KANSAS CITY -- Tuesday marked the Reds' 15th game played in a stretch of 16 in a row without a day off. Despite showing signs of fatigue against the Royals, there's been no sign of easing off the gas before Thursday's next off-day.

While being a charmed baseball club of late, Cincinnati showed again that it also has survival skills as it pulled out 5-4 victory over Kansas City. It was the Reds' fourth win in a row and seventh in its last nine games.

“We know in these stretches, you have to kind of bear down at the end," said center fielder TJ Friedl, who hit two singles to go along with a walk. "At the end, bodies are going to be a little bit tough, a little bit sore. You can see the off-day on the horizon but there’s a little extra motivation to finish this stretch strong, finish the series, hopefully get a sweep [Wednesday] and then enjoy the off-day after that.”

Although the Royals have baseball's second-worst record, they gave the Reds a tough battle two nights in a row. Ricky Karcher's wild save in his big league debut secured Monday's win.

On Tuesday, the Reds won despite not notching another hit and having only two baserunners after a five-run second inning against winless Royals starter Jordan Lyles. They also nearly blew a 5-1 lead.

Rookie starting pitcher Brandon Williamson finally nabbed his first big league win in his sixth start since his May 16 call-up from Triple-A Louisville. Williamson gave up four runs (three earned) with seven hits, no walks and one strikeout.

"It's awesome. It feels great," Williamson said of his first win.

Given the four-run lead in the top of the second inning, Williamson allowed Bobby Witt Jr. to lift his 2-1 cutter to left-center field for a two-run homer that made it a one-run game.

Pitching coach Derek Johnson made a mound visit after MJ Melendez followed with a single.

"I was getting to two strikes at a decent clip, [but] I was just leaving pitches for them to be able to hit with two strikes," Williamson said. "[Johnson's] message was to keep getting ahead of guys, but you've got to be able to finish. You have to go out of the zone, throw 'em in the dirt. Just execute your two-strike pitch better."

Williamson made a good recovery after that, getting Maikel Garcia to ground to shortstop for an inning-ending double play. He retired six of the final seven batters he faced, inducing a 4-6-3 double play before getting Salvador Perez to ground out to end his night with a seven-pitch fifth inning.

The bullpen kept the Royals from breaching the narrow lead. Daniel Duarte, in his first big league game in over a year for the Reds, pitched a perfect sixth inning. But Ian Gibaut was wild after getting the first out of the seventh inning. Gibaut issued a four-pitch walk, hit a batter and walked No. 9 hitter Dairon Blanco after having him in an 0-2 count.

Lucas Sims was given the ball to shut down the threat and struck out back-to-back batters to escape the bases-loaded jam -- getting Perez on a full-count fastball down in the zone to end the inning.

“You just kind of acknowledge the situation and realize the task at hand," Sims said. "It’s a tall task. You try not to make too much out of the situation. … I stay within myself, focus on the attack plan and keep battling and we came out on top.”

Sims took care of the eighth inning and the bullpen finished the job in the ninth when Alexis Díaz converted his 16th save in as many tries.

“Good teams win those one-run games," Friedl said.

After clawing back from a 1-0 deficit in the first inning, the Reds now have a National League best 22 comeback wins in 2023.

"It really kind of shows the character we have," Sims said. "It takes all 26 of us to pull together and grind these things out. Unbelievable job from everybody in that clubhouse. It’s fun. Winning is fun.”

The surging Reds are 33-35 and have inched to 1 1/2 games behind the Brewers for second place and 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Pirates in the NL Central. Since Cincinnati opened the season at 7-15, it has gone 26-20.

But after the Reds’ 16th straight game Wednesday, they will rest -- briefly -- before the three-city road trip moves to Houston.

"When you’re playing well, you should feel a little tired," Reds manager David Bell said. "That’s a good thing. That’s how it’s supposed to feel. It helps to be winning games."