Bobby Witt’s 2 homers, double and 4 RBIs lead the Royals past the Red Sox 8-4

By DAVID SMALE Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. had two homers, a double and four RBIs as the Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 8-4 Wednesday night and salvaged the final game of a three-game series.

“He’s just a phenomenal baseball player,” teammate Vinnie Pasquantino said of Witt. “I don’t know that there’s a word I can say. He’s not going to talk about personal accolades, but I will. He deserves to be in (the MVP) conversation.”

With the victory, the Royals moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Boston in the race for a wild-card spot in the American League. In the AL Central, Kansas City moved within a half-game of second-place Minnesota, which lost to the Chicago Cubs. The Royals are four games back of Cleveland, which was swept in a doubleheader by Arizona.

Witt had his fourth multi-homer game of the season, getting the Royals on the scoreboard in the first with his 21st homer. Witt’s second homer of the game was a 421-foot blast to center field in the sixth inning. He also added a two-run double.

“The pressure brings me pleasure,” Witt said about his clutch hitting. “I go up there in those situations and try to control what I can control and find a good pitch to hit.”

That attribute is not lost on his manager.

“I think he’s the best player in the league,” Matt Quatraro said. “Clearly, I’m going to be biased.”

But the admiration for Witt extended to the visiting clubhouse.

“That kid is special. He’s special,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “The way he conducts himself, the way he plays the game. From our dugout, I hate it, but I love it. He’s so polite. I think the game is in good hands.”

The Royals have homered in 13 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest streak in club history.

Cole Ragans (9-7) allowed four runs, one earned, on six hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking two.

“I was confident that he had the stuff to keep them off balance,” Quatraro said. “His efficiency kept him going back out there. He’ll get two extra days off before his next start, so we felt confident with where he was.”

Kutter Crawford (7-9) took the loss, working 3 2.3 innings and allowing six runs on five hits. He had three strikeouts and four walks.

After Witt’s homer in the first, the Royals added a run in the second on a two-out single by Michael Massey, scoring MJ Melendez.

The Red Sox moved ahead in the third inning when Romy Gonzalez hit a two-out, three-run homer into the left-field bullpen. All three runs were unearned, as Ceddanne Rafaela reached base with no outs on an error on Massey. Danny Jansen lined a home run, his seventh of the season, into the same bullpen leading off the fourth.

The Royals regained the lead with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Kansas City scored its first run of the inning on a wild pitch before Witt’s opposite-field double scored two. Pasquantino then hit his 17th homer of the season — a two-run shot — off reliever Brennan Bernardino, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.

TRANSACTIONS:

Red Sox: RHP Chris Martin was reinstated from the 15-day injured list, where he had been since July 5 (retroactive to July 4) with right elbow inflammation. In a corresponding move, LHP Cam Booser was optioned to Triple-A Worcester. … OF Tyler O’Neill was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Aug. 4) with a left leg infection. INF/OF Emmanuel Valdez was recalled from Worcester to take his place.

UP NEXT:

Red Sox: Open a three-game series against the Houston Astros on Friday. No starting pitchers have been named.

Royals: Open a two-game home series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.