KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — Jacob Latz pitched effectively and the Texas Rangers defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Thursday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

Texas, improving to 34-34, scored single runs in each of the first three innings. Brandon Nimmo doubled in Corey Seager in the first, and Elias Díaz bunted in Ezequiel Duran in the second. The Rangers added another run in the sixth on Evan Carter’s single that scored Duran. Texas finished with 11 hits.

Kansas City, which fell to 28-41, scored both its runs in the fourth. After a double play plated Vinnie Pasquantino, Kameron Misner singled home Jac Caglianone. The Royals managed only six hits.

Latz (2-1) earned the win. Michael Wacha (4-5) took the loss after allowing three runs in five innings. Attendance was 17,622, and the game lasted 2 hours, 22 minutes.