by KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On a night when he was hit by a pitch and his teammates were excited, Bobby Witt Jr. missed a single to complete the cycle, Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe also homered, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 on Monday for their fourth straight victory.
Witt hit a triple in the first inning, a double in the third and hit a three-run homer deep to left-center field in the fourth to end the toughest game.
The crowd rose to its feet, chanting “Bobby! Bobby!” when Witt came to the plate in the sixth inning expecting a single and the first cycle by a Kansas City player in 34 years, but Arizona reliever Humberto Castellanos hit Witt with his first pitch, drawing loud boos. The pitch ignited Perez, who was on the top step of the dugout yelling at the Diamondbacks, and the drama only continued from there.
In the seventh inning, Royals reliever John Schreiber hit Gabriel Moreno and at that point both benches were warned and Arizona manager Torey Lovullo was ejected for arguing with home plate umpire Jordan Baker after he had to be restrained. Perez also appeared to exchange a few words with Lovullo during the melee near home plate.
Perez told reporters after the win that the home fans cheered him on after Bobby Witt was hit an inning earlier.
“They also want to go out there and fight,” he said. And Witt appreciated the support from his teammates, especially the 6-foot-3 veteran Perez, saying, “I don’t know if I’d mess with him.”
Lovullo was asked about the trade after the loss, telling reporters: “I never said anything to Salvador Perez. I love Salvador Perez. He was an incredible player in the major leagues and I’m a huge fan of his.”
Witt had another chance in the eighth inning, but was retired on a fly ball to right field. The last Royals player to hit a cycle was Hall of Famer George Brett in Toronto on July 25, 1990.
Speaking of Brett, Witt joined Royals legend Willie Wilson, Carlos Beltran and Johnny Damon as the only Kansas City players with 10 triples in multiple seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“I’m just having fun, we’re trying to prepare the best we can to try to string together some wins and just keep taking it day by day,” Witt said in his post-game on-court interview with Bally Sports.
Witt, who was named the American League Player of the Week earlier Monday, has 12 hits in 15 at-bats since making his first All-Star game and finishing second in the hitting contest, raising his average to .341. It’s Witt’s fourth straight three-hit game, tying Damon in 2000 for the second-best such streak in franchise history, behind only Brett’s six games in 1976.
The Royals (56-45), who are in a playoff position, matched their win total from last season.
Cole Ragans (7-6) survived a shaky third inning to record his second straight win and eighth quality start in nine. He allowed six hits, two walks and three runs in six innings.
The Diamondbacks took a 3-1 lead in the third inning when Kevin Newman and Alek Thomas hit back-to-back doubles and Ketel Marte followed with his 20th homer, a two-run shot to left.
The Royals responded in the bottom half with Witt’s double, Vinnie Pasquantino’s RBI single and Perez’s two-run home run to center field for a 4-3 lead.
Witt’s three-run shot off reliever Miguel Castro in the fourth inning made it 8-3.
Renfroe hit a home run in the sixth inning, Kyle Isbel had three hits and two RBIs, and Pasquantino had three hits for the Royals.
After allowing just one run in six innings in each of his first two major league starts, Arizona’s Yilber Diaz allowed seven runs and nine hits in three-plus innings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
