MJ Melendez drove in three runs, Bobby Witt Jr. recorded his first three-hit night of the season and the Kansas City Royals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 10-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday in Arlington, Texas.
Kansas City starter Brad Keller (2-1) impressed, limiting Texas to just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and one walk over 6 2/3 innings. The only blemish on the night for Keller was giving up a solo homer to Nathaniel Lowe in the first inning.
After that, KC controlled the game. The Royals scored three runs in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead, the last two coming on a two-run double by Melendez off Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi.
The Royals extended their lead to 4-1 on a solo homer by Vinnie Pasquantino in the third. They added two more runs to make it 6-1 in the fourth on run-scoring hits by Melendez and Witt.
KC poured it on with four runs in the seventh, including a two-run single by Michael Massey. The 10 runs were the most the Royals have scored this season, and their most since a 13-12 victory over Seattle on Sept. 25, 2022.
Eovaldi (1-2) allowed six runs on 10 hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over five innings. Rangers reliever Taylor Hearn gave up the four runs in the seventh.
Texas was playing its first game without star shortstop Corey Seager in the lineup. Seager (hamstring) exited Tuesday’s game early and is expected to miss at least four weeks, Rangers general manager Chris Young said before the game.
Josh H. Smith, who is the Rangers’ top option at shortstop with Seager sidelined, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Outfielder Leody Taveras, who took Seager’s spot on the 26-man roster, was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.
The Rangers and Royals are both off on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
