Shane Bieber pitched eight sharp innings, Jose Ramirez drove in two runs and the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1 Tuesday night.

Bieber (9-8) allowed one run and four hits. He struck out seven and walked one.

In his last eight starts, Bieber has 1.79 ERA (11 runs in 55 1/3 innings). He is now 5-0 in his career against the Royals.

he Guardians moved 1 1/2 games of Minnesota, which was rained out and will play a doubleheader Wednesday at the New York Yankees.

The Royals lost their 82nd game, meaning they’ll have a losing record for the sixth straight season.

Salvador Perez hit his 20th home run for Kansas City, the sixth year he’s reached the mark. He is tied with Mike Sweeney on the team list for the second-most seasons with at least 20 – George Brett holds the franchise record with eight.

James Karinchak pitched the ninth for his first save.

Kris Bubic (2-11) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one.

Ramirez hit a bases-loaded, two-run single in the third for a 2-0 lead. He has 108 RBIs this season.

Myles Straw’s RBI single in the seventh extended the Guardians’ lead. Cleveland added another run on a single by Owen Miller in the eighth.

UP NEXT

The Guardians and Royals will complete their three-game series Wednesday night. Cleveland RHP Cody Morris (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will make his second major league start and face Greinke (4-8, 4.14). That game can be heard on KMMO FM 102.9 with pregame starting at 6:30 and game-time at 7:10.