Clarke (2-1) allowed a hit and a walk with one strikeout in two scoreless innings to earn the win Sunday over the Yankees.
Clarke entered the game with the Royals down by two, but a solo home run from Hunter Dozier and a three-run blast form Salvador Perez turned the game around. Rather than bring in struggling closer Scott Barlow, manager Mike Matheny stuck with Clarke for a second frame, and the right-hander rewarded that decision by navigating a two-on, one-out situation in the ninth. July did a lot to boost Clarke's stock in the Kansas City bullpen -- he allowed just one run on seven hits and three walks while striking out 10 over 12 innings in 11 appearances. He now has a 3.65 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 39:7 K:BB across 44.1 innings this season, and he's added two saves, 10 holds and four blown saves. Clarke is likely to share setup duties with Josh Staumont going forward.