Dozier led off the ninth inning with a tie-breaking home run

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CINCINNATI (AP) — Hunter Dozier’s quiet night turned into a clutch , game-winning effort for the Kansas City Royals., then teamed with shortstop Adalberto Mondesi for a key out in the bottom of the inning as the Royals beat the slumping Cincinnati Reds 4-3 Tuesday night.“It felt like a quiet night until the ninth,” said Dozier, who snapped a 0-for-17 skid with his homer to left field. “A lot happened in a short amount of time.”Dozier’s 11th homer of the season, off Raisel Iglesias (2-5), left Kansas City needing two wins in its last five games to avoid tying the franchise record of 106 losses in a season, set in 2005. The Royals (55-102) have won three of their last four games, after a five-game losing streak.The Reds had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth against closer Wily Peralta, but Mondesi fielded Scott Schebler’s grounder and threw to Dozier at third, forcing Brandon Dixon. Jose Peraza followed with a hard grounder that Dozier was able to knock down with a diving backhand stop, leaving the bases loaded. Joey Votto grounded out harmlessly, and Peralta earned his 14th save.“They made some good plays,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “I was shocked that Dozier got to that ball. I thought it was down the line and would at least tie the game.”Kansas City manager Ned Yost felt Dozier’s play on Schebler’s grounder to Mondesi was more difficult than it looked.“He went for the ball at first ,” Yost said. “He had to peel back to get to the bag. His athleticism allowed him to do that.”Kevin McCarthy (5-4) walked the first batter he faced to lead off the eighth and the Reds ended up loading the bases with no outs on Votto’s checked-swing dribbler up the third base line. But Eugenio Suarez grounded into a force out at the plate, Scooter Gennett struck out and Phillip Ervin hit a fielder’s-choice grounder to Dozier, ending the threat.Cincinnati went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and now are 8-for-75 (.107) in that situation over their last 13 games. The slumping Reds (66-92) have lost four straight, all against teams with worse records than their own. The Reds have also lost five of six, and their interleague losing streak reached seven games.Ryan O’Hearn hit his 12th homer of the season, a two-run shot off Matt Harvey, in the fourth inning, to give the Royals a 3-0 lead. The Reds’ Dilson Herrera delivered a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the fifth before Gennett tripled and Ervin drove him in with the game-tying run in the seventhHarvey overcame a 51-minute rain delay with one out in the bottom of the third inning. He lasted five innings and gave up six hits and three runs with six strikeouts. The former Mets’ right-hander didn’t allow a walk. He has a 7-7 record and 4.46 ERA in 23 games with the Reds, and a 4.92 ERA overall in 2018.“It was frustrating,” Harvey said. “I was pretty sharp in the first three innings. After the delay, I wasn’t as sharp.The delay cost Eric Skoglund a shot at his second win of the season and first since April 28 against the White Sox. The Royals rookie, making his 12th start of 2018 and fourth since missing three months with a strained ulnar collateral ligament , didn’t return when play resumed.ROCKY TOPThe Reds announced that they were resuming an affiliation with Double-A Chattanooga. The Reds and Lookouts were affiliated from 1988 through 2008.IT’S LORENZENRHP Michael Lorenzen (3-2), trying to convince the Reds that he can make the conversion from reliever to starter, will get his third and final chance this season against the Pirates in Sunday’s series finale.NEW HIGHWhit Merrifield singled with one out in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to a season-high 15 games. The streak is the fourth of at least 12 games this season for Merrifield, the AL’s hits and stolen base leader going into Tuesday.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP Heath Fillmyer (3-2) will make his first career start against the Reds in his final 2018 start.Reds: LHP Cody Reed (1-2) makes his first career start against the Royals, who made him their second-round pick in the June 2013 draft. The next chapter of Hanley Ramirez's career will be in a Cleveland Indiansuniform.Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the 14-year veteran agreed to a minor league contract with the club Saturday.The Boston Red Sox designated Ramirez for assignment near the end of May to make room for 2008 American League MVP Dustin Pedroia. That ended the three-time All-Star's second stint with the team he debuted with in 2005, as his most recent tenure came with high expectations after he signed a four-year, $88 million contract in November 2014.He sat out the remainder of the 2018 season. Meanwhile, the Red Sox set a franchise record with 108 regular-season wins en route a World Series title.After he underwentshoulder surgery in October 2017, the 35-year-old was hitting .254/.313/.395 with six home runs, seven doubles and 29 RBI in 44 games with the Red Sox. He started the season hitting .330 with three home runs, five doubles and 17 RBI through April but slumped through May with a .163 average and just five extra-base hits.Clevelandhas to be intrigued by some of Ramirez's splits. Five of his six home runs in 2018 came off right-handers, but he hit .333 against southpaws and .230 against righties. Not only that, but he also came up big in clutch situations. While hitting just .217 with the bases empty , he hit .294 with men on, .340 with runners in scoring position and .286 with runners in scoring position and two outs.He may no longer be the MVP candidate he once was, but he still has the ability to make an impact with his bat. He is, however, limited in the field. Despite having played shortstop, third base and left field throughout his career, he has not played anything other than first base or DH in the last three seasons.Ramirez hasn't faced big league pitching since May, so he may need time to get his bat going. If Clevelandgives him at-bats, he may prove he can still be a difference-maker.

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