KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — Michael Wacha pitched seven scoreless innings, Bobby Witt Jr. hit an inside-the-park home run and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-1 on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Wacha improved to 4-2 on the season, allowing two hits and striking out six without walking a batter. He retired the final 11 hitters he faced and faced only one Tigers runner in scoring position during his outing, a double by Spencer Torkelson in the fifth inning that was stranded.

The Royals improved to 19-21 while the Tigers fell to 18-22. Kansas City has won the first two games of the three-game series and will go for the sweep Sunday night.

Witt put the Royals ahead in the first inning. With Maikel Garcia on first after a leadoff double, Witt hit a sharp line drive down the right-field line that bounced off the wall and eluded right fielder Kerry Carpenter. Witt sprinted around the bases and scored standing up, beating the relay throw from shortstop Kevin McGonigle for his fifth home run of the season.

Michael Massey extended the lead in the fourth inning with a three-run home run to right-center field, his third of the season. The homer scored Carter Jensen, who had walked, and Jac Caglianone, who had singled, and gave the Royals a 5-0 lead.

Detroit scored its only run in the eighth inning. Kevin McGonigle singled to lead off the inning against Royals reliever Matt Strahm, advanced on a strikeout and scored on a double by Riley Greene. Strahm allowed one hit and struck out one in his inning of work.

Tigers starter Ty Madden took the loss, falling to 0-2. He pitched six innings, allowing five runs on two hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Madden retired 10 of the first 11 hitters he faced but struggled in the fourth inning when the Royals scored three runs.

The Tigers had only four hits in the game. Torkelson doubled in the fifth inning and Greene doubled in the eighth. Carpenter and McGonigle each had singles.

Kansas City had six hits. Garcia doubled and scored in the first inning. Jensen doubled in the first and walked in the fourth. Caglianone singled and scored in the fourth. Witt and Massey each had one hit.

Wacha retired the side in order in the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. He faced only 24 batters in his seven innings.

The Royals defense turned two double plays. In the first inning, second baseman Zach McKinstry started a double play that ended a potential big inning for Kansas City. With runners on first and third and one out, Caglianone grounded into a double play that erased Vinnie Pasquantino at home.

The game took 2 hours, 4 minutes to complete. Announced attendance was 26,724.

Kansas City has won two straight games after losing six of its previous eight. Detroit has lost six of its last seven games.

Royals relievers Steven Cruz and Matt Strahm each pitched one inning. Cruz did not allow a hit and struck out two. Strahm allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout.

Tigers reliever Tyler Holton pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit.

Wacha’s outing followed a stretch in which he had allowed four earned runs in each of his previous two starts. He had given up 12 hits in 12 innings over those two appearances.

The Royals took the lead in the first inning when Witt circled the bases on a ball that got past Carpenter in the right-field corner. Witt was credited with an inside-the-park home run.

Massey’s home run in the fourth inning came with one out and gave the Royals a five-run lead. Jensen had walked and Caglianone had singled before Massey hit a fly ball that cleared the wall in right-center field.

The Tigers had a chance to cut into the lead in the fifth inning when Torkelson doubled and McKinstry walked with one out. But Wacha struck out Jake Rogers and hit McGonigle to load the bases before Matt Vierling grounded out to end the inning.

Detroit also had a runner on base in the sixth when Greene walked with one out. But Wacha got Dillon Dingler to ground out and struck out Wenceel Pérez to end the threat.

The Tigers loaded the bases in the fifth inning but could not score. McGonigle was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs, but Vierling grounded out to shortstop.

Kansas City’s bullpen combined for two scoreless innings of relief. Cruz pitched the eighth inning and Strahm pitched the ninth.

The Royals have won four of five games against the Tigers this season. Detroit won two of three games in April at Comerica Park.

The Tigers next travel to New York to face the Mets in a three-game series starting Tuesday. Kansas City travels to Chicago to face the White Sox in a three-game series starting Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Kansas City 5, Detroit 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Kansas City a 51.90 percent probability to win. Kansas City was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of six went over the over-under line of nine.