Gavin Williams pitches 7 sharp innings as the Guardians beat the slumping Royals 4-2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gavin Williams pitched seven sharp innings, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Monday.

Lane Thomas and Josh Naylor each hit two-run homers for AL Central-leading Cleveland, which won for the fourth time in five games.

Williams (3-7) allowed one run and one hit in an encouraging September performance after he went 1-4 with a 6.56 ERA in five starts last month.

“Filling up the zone,” Williams said. “Talking with (catcher) Bo (Naylor) and having a better plan. Just seeing the way they took different pitches.”

The right-hander walked two while throwing 46 pitches in the first two innings. But he settled down from there, retiring his final 16 batters.

“The first couple of innings he was fighting himself,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Made an adjustment. To go seven was much needed, for him, for us, and everything.”

The Guardians began the day with a 3 1/2-game lead over Minnesota and Kansas City in the division.

The Royals played without manager Matt Quatraro, who missed the game because of a personal matter. Bench coach Paul Hoover ran the team in Quatraro's absence.

Kansas City finished with two hits in its season-high sixth consecutive loss.

“The ball’s not bouncing our way,” Royals infielder Michael Massey said. “We’ve gone through streaks where the ball hits on the right side of the chalk line and streaks where it hits the wrong side. We’re just on the wrong side right now.”

Thomas’ ninth homer of the season lifted Cleveland to a 2-1 lead in the fifth. It was Thomas’ first homer since he was acquired in a July 29 trade with Washington.

“All you want to do is contribute,” Thomas said. “It was nice to give Gavin a little support there.”

José Ramírez led off the sixth with an infield single off Kris Bubic. Josh Naylor followed with his 29th homer, a 420-foot drive to center on a 1-0 fastball.

In his last five games, Naylor has eight RBIs and 11 hits, three for extra bases.

Emmanuel Clase handled the ninth for his 41st save. He has converted 28 consecutive save chances.

Garcia doubled home Yuli Gurriel in the second for Kansas City, and Kyle Isbel added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Garcia said Williams threw more curveballs “and we didn’t make the adjustment.”

Garcia started at shortstop as Bobby Witt Jr. served as the designated hitter. It was Witt’s first game away from shortstop since last Sept. 4, a span of 161 games.

Kansas City right-hander Michael Wacha (11-7) permitted two runs and five hits in five innings in his first loss since June 22.

“Everything was good until the fifth,” Wacha said. “Was able to keep them off balance until then.”

“He threw the ball really, really well,” Hoover said. “He gave up the cutter for a home run to Thomas. The one swing got him.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: 1B Gurriel left in the eighth because of right hamstring tightness.

UP NEXT

Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (10-6, 3.65 ERA) opposes RHP Brady Singer (9-9, 3.36 ERA) on Tuesday night.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Kansas City Royals' Freddy Fermin (34) runs home past Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor (23) on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Isbel during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Fans stand for the seventh inning stretch during a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Guardians Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Cleveland Guardians' Lane Thomas celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Cleveland Guardians' Lane Thomas watches his two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — England and English soccer teams could be removed from UEFA competitions if a new regulator is considered to be “Government interference” in the sport.

In a letter sent by UEFA to the U.K.'s new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, European soccer's governing body raised concerns about a proposed independent football regulator (IFR) in English soccer. The regulatory will ensure the financial sustainability of clubs and stop teams from joining breakaway competitions like the European Super League.

UEFA regulations state there should be no government interference in the running of soccer.

“We have specific rules that guard against this in order to guarantee the autonomy of sport and fairness of sporting competition; the ultimate sanction for which would be excluding the federation from UEFA and teams from competition,” UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote in his letter, which has been seen by The Associated Press.

England, which has been runner-up in the last two European Championships, is co-hosting the 2028 edition of the tournament.

If UEFA imposed its ultimate sanction of excluding the English Football Association, the England team would be barred from competing in the Euros. It could also mean Premier League clubs being barred from the Champions League and other competitions.

The U.K. government’s Football Governance Bill would give an independent regulator powersto safeguard the future of clubs. It includes strengthened tests over who can run or own clubs.

In its letter, UEFA said “normally football regulation should be managed by the national federation.”

It said it was concerned by what it described as “scope creep” by a regulator into areas beyond “the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.”

UEFA said if all countries established regulators with wide-reaching powers it would hinder its ability to maintain effective governance across Europe. It wants England's regulator to be “strictly limited” to the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - The UEFA Euro trophy is pictured after Britain and Ireland were elected to host the Euro 2028 football tournament during the the UEFA EURO 2028 and 2032 hosts announcement ceremony after the UEFA Executive Committee, at UEFA Headquarters, in Nyon, Switzerland, Oct. 10, 2023. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, File)