Shane Bieber produced another stellar outing, firing eight innings of one-run ball as the Cleveland Guardians defeated the host Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Bieber (9-8) allowed a solo home run to Salvador Perez but only three other hits and one walk while striking out seven. He has a 1.79 ERA in his past eight starts, with 61 strikeouts and eight walks in 55 1/3 innings.

James Karinchak fanned two in a perfect ninth inning for his first save. Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez hit a two-run single, and Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw contributed two hits apiece.

The Guardians (70-64) increased their lead in the American League Central to a game and a half over the Minnesota Twins, whose scheduled road game against the New York Yankees was rained out.

The loss guaranteed that the Royals (55-82) will finish with a losing record for the sixth straight season.

Royals left-hander Kris Bubic (2-11) lost despite making a quality start. He allowed three runs on six hits in his 6 1/3 innings, with one walk and four strikeouts.

The Royals had a chance to score in the second when they got back-to-back singles off Bieber with one out, but Hunter Dozier grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Guardians took the lead in the third. Bubic walked Austin Hedges with one out and then gave up a single to Straw. With two outs, Amed Rosario lined a single to right, but Hedges was held at third. Ramirez then lined one through the hole at short, scoring Hedges and Straw.

Perez put the Royals on the board in the fourth with his 20th home run of the season. It’s his sixth season with at least 20 home runs, tied with Mike Sweeney for the second most in franchise history. George Brett tops the list with eight seasons.

The Guardians added a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Straw and another in the eighth on an RBI single by Owen Miller.

–Field Level Media