KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nick Martinez threw seven good innings and Tyler Stephenson homered to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
Martinez (3-5) allowed three singles in six scoreless innings before finishing seven innings with three runs on six hits, two strikeouts, and no walks.
Stephenson launched a two-run shot to left in the fifth inning, his second of the season, to extend the Reds’ advantage to 6-0. Stephenson recorded three of Cincinnati’s 14 hits.
Michael Lorenzen (3-6) gave up six runs on 11 hits, three walks, and two strikeouts in five innings as the Royals suffered their third loss in four games.
Cincinnati went ahead 1-0 in the first on TJ Friedl’s leadoff double and Austin Hays’ sacrifice fly. The Reds lead the majors with 46 first-inning runs, outscoring opponents 46-21 in the first.
Gavin Lux and Stephenson drove in runs with two of the Reds’ five hits in the third inning, and Will Benson added a sacrifice fly for a 4-0 advantage.
In the seventh inning, Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer off the first pitch, ending Martinez’s 42 2/3 innings without a home run. Nick Loftin added a sacrifice fly, reducing Kansas City’s deficit to 6-3.
Vinnie Pasquantino had three hits, extending his hitting run to ten games, including four consecutive multi-hit games. Maikel Garcia has extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Elly De La Cruz, who played shortstop for all but three innings this season, was the designated hitter, with Garrett Hampson getting his first start at shortstop.
Key moment
In his major league debut, John Rave bunted for a hit, putting runners on the corners with no outs in the seventh inning. Cleveland appealed the safe ruling at first, which was reversed, and Martinez retired the next two hitters to end the inning.
Key stat:
Martinez needed only 67 pitches to shut out the Royals over six innings.
Up next
Former Royals RHP Brady Singer (5-3, 4.88) takes the mound for Cincinnati, while Kansas City has not announced a starter for Tuesday.
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