Royals (4 HRs) get bats in gear against Guards: 'We put it to them'

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals’ offense had been waiting for this.

There had been signs of a breakout -- Monday’s back-to-back homers and Wednesday’s five-run rally with two out were flashes of what Kansas City showed it was capable of during the first two months of the season, but Friday night’s outburst was the relentless Royals at their best.

All nine starters either reached base, drove in a run or logged a hit in Kansas City’s 10-3 win over the first-place Guardians at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals entered Friday in a June swoon -- tied for 26th in runs per game (3.50), 26th in OPS (.646) and tied for 27th in hits (169) this month -- but 13 knocks, including four homers from Salvador Perez, Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Isbel and Vinnie Pasquantino, sparked an offense that was in dire need of a high-powered night.

“Everybody’s going to struggle eventually during the season, that’s just inevitable,” Renfroe said. “It kind of sucks that the top of our lineup was kind of all struggling at the same time … but we come back here, familiar space, sleep in your own bed, see your family, it kind of rejuvenates the body, for sure.

“Pitching staff is doing a fantastic job for us, and that is a great team over there, and we put it to them a little bit.”

The signs were also there that this was the homestand to turn things around, despite the four-game set against Cleveland. The Royals are now 29-15 at The K, which are the most wins at home by an American League club. They are first or second in the AL in hits (387), doubles (81) triples (16), OPS (.782) and walks (140) at home.

Kansas City scored in five separate frames for the first time since June 8 and Renfroe, who was batting .153 on May 19, is slashing .348/.423/.674 in his past 15 games. He was penciled into the No. 5 spot for just the second time this season, and responded by reaching base in his first three at-bats (home run, walk and single).

“That’s what we expected from him,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s what he started to do right before he got hurt. And now he’s getting back to that, which is great. I mean, he’s been a true power hitter in this league for a number of years and that’s exactly why we signed him.”

With Renfroe’s return, and Isbel’s surge at the bottom of the lineup, the Royals have slowly, but surely, started to push runs across the plate after a 2-7 road trip. For the third time in five games this homestand, Kansas City scored four or more.

“I think we were past due to bust out a little bit,” Isbel said. “All around the lineup it was super good today. Everyone had good at-bats, [were] competitive all night and it was fun to watch.”

But to do it against this Guardians team, at this point in the season, is another indicator of how this Royals club has different expectations from years past. Kansas City (46-38) is now just 10 wins shy of its total from a year ago, and has rebounded to eight games over .500 after an 8-18 stretch began to raise questions about the July 30 Trade Deadline.

After three straight wins, two against the team the Royals are chasing, Kansas City has quickly gained back some of the ground it lost in both the division and Wild Card races.

“They’re the number one team in our division right now,” Renfroe said. “There’s no question about that. They’re a fantastic team. … We played a lot of really good teams this past two weeks. … But that’s another part of us struggling a little bit, too. Those pitching staffs that we were facing were really, really talented.”

The Royals have gotten their fair share of great starting pitching, too. Alec Marsh was no different on Friday. The righty worked around trouble all night, rolling three double plays and picking off a runner while tossing six innings of one-run ball.

Royals pitchers have allowed one run or fewer in all five games this homestand, resulting in a 1.17 ERA. And if the bats can build off this one, that’ll be more than enough.

“ … The offense, they’ve been waiting for that for a while,” Marsh said. “So to do it against this team, just fantastic to spark that energy for them moving forward is going to be great.

“It’s good to keep things rolling, especially against this team. We want to be at the top spot, too. It’s good to see us taking it to them tonight.”