Winning nine games in a row usually allows a baseball team to gain ground in the standings. That finally happened for the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.

Cleveland beat the LA Angels 5-4 to finish a third consecutive series sweep. Meanwhile, the second-place Kansas City Royals saw their own eight-game winning streak come to an end.

That means the Guardians extended their lead over KC to 2.5 games in the American League Central.

LIVELY ARMS

Ben Lively (5-2) continues to be an amazing find for the Guardians in the wake of Shane Bieber’s injury. He pitched seven innings, giving up four hits and two runs. Lively lowered his ERA to 2.80.

Speaking of low ERA’s, Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase picked up his 17th save. His ERA is a microscopic 0.33.

At the plate, Jose Ramirez hit another (record scratch)

Hold on! Angels right fielder Jo Adell robbed Ramirez of a home run, so the Guardians needed to find other offensive heroes.

Rookie outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez doubled to left field in the third inning to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead. The Angels tied the score in the fifth inning on a two-run bomb from catcher Matt Thaiss.

TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM

Cleveland loaded the bases in the sixth inning and regained the lead when Angels reliever Adam Cimber hit Tyler Freeman with a pitch.  Gimenez knocked in another run with a single.

Even on a day when he didn’t get a hit, Ramirez couldn’t stop driving in runs. He drew a based-loaded walk to extend Cleveland’s lead to 5-2.

The Angels closed the gap to 5-4 in the eighth on run-scoring singles from Luis Rengifo and Kevin Pillar before the Cleveland bullpen slammed the door.

WHO’S NEXT?

The Guardians juggernaut rolls into Colorado for a Memorial Day game against the Rockies at 4:10 p.m. Eastern. Xzavion Curry will start for the Guardians against the Rockies’ Austin Gomber.