Bobby Witt Jr belted a pair of home runs to lift the Kansas City Royals to an 8-4 win Wednesday night over the Boston Red Sox, giving the Royals a critical boost in the wild card race.

Witt opened the scoring with a one-out home run to put the Royals on the board in the bottom of the first, then added a two-RBI double in the fifth to put the Royals back in front. Vinnie Pasquantino brought Witt home later in the inning with a two-run home run, and Witt added his second home run in the next inning to cap the scoring. The Royals also picked up runs on an RBI by Michael Massey in the second and a wild pitch in the fifth, while Boston’s runs came off home runs in the third and fourth innings.

Cole Ragans went 6.1 innings in the win, allowing one earned run on six hits and two walks while fanning seven.

The Royals are now 64-52 with a game-and-a-half cushion on Boston in the wild card race. More intriguing, the Royals are four games behind Cleveland in the AL Central after the Guardians lost both games Wednesday in a double-header against Arizona. It’s an off day for the Royals before the Cardinals come to town Friday for the next two games of the I-70 series.