Bobby Witt Jr. collected three hits for the fourth consecutive game, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 10-4 win over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
Witt tripled in the first inning, doubled in the third and blasted a three-run homer in the fourth.
Attempting Kansas City’s cycle since George Brett in 1990, Witt was hit by a pitch and flied out in his final plate appearances. His fourth consecutive game of at least three hits matches Johnny Damon (2000) for the Royals’ second-longest such streak. Brett had six straight games with three or more hits in 1976.
Witt has five extra-base hits in four games since appearing in the All-Star Game. He leads the majors in home-game batting average at .411.
Cole Ragans earned the win, tossing six innings while allowing three runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Ragans (7-6) surrendered five hits and three runs in the third inning, which included Ketel Marte’s two-run homer.
Kansas City jumped ahead with a two-out, second-inning rally when Drew Waters walked, Maikel Garcia singled and Kyle Isbel hit an RBI single.
The Diamondbacks answered quickly in the third with doubles by Kevin Newman and Alek Thomas before Marte’s 20th home run produced a 3-1 lead.
Witt doubled leading off the bottom of the third, then scored on Vinnie Pasquantino’s hit. Then Arizona’s Yilber Diaz, making his third career start, left a fastball in the middle that Salvador Perez pounded 425 feet to straightaway center for a 4-3 Kansas City advantage.
The Royals added to their lead in the fourth on Isbel’s RBI hit-and-run double following a single by Garcia.
Diaz (1-1) pitched three-plus innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits and a walk. He didn’t strike out a batter.
Witt hit the first pitch from reliever Miguel Castro 431 feet to left-center for his 18th homer, capping a four-run fourth.
Hunter Renfroe homered, his ninth, leading off the fifth, and Witt scored on Perez’s sixth-inning sacrifice fly.
Isbel had three hits and two RBIs for the Royals who have won eight of their past 10 games.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was ejected after Royals reliever John Schreiber hit Gabriel Moreno with a pitch in the seventh. Lovullo apparently believed the plunking was in response to Witt getting hit by a pitch.
Arizona lost consecutive games for only the second time since late June.
–Field Level Media