The whole play seemed to unfold in slow motion.

As Seth Lugo’s pitch bounced past Salvador Perez, the big Royals catcher turned and hustled to the backstop to corral the ball. Dom Smith, who should have been a sure bet to score from third, got a late jump and rumbled home to try and salvage the go-ahead run for the Red Sox.

Smith looked dead to rights and was called out at the plate, but the Red Sox replay room saw that amid the cloud of dirt Smith snuck his right hand in just ahead of the tag. Alex Cora issued the challenge, the call was overturned, and from that point on the Red Sox were off to the races.

“I got a bad read on that, I’ve got to take off earlier, that’s definitely on me, then just trying to make a play,” Smith said. “I just wanted to sneak a hand in there and I’m glad I got it in there.”

Smith’s nifty swim move helped spark a three-run rally that fueled the Red Sox to a huge 6-5 win over the Royals. Masataka Yoshida continued his dominance at the plate by going 2 for 5 with a home run and three RBI, and Kenley Jansen recorded a four-out save to help stamp out Kansas City’s eighth-inning opportunity and close out the crucial win

The Red Sox clinched their third straight series victory, as well as the season series against a key playoff rival. Boston also now stands only a half-game back of Kansas City with an opportunity to jump into the third Wild Card spot should they complete the sweep on Wednesday.

Tuesday’s win played out in similar fashion to Monday’s opener. The early innings were a tight, well-pitched affair, with Kansas City taking an initial 1-0 lead against Brayan Bello in the first on a Vinnie Pasquantino RBI single before the Red Sox answered with three unanswered runs. Boston scored twice in the second on a David Hamilton double and Ceddanne Rafaela groundout and tacked on another run in the third on a Yoshida solo homer.

All throughout the Red Sox worked Lugo’s pitch count, and in the fifth they had the Royals ace on the ropes when they loaded the bases with two outs. But the club couldn’t capitalize, with Connor Wong striking out to end the threat, and that failure to put Kansas City away immediately proved costly.

Bello, who had been cruising along through the first four innings, got two quick outs in the fifth and then came completely unglued. The right-hander allowed a solo home run by Michael Massey, a single by Bobby Witt Jr. and an RBI double by Vinnie Pasquantino to tie the game at 3-3. He then walked Salvador Perez, prompting the hook from Cora.

Brennan Bernardino put out the fire by forcing MJ Melendez into an inning-ending flyout, but the meltdown was yet another setback for Bello, whose season has largely been a disappointment.

The 25-year-old has now thrown five innings or fewer in 10 of his 21 starts, and after allowing three runs over 4.2 innings on Tuesday his ERA for the season stands at 5.16. He also walked three batters, continuing a concerning season-long trend where he’s been unable to command his improved stuff.

Fortunately, the Red Sox offense was able to pick Bello up.

After the Royals tied the game, Smith immediately led off the top of the sixth with a double, and Nick Sogard followed with a single to put Lugo back in a jam. This time the Red Sox were able to capitalize — in unorthodox fashion — after Smith’s dramatic race home on the wild pitch, and Rafaela wrapped up the at bat by drawing a walk to finish the Kansas City starter’s day.

Three batters later Yoshida capped off the inning with a two-run single off Royals lefty Sam Long to make it 6-3. Yoshida is now 6 for 10 in the series and has posted a .330 batting average over his last 31 games dating back to June 24.

Bello also got a lift from the Red Sox bullpen, which appears to have righted the ship after falling to pieces in the two weeks following the All-Star break.

Bernardino, Zack Kelly and Cam Booser retired seven straight hitters after Bello left the game, and when the Royals made their push in the eighth, the bullpen held the line. MJ Melendez capped off a Kansas City rally with a two-run, no-out double to make it 6-5, but Luis Garcia was able to record two outs with the tying run at second. Jansen then struck out Maikel Garcia to end the threat and finished the Royals off with a perfect bottom of the ninth.

With the save Jansen moves into fourth on the all-time saves list, surpassing Craig Kimbrel with 441.

Since the calendar turned to August the Red Sox bullpen has allowed seven earned runs over 18.1 innings, good for a 3.44 ERA. The Red Sox are now 4-1 over that stretch, and the club could get more reinforcements with right-hander Chris Martin expected to be activated on Wednesday.

Boston (61-51) will now go for the sweep over Kansas City (63-52). First pitch in Wednesday’s finale is 8:10 p.m. ET.

Hendriks throws bullpen

Prior to Tuesday’s game, veteran closer Liam Hendriks faced live hitters from the mound for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. The right-hander threw 17 pitches and is now expected to throw two more live bullpen sessions before potentially starting a rehab assignment in the next week or so.