Royals Blank Tigers 1-0, Clinch Series

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lefty Bruce Chen pitched a gem, and the Kansas City Royals nabbed a series-clinching 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

In one of the best starts of his career, Chen (10-10, 5.13 ERA) gave up just four hits in 8 scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one.

Chen wasn’t the only pitcher in a zone however, newly acquired Tigers lefty Anibal Sanchez (2-4, 5.29 ERA) also pitched a beauty, giving up one run on seven hits in 7 innings.

The lone run of the game came on a bloop infield RBI single by Eric Hosmer in the fourth.

Closer Greg Holland (2.83 ERA) battled through adversity for a second straight night, fanning both Delmon Young and shortstop Jhonny Peralta to earn his ninth save of the season.

The Tigers went 0-8 with runners in scoring position.

The Royals (58-71, 28-33 home) have been on a roll lately. They own an impressive 9-1 record against division rivals in the A.L. Central, and are 16-11 overall in the month of August.

Kansas City also owns a 3.5 game lead over the Cleveland Indians for third place in the division.

The Tigers (69-60, 30-34 away) are in the midst of a pennant race. They currently trail the first-place Chicago White Sox by 3 games, and are just 2 games back in the wild card race.

Starter Jeremy Guthrie (2-3, 4.32 ERA) and the Royals go for the sweep against Tigers right-handed pitcher Rick Porcello (9-9, 4.60 ERA) on Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium.