KANSAS CITY -- Seth Lugo was worried the ball was leaving the park. Parker Meadows was pretty sure the ball was gone. Javier B¨¢ez was certain of it.

Adam Frazier appeared to be the only one with doubts about Meadows¡¯ knock as it soared toward him in the third inning. The Royals¡¯ right fielder sprinted to the warning track, camped out and executed a picture-perfect stutter-step for additional height as he skied at the wall to rob Meadows of a hit and extend what at that point was a no-hitter for Lugo.

Equally remarkable was how well Frazier stuck the landing. In one fluid motion, Frazier planted his feet, spun and fired a laser to first base to double off the speedy B¨¢ez.

¡°Without that, it¡¯s a completely different game,¡± Lugo said. ¡°It¡¯s 2-1 in the ninth, and they¡¯ve got the closer going.

¡°That won the game for us.¡±

Had Lugo not lost the no-no in the next inning, Frazier¡¯s snag would have been the catch -- the play everyone looks back on as the one that preserved the bid. Frazier¡¯s defense still helped Lugo earn his fourth victory of the season and lower his ERA to 1.66 during Kansas City¡¯s 8-0 win against the Tigers at Comerica Park on Friday afternoon.

Frazier¡¯s glovework was just as important to Kansas City, which held the slimmest advantage, having at that point earned its lone run on a Bobby Witt Jr. sac fly that scored Frazier in the third.

¡°It was crazy. It got us hyped up, and it was a great game-saving catch, I believe,¡± said Witt, who finished with a two-run triple and three RBIs. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s one of those catches that you¡¯re around the game for a while, you play the game for a long time and you¡¯ve never seen one in person, but I got to witness that, and it was incredible.¡±

In addition to the big play, all the little things that have clicked lately for the Royals continued to do so throughout Kansas City¡¯s fourth consecutive victory.

Frazier¡¯s early-game heroics served to fuel Lugo, who was already pitching like his hair was on fire. The right-hander was nearly unhittable in the series opener, striking out a career-high-tying nine and allowing just three singles across his seven scoreless frames.

Lugo employed his entire arsenal, using his four-seamer to set up a handful of offspeed pitches that kept the Tigers guessing and drew 13 swings and misses.

¡°When he locates, he¡¯s unique, because he can make the ball move in every direction,¡± manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°And clearly today, he was hitting the corners pretty well. It gave them fits.¡±

Lugo iced Detroit¡¯s bats long enough to allow the Royals to heat up at the plate and outlast Tigers starter Reese Olson, who struck out eight in his seven innings. While Frazier¡¯s catch denied Detroit two runs, a lead and the momentum of a one-run lead, it also bought the Royals some breathing room as they waited for the offense to heat up.

It took until the ninth, but the Royals didn¡¯t disappoint, stringing together a seven-run frame that blew the game wide open against a Detroit bullpen that led the Majors in ERA (2.06) coming into Friday.

The tone of the game would have been different had Frazier not brought Meadows¡¯ drive back inside the park six innings prior, and maybe the outcome would have been, too.

Olson certainly thought so.

¡°It would've been awesome [had it gone over],¡± he said. ¡°Incredible play. Would've liked to see it go over the fence, obviously."

As impressive as Frazier¡¯s catch was -- he elevated a full arm¡¯s length above the yellow piping along the top of the outfield fence -- it wasn¡¯t the first time the Royals have drawn rave reviews for improbable defense. Heck, it wasn¡¯t even the first time this week: On Thursday evening, Kyle Isbel made a tumbling catch in the pouring rain to preserve Kansas City¡¯s lead and eventual win in the series finale against the Blue Jays.

Many had labeled Isbel¡¯s snag the Royals¡¯ ¡°catch of the year,¡± but it didn¡¯t take long for some competition to surface.

Isbel and Frazier, who on Friday made just his 33rd start in right field during his nine-year MLB career, have certainly set the bar high lately. But only one earned props from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who reposted a clip showcasing Frazier¡¯s play followed by three ¡°mind blown¡± emojis.

¡°He wows me sometimes, so to wow him, that¡¯s pretty cool,¡± Frazier said.