KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez hit two of Kansas City's four home runs to back a strong start by rookie Noah Cameron, and the Royals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-3 on Monday night.
Cameron (3-4) struck out seven in a season-high seven innings. The left-hander allowed three hits, a walk, and two runs — on Tommy Pham's two-run shot in the third.
Witt went 2 for 3 and scored twice to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Witt hit his 13th homer, a two-run shot the opposite way to right-center field off reliever Chase Shugart to give the Royals a 6-2 lead in the fourth. He added a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Witt finished off a seven-game trip Sunday by extending his club-record hitting streak on the road to 25 games.
Perez hit his 11th homer, a solo shot to left in the fifth for a five-run advantage. He hit his 24th double off the top of the wall in left to drive in a run for a 3-2 lead in the third.
Vinnie Pasquantino hit a two-out pitch from Andrew Heaney in the first for his 15th homer and a 1-0 lead. Nick Loftin hit his second, a one-out solo shot off Génesis Cabrera in the eighth. Heaney (4-8) threw 76 pitches and allowed four runs in three innings.
Pham's homer was his third. It snapped Pittsburgh's 30-inning scoreless streak and gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
Steven Cruz pitched a scoreless eighth and Jonathan Bowlan allowed Alexander Canario's RBI single in the ninth to finish for Kansas City.