The Kansas City Royals have matched their win total at Kauffman Stadium from the previous month, as four home runs contributed to a 9-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, July 7.

Vinnie Pasquantino put the Royals on the board with a solo home run to right field with two outs in the first. The Pirates would get their only lead of the game in the third, when Tommy Pham delivered a two-run home run to center. That lead would be short-lived, as the Royals responded with three runs in the home half of the inning off the bats of Maikel Garcia, Salvador Perez, and Mark Canha.

The Royals would then get home runs from Bobby Witt Jr in the fourth, Perez in the fifth, and Nick Loftin in the eighth, while Witt provided a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to score Kyle Isbel. The Pirates picked up a run in the ninth as Jonathan Bowlan closed out the game. Noah Cameron struck out seven as he went seven innings in the win, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk.

The Royals are now second in the AL Central, still 14 games behind Detroit for the division lead and five games behind Seattle for the third wild card spot. Seth Lugo will get the start for KC in game two of the series. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m., with pregame at 6 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9.

The Saint Louis Cardinals were off Monday after a 4-5 road trip that saw the Cardinals sweep Cleveland only to not plate a run against Pittsburgh. The Redbirds welcome Washington to Busch Stadium on Tuesday evening, with Sonny Gray taking the mound. First pitch is at 6:45 p.m.