Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Zach Plesac delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

CLEVELAND — Zach Plesac won his second straight start since returning to the Cleveland Indians’ rotation after a demotion for breaking team COVID-19 protocols, a 5-2 victory over Kansas City on Monday night that extended the Royals’ losing streak to a season-high seven straight.

Plesac (3-1) gave up a hit in each of the first seven innings, including Adalberto Modesi’s 458-foot homer in the seventh, but came up with big pitches over seven innings.

Brad Hand struck out the side in the ninth for his 12th save in as many tries.

Tyler Naquin had two RBIs for the Indians against Brad Keller (3-2), who hung around until the seventh.

Cleveland is 21-2 when scoring at least three runs, a trend All-Star Francisco Lindor dismissed before the game.

“I’m not a stat guy,” he said. “I could care less about stats. As long as I go win and I do my thing to help the team win that day, I’ll be fine.”

Lindor got two hits and scored once, but also had a baserunning gaffe when he got called out on an appeal play in the sixth for failing to touch second.

Cleveland moved into a tie for first in the AL Central with the idle Chicago White Sox.

Kansas City made two errors and Mondesi provided the only real highlight with the longest homer of his career, a shot that cleared the lower seats in right.

PHILLIES 9, METS 8, 10 INNINGS

NEW YORK (AP) — Jean Segura hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and drove in a career-best five runs, bailing out Philadelphia’s abominable bullpen and helping the Phillies beat the the New York Mets for a split of their four-game series.

The Mets erased a 6-0 deficit against former teammate Zack Wheeler and baseball’s worst bullpen, taking a 7-6 lead on Jeff McNeil’s three-run homer in the seventh inning.

CUBS 5, CARDINALS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks went eight innings, helping the NL Central-leading Cubs to the victory.

The Cubs got just the sort of start they needed from Hendricks and closed out the five-game series on a winning note after losing three straight. They lead their longtime rivals by 2 1/2 games.

MARINERS 8, RANGERS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Kyle Seager and Dylan Moore homered, and the Mariners beat the Rangers for their first six-game win streak since July 2019.

Moore also had a three-run double. Marco Gonzales (5-2) struck out seven while pitching seven innings of two-run ball.

NATIONALS 6, RAYS 1

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington ace Max Scherzer cooled off Tampa Bay with seven scoreless innings.

Kurt Suzuki had an RBI double among his three hits and Michael A. Taylor drove in two runs for the last-place Nationals, who were missing several regulars.

MARLINS 5, BRAVES 4, 10 INNINGS

ATLANTA (AP) — Miguel Rojas had four hits for Miami, including a go-ahead double in the 10th inning.

Atlanta’s Adam Duvall led off the ninth with a tying pinch-hit homer off Brandon Kintzler (2-3), the closer’s second blown save in 11 chances.

TWINS 6, TIGERS 2

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ryan Jeffers hit his first major league homer to spark Minnesota’s four-run third inning, and Michael Pineda stayed sharp in his return from suspension.

Pineda (1-0) pitched seven innings of two-run ball in his first victory since Sept. 1, 2019. After serving a 60-game penalty for taking a banned weight-loss drug, Pineda debuted last week with six innings and a no-decision as the Twins beat Chicago.

GIANTS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kevin Gausman and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, and the San Francisco Giants ended pitcher Zac Gallen’s record-setting streak to begin his career, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Darin Ruf hit a two-run single in the sixth and Brandon Belt had a bases-loaded walk as the Giants won for the sixth time in eight games. Mike Yastrzemski added a pair of singles.

BLUE JAYS 12, YANKEES 7

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Chad Green and Adam Ottavino were routed during a 10-run sixth inning that included Danny Jansen’s grand slam, and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the Yankees and send skidding New York to its sixth loss in seven games.

New York has lost four straight and 14 of 19, dropping into third place in the AL East, two games behind second-place Toronto and 6 1/2 back of Tampa Bay. At 21-20 overall following a 16-6 start, the Yankees have dropped into the AL’s eighth and final playoff position.