CLEVELAND -- The Royals lost starter Michael Lorenzen early in Tuesday’s game due to a hamstring injury, forcing them into an impromptu bullpen game. They had to wait out a two-hour, 14-minute rain delay. They had a scare when star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was hit on the hand by a pitch.

But at the end of the night -- just before Tuesday turned into Wednesday -- the Royals moved into a tie with the Guardians for the American League Central lead with a 6-1 win at Progressive Field.

And by clinching the season series -- 7-2 with four more games to play -- Kansas City also owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Guardians had held a lead in the division since April 13. On June 25, the Royals were 10 games out of first place.

After three wins in two days, the Royals flipped what was a three-game deficit into a tie.

“That’s our goal, to win the division,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Clearly, nothing is decided. We’ve got a month-plus to go. But we like the way we’re playing. Our guys are super competitive. They don’t back down from anything. This is what a pennant race should be, to be honest.

“It’s fun to be going back and forth with a good team.”

The two teams have the same record (75-58) with Wednesday’s series finale on deck and one more series in Kansas City next week.

“It’s going to be one game at a time,” Paul DeJong said. “It’s going to be a grind. We have a long way to go, but I think if we’re able to slow things down and stay in the moment, I think we’ll end right where we’re supposed to be.”

The Royals still have 29 games left to play, so there’s no partying yet. And there are still concerns because Lorenzen exited Tuesday’s start with a left hamstring strain in the second inning, leaving the Royals relying on their bullpen a day after a doubleheader.

After Carlos Hernández picked up 2 1/3 innings following Lorenzen’s exit, four relievers combined for five perfect innings following the rain delay.

“Fifteen up, 15 down from the bullpen is remarkable,” Quatraro said. “Carlos set the tone. We don’t know what we’re going to get there. He got one day rest prior to that, he had 23-25 pitches a couple days earlier. So he was going three [days] out of five, coming into a big spot in the lineup. And he really nailed it.”

Lorenzen exited Tuesday’s game with two outs in the second inning. Pitching with a 2-0 lead after DeJong’s two-run homer, Lorenzen sprinted over to cover first base on a force out but felt his hamstring pull while stretching out trying to complete the double play. He grimaced as he fell to the ground. After Quatraro and assistant athletic trainer Chris DeLucia checked on Lorenzen, he stayed in the game and struck out Lane Thomas.

But Lorenzen only threw one pitch to Bo Naylor before exiting the game. The right-hander will head back to Kansas City on Wednesday to undergo an MRI and determine the severity of the strain, but it’s “doubtful” he’ll be making his next start, Quatraro said.

The Royals will tap into their depth until Lorenzen can return. On Tuesday, it was the bullpen that helped save them once again as the Royals offense pulled away with a three-run seventh inning with RBIs from Maikel Garcia and Michael Massey.

Witt got hit in that inning with a 91.5 mph sinker that first hit his arm before bouncing down on the knuckle of his right middle finger. He stayed in the game after a lengthy visit from DeLucia checking on a visibly shaking right hand. Witt was getting an X-ray postgame Wednesday but didn’t seem too concerned.

When play resumed late Tuesday, James McArthur looked as sharp as he has in quite some time, striking out four batters across two innings while only needing 22 pitches. Garcia helped set the tone by snagging a line drive from José Ramírez to begin the fifth inning. McArthur is starting to see results with his curveball again, which generated four whiffs on six swings.

John Schreiber, Sam Long and Chris Stratton rounded out the late night. Over the last three games against the Guardians, Kansas City's bullpen has allowed just two runs in 16 2/3 innings.

“I think those guys are hungry to perform and hungry to compete,” DeJong said.

The Royals are going to need that kind of performance from the unit in September and beyond. Getting McArthur back on track for middle innings, seeing Schreiber healthy and pitching big innings again and relying on closer Lucas Erceg will be crucial late in the year.

“We have a lot of baseball left to play,” McArthur said. “I think everybody in this clubhouse is excited. Feels like we’re playing our type of baseball right now. And I think that’s kind of the focus. We know if we play our baseball, we got a good shot at this thing.”