DETROIT -- Eric Hosmer allowed the Kansas City Royals to relax by breaking up Anibal Sanchez's no-hit bid. In his next at-bat, he won the game for them.

Hosmer hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the ninth to give the streaking Royals a 4-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday at Comerica Park.

Hosmer blasted reliever Shane Greene's 0-1 pitch into the right field stands following Lorenzo Cain's one-out single. The first baseman's 17th home run of the season lifted the Royals to their ninth win in 11 games, getting the defending champions back to .500.

"That's the benefit of having guys like Cain ahead of me and on base," Hosmer said after Kansas City completed its sweep of a three-game series. "You don't want to miss low with the chance of him running. I was ready to swing early and I missed the first one, and caught the second one."

For quite a while, the night belonged to Sanchez. He held the Royals hitless through 6 2/3 innings prior to Hosmer's double to left-center field. Sanchez, who struck out eight, departed after the seventh.

"It was getting late," Hosmer said. "I know everyone started to notice it around the sixth or seventh inning. It (the double) kind of took a load off of us and then Gordo (Alex Gordon) there with a big swing tied things up. That sparked a whole new energy. With this team, you just feel like there's no way you give up the game at that point."

Gordon extended his hitting streak to eight games with a tying home run in the eighth inning off Justin Wilson. Drew Butera added an RBI single after Hosmer's homer.

Royals starter Yordano Ventura limited Detroit to one run on five hits while striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings. Rookie Matt Strahm (1-0) collected his first major league victory with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Kelvin Herrera recorded his sixth save.

"The pitching's been fantastic, the defense has been solid and now we're starting to mix in some timely hitting," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "That's what was missing a couple of weeks ago when we were struggling a little bit."

Sanchez gave up eight runs in four innings to Texas in his previous start. He had two quality starts prior to that debacle.

"I threw a really good game against the Mets and a terrible outing against Texas and now I come in with this game," he said. "I'm healthy and I just keep working, just keep the same routine. I believe everything can change at some point and today's one of those days. I feel confident after this outing."

Sanchez threw a no-hitter in his rookie season for the Florida Marlins. He only allowed two baserunners before Hosmer's hit.

"I tried to throw a curveball down and in and just left it a little bit up," Sanchez said. "He's a great hitter. He's getting better every year."

Greene (2-3) allowed three runs in his lone inning as the Tigers lost for the eighth time in 10 games.

Detroit left fielder Tyler Collins came out after the seventh inning with a right knee contusion. He was hit by a pitch in the sixth. First baseman Miguel Cabrera, who missed Tuesday's game with a left biceps strain, was 0-for-4.

Ventura struck out two batters in the first, but Victor Martinez homered off him for the third time in his career in the second.

The Tigers had 11 baserunners over the next six innings but couldn't push across another run.

NOTES: Tigers LF Justin Upton entered as a sub and went 0-for-1. He has just three hits in his past 43 at-bats, dropping his season average to .226, and he is homerless in August. "His bat's not slow, he's out of sync mechanically," manager Brad Ausmus said. "His timing is off." ... Detroit SS/3B Erick Aybar, who was acquired in trade with Atlanta on Tuesday, is glad to be back in a pennant race. "Atlanta was a different mindset because of the (rebuilding) phase up there," he said. "Coming here, it's a totally different mindset. You're trying to win." ... Kansas City RHP Kris Medlen tossed two scoreless innings for the Royals' rookie-level Arizona League affiliate on Tuesday. Medlen is on the 60-day disabled list due to right rotator cuff inflammation. ... The Royals' four blasts on Tuesday lifted them over the 100-homer mark for the season at 102. Even with two more on Wednesday, they still rank last in the American League.