BY MITCH STACY
CINCINNATI (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. homered, doubled and singled to boost his major league-leading average to .352, Michael Lorenzen pitched into the sixth inning to get his first win since being traded and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 in the opener of an interleague series on Friday night.
Witt, the Royals’ All-Star shortstop, hit a four-seam fastball from Nick Martinez 430 feet into the upper deck for his 25th homer in the fourth inning. He doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice in the sixth and had an infield single in the seventh.
The Reds intentionally walked him with two outs in the ninth, just before he trotted home on Vinnie Pasquantino’s 18th homer.
Witt became the third Royals player to hit 25 homers and steal 25 bases in consecutive seasons.
“It’s special any time you kind of say that word ‘history,’” Witt said. “I’ve just got to keep preparing the way I’m preparing and keep trying to get these wins. This team is a lot of fun, and we’re just having a blast here.”
Lorenzen (6-6), acquired by the Royals in a July 29 trade with Texas, started his third game after two no-decisions. He allowed a run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings and departed after 83 pitches.
“Truthfully, it was tough,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Lorenzen’s outing. “He was behind a lot of those guys but was able to execute pitches when he needed to. It’s probably not the way he would have liked to go about it, but he really made pitches when he had to.”
Lorenzen is just glad to be on Witt’s team instead of pitching against him.
“You know, I see it on MLB Network every night, and you kind of get sick of it, to be honest, because he’s on it every night, his highlights and stuff,” Lorenzen said. “And playing with him, it’s the real deal. There’s not many people you can say that about. You can say that about Bobby. It’s the real deal. It’s incredible.”
Salvador Perez, Adam Frazier and Freddie Fermin also drove in runs for Kansas City, helping snap Cincinnati’s four-game win streak.
Martinez (6-6) pitched six innings, allowing three runs and three hits with four strikeouts.
“I could have held them a little closer,” Martinez said. “It is a good lineup.”
Tyler Stephenson had an RBI double in the sixth, one of only four hits by Cincinnati.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: RHP John Schreiber (knee) is on a rehab assignment at Single-A Quad Cities. He landed on the 15-day injury list July 29.
Reds: LHP Brent Suter pitched live batting practice Friday. He went on the 15-day injured list July 20 with a partially torn muscle in the back of his left shoulder.
UP NEXT
The Royals send right-hander Michael Wacha (9-6, 3.50 ERA) to the mound to oppose Reds lefty Nick Lodolo (9-4, 3.99) as the series continues Saturday night.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
