triple-A Omaha before getting the call to fill in for Noah Cameron (lower back tightness).
The Royals bullpen locked it down from there. Nick Mears and Daniel Lynch IV each tossed a scoreless inning, and Lucas Erceg worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to notch his third save in four games—and his 10th of the season.
For Cleveland, Gavin Williams (5-2) took his first loss since March 27, allowing five runs on eight hits with two walks. He had won five straight decisions before Tuesday.
The series continues Wednesday night. Cleveland sends lefty Joey Cantillo (1-1, 3.67 ERA) to the mound, while Kansas City counters with lefty Cole Ragans (1-4, 5.29 ERA). If the Royals keep swinging like this, that streak might just keep growing.