WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Interstat) — Luis Severino pitched seven strong innings and Lawrence Butler delivered a three-run homer in the fourth inning as the Athletics defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-2 on Wednesday night at Sutter Health Park.

The Athletics improved to 16-14, while the Royals fell to 12-18 in front of 9,399 fans. The game lasted 2 hours, 32 minutes.

Severino (2-2) allowed one earned run on four hits and struck out eight over seven innings. He walked one and threw 99 pitches. Mark Leiter Jr. recorded his third save of the season, pitching one-third of an inning and striking out one.

Michael Wacha (2-2) took the loss for Kansas City after giving up four runs — three earned — on seven hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked three.

The Royals took an early lead in the first inning. Bobby Witt Jr. singled and moved to third on a single by Carter Jensen. Salvador Perez then grounded into a forceout that scored Witt, giving Kansas City a 1-0 lead.

The Athletics tied the game in the second. Jacob Wilson doubled, and Jeff McNeil followed with a double that drove in Wilson. McNeil went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a walk.

Kansas City’s offense stalled against Severino after the first. The Royals managed only a single by Lane Thomas in the second before Severino picked him off first base. Severino retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced, striking out five during that stretch.

The game turned in the bottom of the fourth. Wilson singled, and McNeil singled to put runners at first and second. After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Butler launched a 1-1 pitch from Wacha over the right-center field wall for his third home run of the season. The three-run blast gave the Athletics a 4-1 lead and chased Wacha after the inning.

Butler finished 1 for 4 with three RBIs. He struck out in his other three at-bats.

The Athletics added an insurance run in the sixth. Darell Hernaiz singled, and Nick Kurtz doubled to left-center, scoring Hernaiz to make it 5-1. Kurtz went 1 for 3 with a double, a walk and an RBI.

Kansas City threatened in the ninth. Witt singled and Perez singled, putting runners at first and second with no outs. Michael Massey’s sacrifice fly scored Witt to cut the deficit to 5-2. Isaac Collins walked to put runners at first and second, but Jac Caglianone struck out swinging to end the game.

Leiter entered after Caglianone’s strikeout to record the final out.

Severino’s command was sharp throughout. He threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of 26 batters and did not allow a walk. He mixed a four-seam fastball that averaged 94 mph with a changeup and sweeper that kept Royals hitters off balance.

Joel Kuhnel pitched one and two-thirds innings in relief, allowing two hits and one earned run.

McNeil and Carlos Cortes each had two hits for the Athletics. Cortes went 2 for 3 with a walk. Jacob Wilson added two hits and a walk. Shea Langeliers went 1 for 4 with a walk. Brent Rooker went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Zack Gelof went 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

For the Royals, Witt had two hits and scored both runs. Perez had two hits and an RBI. Carter Jensen walked twice and had a hit. Kyle Isbel had a single.

The Royals had won the opener of the three-game series Tuesday, 4-1 in 10 innings. They will face the Athletics again Thursday before traveling to Seattle for a weekend series.

The Athletics will host the Cleveland Guardians for a three-game series beginning Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Athletics 5, Royals 4. The Athletics entered as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Athletics a 50.90 percent probability to win. The total of 7 runs went over the over-under line of 9.5.