Kansas City needed one swing to set the tone. Bobby Witt Jr. homered to left center in the first inning, and the Royals never trailed on their way to a 6-2 win over Oakland. It was the kind of quiet, controlled night that keeps a winning streak alive.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OAK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| KC | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 |
Witt finished 2-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, a walk and three runs scored, the clear engine behind the Royals' offense. His 16th homer of the season gave Kansas City the lead in the first inning, and he came around to score twice more as the lineup built on that advantage across the middle innings. He is batting .286 with 16 home runs and 48 RBIs on the season.
The go-ahead run came in the first inning, when Witt's homer put Kansas City up 1-0 for good. The Royals kept adding on: in the third, Isaac Collins singled home Witt and Salvador Perez to make it 3-0. In the fourth, Nick Loftin tripled in Michael Massey, and Perez singled in Witt to push the lead to 5-0. Massey's double in the fifth, scoring Collins, capped the Royals' scoring at 6-2.
Oakland's offense stirred briefly in the fifth inning, when Brian Serven's single drove in Lawrence Butler and Donovan Walton grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Max Muncy, cutting the deficit to 2-5. But the rally went no further. Starter Gage Jump took the loss, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts over 4.0 innings, now 5-8 on the season with a 4.83 ERA. Connor Thomas earned the win for Kansas City with 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out two.
The win extended Kansas City's winning streak to five games, improving the Royals to 55-74. Oakland, meanwhile, dropped its fourth straight and fell to 49-79.