José Ramírez hit his fifth career grand slam and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals 14-1 on Wednesday night, moving into first place in the AL Central despite a losing record.

Ramírez lined a first-pitch cutter from Austin Cox into the left-field bullpen after Cox opened the third by allowing a single and two walks.

Ramírez added an RBI double in the seventh and is hitting .411 (30 for 73) with 14 extra-base hits in his last 18 games.

Josh Bell’s two-run homer, a 464-foot drive into the right-field fountains, gave Cleveland a 6-0 lead in the fifth.

Bell added a two-run double in the sixth as the Guardians batted around against James McArthur, a 26-year-old right-hander who made his major league debut.

Bo Naylor connected for his first major league home run, a two-run line drive to left-center in the seven-run sixth, the Guardians’ biggest inning this season. He had a career-high three hits.

Nick Sandlin (4-3), the first of four relievers, got four outs. Starter Logan Allen worked out of several jams, allowing six runners over 3 2/3 innings.

Making his first major league start, Cox (0-1) allowed his first runs after 12 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to begin his career. He surrendered four runs, four hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings with two strikeouts.

First baseman Matt Duffy pitched a scoreless ninth for the Royals, who have lost 10 of their last 12 series, with two splits.

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With the Guardians seeking a three-game sweep, Shane Bieber (5-5, 3.69 ERA) will oppose Kansas City’s Zach Greinke (1-8, 5.31) on Thursday.