By MATT PIKE
Lawrence Butler hit a three-run home run and Luis Severino settled in, giving up one run and striking out eight in seven innings, as the Athletics beat Kansas City 5-2 to snap the Royals' four-game win streak at Sutter Health Park.
Bobby Witt Jr. went 2-for-4, scoring both of Kansas City's runs and extended his hit streak to 10 games. Salvador Perez drove in Witt Jr in the opening inning with an RBI forceout in the first inning and Michael Massey had sacrifice fly in the ninth inning for the Royals only runs.
In the second inning, Jacob Wilson hit a leadoff double and scored when Jeff McNeil followed with a double to make it 1-1. In the fourth inning, Butler's 404-foot shot gave the Athletics the lead, driving in both Wilson and McNeil. Nick Kurtz hit an RBI double in the sixth inning to score Darell Hernaiz for the final Athletics run.
Kurtz also walked in the game, his 18th consecutive game with a walk, tying him with Barry Bonds for the longest such streak in nearly 80 years. Detroit’s Roy Cullenbine set the record when he drew a base on balls in 22 straight games in 1947, the last of his 10 MLB seasons. Boston’s Ted Williams had a 19-game walk streak in 1941.
Michael Wacha took the loss, dropping to 2-2 on the season, allowing four runs on eight hits and walking four in five innings while striking out five. Along with Witt's two hits and Perez's hit, Carter Jensen was 1-for-3 with a walk and Lane Thomas was 1-for-2 with a walk.
Kansas City and the Athletics wrap up their series on Thursday. Noah Cameron (2-1, 5.13 ERA, 23K's) is set to start for the Royals against Jeffrey Springs (3-2, 3.79 ERA, 31K's) for the Athletics. First pitch is at 2:05pm, pregame will air at 1:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).
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