KANSAS CITY -- Three batters into Sunday¡¯s game against the Twins, Royals starter Michael Wacha found himself in trouble with Trevor Larnach rocketing a double off the right-field wall and Jose Miranda scooting around the bases attempting to score from first base.

The Royals¡¯ defense made sure Wacha got out of it by executing a perfect relay throw home, from Hunter Renfroe to Maikel Garcia to Freddy Fermin at the plate, nabbing Miranda and keeping a run off the board.

¡°I just heard Bobby [Witt] Jr. yell, ¡®Four, four, four,¡¯ and I was ready to throw,¡± Garcia said. ¡°It¡¯s a great way to start the game. Gives more confidence to Wacha to know that we¡¯re there for him.¡±

For Wacha, it was almost like a ¡°wake-up call,¡± he said.

¡°Hey, let¡¯s lock it back in here,¡± Wacha said. ¡°Let¡¯s not give them any more opportunities.¡±

And he didn¡¯t. Wacha faced the minimum for his final six innings -- thanks to two double plays in the third and sixth -- en route to seven shutout frames and the Royals¡¯ 2-0 win over the Twins at Kauffman Stadium.

It was Wacha¡¯s 100th career win, making him just the 20th active pitcher to reach that milestone.

¡°A lot has to go right to get wins in this league,¡± Wacha said. ¡°We got to score, obviously. Very rarely am I going nine, so it comes down to the bullpen shutting it down. It was definitely one of those days today.¡±

By sweeping the Twins, the Royals (79-65) solidified a 2 1/2-game lead over Minnesota for second place in the American League Central, pulling within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Guardians.

The Royals also lead by six games for a spot in the AL Wild Card.

A new challenge now awaits them in New York for a three-game series against the Yankees this week in a potential Wild Card Series preview.

¡°We¡¯re going to continue to play hard and win as many games as we can and make it to the playoffs,¡± Salvador Perez said. ¡°I know the last seven, eight years in Kansas City have been tough. Now that we got the chance, we¡¯re not going to take anything for granted. We¡¯re going to play hard.¡±

The Royals¡¯ rotation has been reliable all year and hasn¡¯t run out of gas yet down the stretch. Starters have allowed two runs or fewer in eight of the last 10 games. The Royals scored just 11 runs this weekend against the Twins, but it didn¡¯t matter because the pitching staff held Minnesota to just two runs, both of which came on Saturday.

The bullpen hasn¡¯t allowed a run in its last 12 innings, dating back to the ninth inning on Tuesday against Cleveland.

¡°It¡¯s the same formula we¡¯ve used throughout the season,¡± said reliever Kris Bubic after throwing a scoreless eighth on Sunday. ¡°Starters have given us a lot of quality starts and kept us in a lot of ball games. When we get called on, we just want to try to put up zeroes.¡±

The Royals felt confident about better results in ¡®24 after rebuilding their rotation. But to have the second-best rotation ERA (3.56) in baseball a year after posting the fourth-worst ERA (5.12)? It¡¯s why the Royals have been able to go from 106 losses in ¡®23 to having a 95% chance at making the postseason in ¡®24, per FanGraphs.

¡°This is what our hope was, that these guys were the backbone of the team,¡± manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°Good teams have good pitching. ¡­ They have far exceeded what anyone could have hoped for with their durability and their ability to go deep into games against good teams.¡±

Wacha has been a key part of that. Over his last 19 starts since May 9, he¡¯s gone 11-3 with a 2.62 ERA, holding opponents to two runs or fewer in 15 of those 19 outings.

Wacha struck out seven Twins on Sunday. He dueled with Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson for four innings before the Royals were able to scratch across two runs in the bottom of the fifth with Garrett Hampson¡¯s sacrifice fly and Perez¡¯s infield single rolling up the third base line, staying fair as a run came across and Perez hustled his way to first base.

Once safe, he turned to the Royals¡¯ dugout with a signature Salvy grin.

¡°That was the best bunt I¡¯ve ever made,¡± Perez quipped. ¡°Whatever it takes to bring some guys in. It¡¯s part of the game. They pitched me really good. Yesterday, I think I hit 111 mph [exit velocity]. Out. Today, it was [59.9] mph. Base hit. It¡¯s a crazy game. You have to be crazy to play this game.¡±