Bobby Witt Jr., ‘Just Having Fun’, Narrowly Lags Away

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On a night when he was pelted with the ball, much to the excitement of his teammates, Bobby Witt Jr. fell one point short of the cycle, Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe scored twice, and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 on Monday for their fourth straight win.

Witt scored three runs in the first inning, doubled in the third, and hit a triple to deep left center in the fourth to seal the game’s tough part.

The crowd chanted “Bobby! Bobby!” when Witt came to the plate in the sixth inning anticipating a single and Kansas City’s first run in 34 years, but Arizona reliever Humberto Castellanos struck out Witt with his first pitch, drawing boos. The pitch thrilled Perez, who was on the top step of the bench calling for the Diamondbacks, and the drama continued from there.

In the seventh inning, Royals substitute John Schreiber struck out Gabriel Moreno, at which point both players were warned, and Arizona manager Torrey Lovullo was ejected for an argument with plate umpire Jordan Baker after he had to stop him. Perez appeared to exchange words with Lovullo while jostling near the plate as well.

Perez told reporters after the win that the home crowd fired him up after Bobby Witt was hit with a kick in the opening period.

“They want to come out there and fight, too,” Witt said. Witt appreciated the support he received from his teammates, especially the 6-foot-3 veteran Perez. “I don’t know if I’m going to deal with it or not,” he said.

Asked about the exchange after the loss, Lovullo told reporters: “I didn’t say anything to Salvador Perez. I love Salvador Perez. He was an unbelievable major league player and I’m a huge fan.”

Witt got another chance in the eighth inning but was knocked out on a fly ball to the right field. The last Royals player to score in this cycle was Hall of Famer George Brett, in Toronto on July 25, 1990.

Speaking of Brett, Whitt joins Royals legend Willie Wilson, Carlos Beltran and Johnny Damon as the only Kansas City players to record 10 triples in multiple seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

“I’m just enjoying it, and we’re trying to prepare as best we can to try to get some wins, and just take it day by day,” Witt said in his post-match on-court interview on Bally Sports.

Witt, who was named the American League Player of the Week earlier Monday, has hit 12 of 15 home runs since his first All-Star Game and finished second in home runs, raising his average to .341. It was Witt’s fourth straight three-run game, tying Damon’s record from 2000 for the second-longest such streak in team history, behind Brett’s six in 1976.

The Royals (56-45), who are in position to qualify for the playoffs, matched their win total from last season.

Cole Ragans (7-6) held on through a slow third inning to record his second straight win and eighth-best start in nine games. He allowed six hits, two runs and three runs in six innings.

The Diamondbacks took a 3-1 lead in the third when Kevin Newman and Alec Thomas hit back-to-back doubles and Ketel Marte followed with his 20th home run, a two-run home run to left.

The Royals responded in the bottom half of the game with a double from Witt, a single from Vinny Pasquantino, and a home run from Perez that led to two runs in center field for a 4-3 lead.

In the fourth, Witt added three runs off substitute pitcher Miguel Castro to make it 8-3.

Renfroe scored in the sixth inning, Kyle Isbell 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 Yelber Diaz has allowed seven runs and nine hits in three-plus innings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.