ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jose Siri homered, Wander Franco had a sacrifice fly in a two-run seventh, and the MLB-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat Kansas City 3-1 Sunday for a split of a four-game series against the lowly Royals.
The Rays are 6-7 over their last 13 games, including a four-game split with Oakland, which has the worst record in the majors.
Still, Tampa Bay reached the halfway point of the season at 54-27, with a 4 1/2 game lead over Baltimore in the AL East.
“It's awesome,” Rays starter Tyler Glasnow said. “It's great. We've been playing really well all season and we've maintained it throughout the season as well.”
Kansas City dropped to 22-56 and is winless in 11 consecutive series, the third-longest stretch during the same season in franchise history.
“Tough game,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We were in it right to the end.
The game was delayed approximately 15 minutes in the fifth inning when plate umpire and crew chief Mark Wegner took a hard foul tip by Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena off the mask. After being checked out behind the plate, Wegner walked off the field with a Rays’ trainer.
Siri opened the seventh inning by drawing a walk from Taylor Clarke (1-2). Yandy Díaz got his fourth hit of the game on an infield single that deflected off the Royals reliever to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who was charged with an error for an errant throw to first that put runners on second and third.
Siri scored on Clarke's wild pitch before Franco's sacrifice fly made it 3-1.
Franco had a homer and two RBIs on Saturday, his first game after being benched two days for how he is handled frustrating situations this season.
Siri opened the scoring with a solo homer in the third-inning, He has hit 12 of his 14 homers since May 7..
After Colin Poche (5-2) worked a scoreless eighth, and Pete Fairbanks got three outs in the ninth to earn his eighth save.
Both staters pitched well, but didn't figure in the decision.
Kansas City's Daniel Lynch gave up one run and six hits over six innings. The lefty was coming off a start Tuesday at Detroit in which he allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings.
“Daniel threw the ball well,” Quatraro said. “They made him work. Made really tough pitches, got soft contact.”
Glasnow, making his sixth start after beginning the season on the injured list with an oblique injury, gave up one run, four hits and struck out a season-high 12 in five innings. The 6-foot-8 right-hander struck out the side in the first, third and fifth innings.
“Gasoline,” Siri said through a translator about Glasnow's stuff.
The Royals struck out 17 times overall.
Kansas City tied it at 1 in the fourth when Witt singled, swiped second for the Royals' third stolen base in the game and scored on Maikel Garcia's base hit.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: LHP Ryan Yarbrough (facial fractures), hit by a 106.2 mph liner off the bat of Oakland's Ryan Noda on May 7, went four scoreless innings for Triple-A Omaha on Saturday in his second minor league start.
Rays: Ace Shane McClanahan (mid-back tightness) threw four minutes in the outfield and seven pitches off the mound and said it went good. His next start has been pushed back from Wednesday to Friday after leaving last Thursday's start in the fourth inning.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Brady Singer (4-7) and Cleveland RHP Gavin Williams (0-1) are Tuesday night's starters.
Rays:: RHP Taj Bradley (5-3) will face Arizona on Tuesday night.
