The Kansas City Royals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3, taking game one of the inter-league matchup on Friday, September 13.

The Royals grabbed the early lead with a six-run second inning that was capped off by Salvador Perez’s 27th homer of the year. Kyle Isbel homered in the fourth and Adam Frazier connected with a home run in the eighth to complete the scoring for Kansas City.

Alec Marsh went 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and two walks with eleven strikeouts to pick up his eighth win of the season.

Kansas City improves to 81-67 and sit three games back from Cleveland in the AL Central. The Royals still hold a 2.5 game advantage over Minnesota for the second wild card spot.

UP NEXT

The Royals continue their series with the Pirates on Saturday, September 14. First pitch is at 12:05 p.m.