ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Lyles ended a 15-game winless streak and the lowly Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-4 on Saturday for their second win in three days against the team with the MLB's best record.
Lyles (1-11) allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings. It was his first victory since his final start last year on Sept. 30 while playing for the Baltimore Orioles.
The 15-game stretch marked the longest winless streak to begin a season in American or National League history, according to ESPN.
Drew Waters, Freddy Fermín and Edward Olivares homered for the Royals, who have the MLB's second worst record at 22-55.
Lyles retired his final eight batters before relievers Carlos Hernández worked a 1-2-3 seventh and Nick Wittgren went two perfect innings.
Tampa Bay (53-27) is 5-7 over its last 12 games including two losses to Oakland, which has the worst record in the MLB.
Rays shortstop Wander Franco returned after being benched for two games for how he was handled frustrating situations this season and hit a 417-foot solo homer during a two-run first. He added an RBI single in a two-run second.
Waters got his third homer, and second in three days, as the Royals scored three times in the third to make it 4-3.
Fermin hit a three-run homer off Yonny Chirinos (3-3) during a four-run fourth as the Royals rebounded to go up 7-4. Bobby Witt Jr. drove in his second run with a run-scoring double.
Nick Pratto made it 8-4 in the sixth on his second RBI grounder. Olivares went deep against Zack Littell in the eighth.
Chirinos allowed eight runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: C Salvador Pérez, who left Friday's game with a right hamstring cramp, was the DH and went 0 for 4 with a walk. ... LHP Ryan Yarbrough (facial fractures), struck by an 106.2 mph liner off the bat of Oakland's Ryan Noda on May 7, was scheduled to make his second rehab start Saturday night for Triple-A Omaha.
Rays: Ace Shane McClanahan (mid-back tightness) had his next start pushed back from Wednesday to Friday. The lefty, who left Thursday's game in the fourth, threw for five minutes in the outfield.
UP NEXT
Royals LHP Daniel Lynch (1-3) and Rays RHP Tyler Glasnow (2-1) are Sunday's starters.
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