Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges, left, hugs relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) after the Guardians defeated the Kansas City Royals in a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) AP

CLEVELAND — Rookie Jhonkensy Noel singled home Josh Naylor with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Cleveland Guardians rallied for a 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals, reclaiming sole possession of first place in the AL Central on Wednesday.

The Guardians trailed 5-2 entering the seventh but scored four times to take their first lead of the afternoon. Bo Naylor homered off starter Michael Wacha, while Josh Naylor, Will Brennan and Noel had RBI singles against Lucas Erceg (2-4).

Erceg was charged with one run allowed, his first in 12 appearances and 13 1/3 innings since joining the Royals in a July 30 trade with Oakland.

Andrés Giménez tacked on a sacrifice fly in the eighth as Cleveland avoided a four-game sweep in the series. The Guardians and rookie manager Stephen Vogt had been alone atop the Central for 154 days until Kansas City pulled into a tie Tuesday.

Eli Morgan (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the victory. Emmanuel Clase earned his AL-best 39th save – with his career-high 26th straight conversion – and matched Cody Allen’s franchise record with 149.

Kansas City had its seven-game road winning streak snapped. The Royals have clinched the season tiebreaker over the Guardians.

Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Michael Massey hit solo homers off Guardians ace Tanner Bibee, who gave up five runs in five innings.

ASTROS 10, PHILLIES 0: Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs and rookie Spencer Arrighetti carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning as Houston won at Philadelphia.

Arrighetti, a 24-year-old right-hander, lost his no-hitter when Austin Hays led off the eighth with an infield single. Third baseman Shay Whitcomb just missed gloving the ball, and shortstop Jeremy Peña couldn’t throw out Hays after fielding the ball deep in the hole.

Arrighetti (7-11) was lifted with two outs in the eighth, finishing with 11 strikeouts and four walks while allowing two hits in his longest outing as a professional.

MARINERS 6, RAYS 2: Victor Robles and Julio Rodríguez each hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning as Seattle beat visiting Tampa Bay.

Randy Arozarena went deep against his former team again and Luis Castillo pitched 5 2/3 solid innings for the Mariners, who stayed 3 1/2 games behind Houston in the AL West.

CUBS 14, PIRATES 10: Christian Bethancourt drove in seven runs, including a go-ahead two-run single in the ninth, as Chicago rallied at Pittsburgh to sweep a three-game series.

The Cubs trailed by seven through six innings before taking advantage of another shaky performance by Pittsburgh’s bullpen.

Bethancourt hit a two-run homer in the seventh to start Chicago’s surge. The catcher added a two-run double in the eighth and laced a bases-loaded single to left against Pirates closer David Bednar (3-7) to complete the comeback.

Pete Crow-Armstrong had a career-high four hits to boost his batting average over his last 21 games to .341 (26 of 76). Ian Happ chipped in three hits for the Cubs, who scored 41 runs across three games at PNC Park to improve to 17-8 over their last 25 games.

NOTES

ROYALS: Kansas City starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen was placed on the 15-day injured list, one day after straining his left hamstring while covering first base against the Cleveland Guardians.

Lorenzen, who was acquired in a July 29 trade with Texas, is 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA in five starts with the Royals.

MARINERS: Seattle reinstated shortstop J.P. Crawford from the 10-day injured list and optioned outfielder Dominic Canzone to Triple-A Tacoma.

Crawford had been on the IL since July 23 because of a right hand fracture, after he was hit by Los Angeles Angels lefty Tyler Anderson in the first inning on July 22.

ATHLETICS: Oakland outfielder Miguel Andujar will have season-ending surgery because of what was described as a core muscle injury, and infielder Nick Allen was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.