Cleveland ? Jim Thome saw just one pitch clearly in the late-afternoon shadows. That was all he needed.

Thome tied the game with his 52nd homer, a three-run shot in the eighth inning, and the Cleveland Indians went on to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 in 10 innings Saturday.

“I was having trouble seeing because of the shadows,” Thome said. “He threw one curve that I’m lucky didn’t hit me because I never saw it. I saw the one I hit good, though.”

Royals starter Runelvys Hernandez left with a 5-2 lead in the eighth after twisting his right knee while delivering a pitch Coco Crisp hit for a leadoff single.

“He had a little problem with his right knee,” Royals manager Tony Pena said. “He’s a young guy, and we didn’t want to take a chance.”

Omar Vizquel singled off the glove of reliever Jeremy Affeldt, and Thome homered on a 3-2 pitch, extending his team record for homers in a season.

“I threw a 1-2 curve right where I wanted and the ump called it a ball,” Affeldt said. I threw a 3-2 fastball right where he (Thome) wanted, and he hit a home run.”

Thome, who had four RBIs, has reached safely by hit or walk in 54 consecutive games, two short of the longest streak in the majors this season, by San Diego’s Ryan Klesko.

Vizquel walked against Mike MacDougal (0-1) leading off the 10th and took second on a wild pitch. Thome was intentionally walked, Vizquel stole third without a throw and pinch-hitter Ellis Burks had an RBI grounder to shortstop, where the ball rolled off Angel Berroa’s glove for an error.

“You walk that first guy, it seems like they always score somehow,” MacDougal said.

Kansas City's Raul Ibanez is congratulated after scoring a run in the top of the first inning. The Indians ralled for a 7-3 victory over the Royals on Sunday in Cleveland.

Mark Wohlers (3-4) pitched a scoreless 10th, helping drop the Royals to 62-99 with one game remaining.

Kansas City’s Mike Sweeney went 0-for-4, dropping his average from .343 to .340. Boston’s Manny Ramirez was 2-for-4 Saturday, raising his league-leading average to .349.

Sweeney fouled a ball off his right foot in his last at-bat.

“It’s pretty sore,” the first baseman said. “I can barely walk on it. We’ll see if I can play tomorrow.”

The Indians honored Charles Nagy in pregame ceremonies, and the right-hander made his 313th and likely last appearance in a Cleveland uniform when he relieved in the eighth inning.

He received a standing ovation when he took the mound and another when he struck out Berroa and Kit Pellow to end the inning.

“Well, that was better than being hit around and being taken off the mound,” Nagy said. “It was a memorable day. Jimmy hitting that home run was special. I’ve known him a long time, and he just gets better and better.”

Joe Randa hit a three-run homer in the first off Dave Burba, but Thome hit an RBI grounder in the first and Ben Broussard had a run-scoring single in the second that closed Cleveland to 3-2.