A balk and four-pitch walk gave the Detroit Tigers the openings needed to defeat the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night, scoring two in the tenth to send the Royals to a third straight defeat with a 3-1 final.

With one out in the tenth and the score tied 1-1, Royals reliever Lucas Erceg was called for a balk, advancing runner Trey Sweeney to third. Sweeney easily scored on a soft fly ball to left field by Parker Meadows that dropped in for an RBI single. Meadows scored on a Riley Greene single that Erceg deflected over his head. Erceg took his sixth loss of the year, going 1.2 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk while striking out two.

Starter Cole Ragans had a shaky first inning, hitting Andy Ibáñez with a pitch and then giving up an RBI double to Matt Vierling. From there, Ragans locked down, allowing just three more hits in his seven innings of work, striking out six but walking four. The Royals looked to generate offense, seeking a spark in the first with Bobby Witt Jr’s 30th stolen base of the year. However, their only run would come in the third with an RBI single from Michael Massey. The Royals had ample chances to score, but ended up hitting into three double plays and left the bases loaded in consecutive innings, contributing to the 10 runners left on base and only going one-for-nine with runners in scoring position.

The Royals’ hold on the second wild card spot is weakening, with Minnesota winning Tuesday night to go 1.5 games behind Kansas City (82-70), while Detroit is three behind. Baltimore lost to stay 2.5 games ahead of the Royals in the top wild card position. The Royals seek to avoid the sweep against the Tigers and projected starter Tarik Skubal on Wednesday evening, with Alec Marsh starting for the Royals. Pregame is at 6 p.m., with first pitch at 6:40, on KMMO-FM 102.9.