KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Wade Davis pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded mess in the eighth and Greg Holland logged another save as the Kansas City Royals held on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Thursday night.

With the Royals leading by a run entering the eight, Davis gave up a single to center fielder Gerardo Parra. One out later right fielder Ryan Braun reached on shortstop Alcides Escobar's fielding error, and first baseman Adam Lind walked on four pitches to load the bases.

Davis fell behind in the count 3-0 to designated hitter Aramis Ramirez before retiring him on a foul popup to first baseman Eric Hosmer. Second baseman Scooter Gennett took a called third strike on a curveball to end the inning.

"He got a little out of whack," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He was 3-and-0 on Ramirez before he reeled it back in and made great pitches to get Ramirez out and made some great pitches to get Gennett out. Gennett was kind of just fighting off fastballs the other way and then he just gave him a different look, a wrinkle. It was a tremendous pitch.

"I enjoyed the whole inning. I got all the confidence in the world that Wade is going to get out of that."

Brewers manager Craig Counsell did not enjoy it nearly as much.

"(Davis) battled a little wildness," Counsell said. "I don't think he was pitching around Adam. I think he's scared of Adam because Adam has had some success against him. Aramis had a 3-1 pitch to hit and he just missed it."

Davis lowered his ERA to 0.31.

"I was trying to find the strike zone," Davis said. "I was lucky with the popup. I felt a little bit off. I was a little too strong on my front side. Hopefully tomorrow it will click."

He froze Gennett with a curveball.

"It started up out of the strike zone and came down towards the middle," Davis said. "Not too many people are looking for a high curveball. I was trying to bounce it in front of the plate. I figured he might be swinging."

Holland, who failed to retire any of the five Brewers he faced Monday, picked up the save, his 12th.

Jeremy Guthrie (5-4) collected the victory, holding the Brewers to two runs on seven hits over six innings.

The Royals swept the four-game series from the Brewers, who lost six straight. Yost moved past Whitey Herzog as the winningest manager in Royals' history with 411 victories.

The Royals wasted little time getting to Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson, scoring three runs in the first two innings.

Escobar, who drove in four runs Wednesday, led off the first with a double, moved to second on third baseman Mike Moustakas' fly out to center and scored on center fielder Lorenzo Cain's sacrifice fly.

The Royals added a run in the first when first baseman Eric Hosmer doubled off the left-field bullpen fence and scored on designated hitter Kendrys Morales' single.

Nelson threw 23 pitches in the first inning, giving up four hits and a sacrifice fly.

Escobar singled with two outs in the second, stole second and scored on Moustakas' single to right.

The Royals could have padded their lead, but left fielder Alex Gordon was thrown out at the plate to end the third, second baseman Omar Infante was out stealing second in the fourth, and Escobar was picked off first to end the fourth.

The Brewers cut the Royals' lead to one run in the fifth. Left fielder Shane Peterson singled with one out and advanced to third on third baseman Hernan Perez's double down the left-field line. Center fielder Gerardo Parra got Peterson home with a sacrifice fly. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy singled to right, scoring Perez.

Nelson was pulled after five innings, allowing a career-high 11 hits, but only three runs. He walked two and struck out none. He was replaced by right-hander Michael Blazek.

"They fought off some good pitches to get to pitches they could hit," Nelson said. "They hit some pitches that I missed location on. They hit some pitches that were good pitches."

NOTES: The Royals placed RHP Yordano Ventura on the 15-day disabled list due to ulnar nerve inflammation. RHP Yohan Pino was recalled from Triple-A Omaha, and he will take Ventura's spot in the rotation, starting Friday against the Boston Red Sox. ... CF Carlos Gomez was not in the Brewers' lineup for the third time in four games due to right leg issues. He could be a DL candidate. ... Royals RHP Kris Medlen will begin a rehab assignment with a Friday start for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He did not pitch last year after having Tommy John surgery in March 2014. ... The Brewers continue their road trip with a weekend series in Colorado. Milwaukee rookie RHP Taylor Jungmann starts Friday against Rockies LHP Jorge De La Rosa. ... The Royals signed first-round draft pick RHP Nolan Watson out of Indianapolis Lawrence North High School. Watson was the 33rd overall selection last week.