— After four months and a lengthy rain delay, there’s a second team sitting atop the AL Central.
The Royals have run down the Guardians.
Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer and Kansas City moved into a tie for first with Cleveland by beating the Guardians 6-1 on Tuesday night in a game delayed more than two hours by rain.
The Royals, who lost 106 games last season, improved to a league-best 23-13 since the All-Star break, when they trailed the Guardians by seven games.
“That’s our goal, to win the division,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “Clearly nothing is decided. We got a month-plus to go, but we like the way we’re playing. Our guys are super competitive. They don’t back down from anything and this is what a pennant race should be.”
Cleveland had led the division since April 14 — 154 days — before dropping the first three games in this series, which concludes with a matinee Wednesday. The Guardians have lost nine of 12 and are just 17-21 since the break.
Cleveland had a nine-game lead on June 26. It’s gone now.