Indians 5, Royals 3
Shelley Duncan belted a game-tying three-run homer in the eighth inning and pinch-hitter Michael Brantley delivered a two-run double to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 5-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Luis Valbuena went 2-for-3 and scored a run for the Indians, who won the season series with the Royals 10-8.
With Cleveland trailing 3-0, Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo began the eighth against Robinson Tejeda (3-5) with singles and Duncan followed with his 11th blast of the season to forge a tie. Two outs later, Andy Marte singled and Valbuena hit a ground-rule double before Brantley plated both runners with his double.
The rally made a winner of Rafael Perez (6-1), who tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Vinnie Pestano worked the ninth for his first career save.
Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the first on Josh Fields' RBI single and Mike Aviles hit a solo homer in the fifth to double the advantage. Billy Butler, who went 3-for-3, made it 3-0 in the seventh with a run-scoring single.
Royals starter Bruce Chen pitched 6 2/3 strong innings, allowing four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.