# Guardians' Andres Gimenez: Opens scoring with long ball ## AL Central Division-leading Cleveland Guardians defeat Kansas City Royals 4-1 ### Gimenez's home run gives Cleveland early lead **Cleveland, Ohio** - Andres Gimenez's first-inning home run proved to be the difference-maker as the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Friday night at Progressive Field. The Guardians, who now own a 2.5-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central, have won four of their last five games. The Royals, meanwhile, have dropped six of their last seven and are now 11 games behind Cleveland in the division. Gimenez's home run came on a 1-2 count off Royals starter Brad Keller. It was his fourth home run of the season and gave the Guardians an early 1-0 lead. Jose Ramirez followed with a single and then scored on Amed Rosario's double to make it 2-0. The Guardians added another run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Josh Naylor. The Royals got on the board in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez, but that would be all they would score against Guardians starter Triston McKenzie. McKenzie (9-6) allowed just the one run on four hits over six innings of work. He struck out eight batters and walked two. The Guardians' bullpen did the rest, with Sam Hentges, Nick Sandlin and Emmanuel Clase combining to allow just one hit over the final three innings. Clase picked up his 26th save of the season. **Box score** **Cleveland Guardians 4, Kansas City Royals 1** **WP:** Triston McKenzie (9-6) **LP:** Brad Keller (5-11) **SV:** Emmanuel Clase (26) **Home runs:** * CLE - Andres Gimenez (4)
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