KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The squeeze play executed by Nicky Lopez and Kye Isbel broke the ice for the Kansas City Royals, then rookies MJ Melendez and Bobby Witt Jr. punched through in a big way as a five-run inning swung the night in a completely different direction.
Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer turned in a stellar outing, having made one mistake that he paid for on the scoreboard. Thanks to a pitching matchup against Arizona Diamondbacks lights-out right-hander Zack Gallen, Singer seemed destined for a tough-luck loss.
Instead, Singer tossed the last of his seven innings and the Royals burst onto the scoreboard with a five-run inning on their way to a 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks in front of an announced 10,531 at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday night.
The win gave the Royals (51-75) a split in the two-game interleague set. They’ve now won two of three to start their homestand.
Witt went 1 for 4 with three RBIs and homered for the second consecutive night. He brought his season total to 18 home runs and moved him one ahead of Salvador Perez for the team lead.
Royals newcomer Drew Waters, who made his major-league debut on Monday, had two hits (2 for 2) including the first of his career in the big leagues.
Melendez (1 for 4, run, RBI) and Lopez (0 for 1, run, RBI) both drove in runs for the Royals.
Singer (7-4) earned the win. He allowed one run on four hits, one home run, and didn’t walk a batter. He registered six strikeouts.
