KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Jason Foley jogged from the bullpen to the mound for the bottom of the 10th inning against the Kansas City Royals, with the free runner on second base.

Foley was tasked with protecting a two-run advantage, facing the best hitters in the Royals' lineup.

A successful outing from Foley completed the Tigers' 3-1 win over the Royals on Tuesday in the second of three games in the series at Kauffman Stadium.

The Tigers (79-73) extended their winning streak to three games and continued their winning ways in pursuit of the third and final spot in the American League wild card, securing their 24th victory in 34 games.

With the win, the Tigers stayed 1½ games behind the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card race, which is actually 2½ games considering the tiebreaker, as the Twins beat the Cleveland Guardians in the second of four games in their series.

There are 10 games remaining in the regular season.

In the top of the 10th inning, the Tigers grabbed a 2-1 lead on a one-out bloop single from Parker Meadows, dropping a first-pitch changeup into shallow left field. The free runner in extra innings scored from third base, but the only reason the runner advanced to third base was because right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg balked.

The Tigers padded their lead, 3-1, when Riley Greene hit a RBI single up the middle with two outs, scoring Meadows from second base. Meadows had moved up to second base because Erceg walked Matt Vierling on four pitches.

In the bottom of the 10th, Foley sent down Bobby Witt Jr. (groundout), Salvador Perez (flyout) and Michael Massey (flyout).

Foley needed just 11 pitches.

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Saving Casey Mize

Right-hander Casey Mize didn't have his best command throughout his 20th start, but he particularly struggled in the fifth inning when he loaded the bases with one out, forcing an early exit.

The 27-year-old walked Witt and Perez, his final two batters. The Tigers then turned to right-handed reliever Shelby Miller, who induced an inning-ending double play on a first-pitch slider to Massey.

Thanks to Miller, Mize allowed just one run on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts across 4⅓ innings, throwing 89 pitches.

There were some positive signs: His velocity was up on his four-seam fastball (plus-1.4 mph), slider (plus-2.8 mph) and splitter (plus-3 mph), and his slider generated four whiffs on nine swings. It was a step in the right direction, even though Mize had sub-par command.

In the third inning, Meadows completed an incredible running catch in center field to save Mize from another run. The running catch stranded two runners.

Mize has a 4.36 ERA in 20 starts.

Cooked by Cole Ragans

The Royals have the AL's second-best left-handed starter in Cole Ragans, only because Tarik Skubal — the Tigers' ace — is the undisputed best southpaw.

Facing the Tigers, Ragans allowed one run on four hits and four walks with six strikeouts across seven innings, throwing 105 pitches. The highlight of his 31st start was stranding two runners with back-to-back strikeouts of Trey Sweeney and Dillon Dingler in the fourth inning.

But the Tigers took a 1-0 within their first two batters, as Andy Ibáñez reached safely on a hit-by-pitch and Vierling followed by cranking a middle-middle cutter for an RBI double to left-center field.

After that, Ragans shut down the Tigers.

He has a 3.24 ERA in 31 starts.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers outlast Royals in extras, 3-1, hold ground in wild card