PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. drove in his 100th run of the season with a solo homer in the first inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Saturday.
Witt also hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and a run-scoring double in the sixth. He went 2 for 3 to raise his MLB-leading batting average to .333. He also has 31 homers and 102 RBIs.
Michael Wacha (13-7) gave up one run in five innings to improve to 9-1 with a 2.68 ERA in 13 starts since the beginning of July. He allowed four hits, walked three and struck out eight.
The Royals won for the seventh time in nine games since a seven-game losing streak as they try to reach the postseason for the first time since winning the World Series in 2015. The Royals also assured themselves of their first winning season since 2015 by raising their record to 82-67.
Kansas City entered the day with a 2½-game lead over Minnesota for the second AL wild card. The Royals trailed first-place Cleveland by three games in the AL Central.
The Royals had five stolen bases, three by Maikol Garcia and two by Kyle Isbel.
Mitch Keller (11-10) lost for the fifth time in his last six decisions, allowing four runs — three earned — and four hits with six strikeouts and one walk. The Pirates made three errors behind Keller.
After Witt staked the Royals to the early 1-0 lead, the Royals scored twice in the fifth. Adam Frazier tripled past diving center field Oneil Cruz and scored on Garcia’s double before Witt hit a sacrifice fly.
The Pirates scored their lone run in the fifth on an RBI single by Cruz. They are 14-24 since Aug. 4.
Kansas City’s Michael Massey doubled and scored on third baseman Jared Triolo’s error in the fifth. Witt’s RBI double in the sixth made it 5-1.
Bryan Reynolds and Triolo each had two hits for the Pirates.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: RHP Chris Stratton (right forearm flexor strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list and LHP Angel Zerpa was recalled from Triple-A Omaha.
UP NEXT
The series concludes Sunday with Royals RHP Brady Singer (9-10, 3.42 ERA) facing rookie RHP Jared Jones (6-7, 3.82 ERA). Singer is 1-4 with a 5.17 ERA in his last seven starts.
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