WASHINGTON (Interstat) — Luinder Avila rebounded from a rough outing to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday afternoon at Nationals Park.

Avila allowed one earned run over 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and scattering three hits, to improve to 2-3. The Royals powered ahead early with four solo home runs. Carter Jensen homered in the first, John Rave in the second, and Lane Thomas and Michael Massey went back-to-back in the third.

Kansas City added two runs in the sixth on a sacrifice bunt by Isaac Collins and a single by Bobby Witt Jr. Washington matched with two runs in the bottom half, keyed by CJ Abrams’ RBI double and a run-scoring single from Dylan Crews, but the rally ended on a throw from Rave to shortstop Witt.

Zack Littell took the loss, falling to 6-6, after allowing four earned runs over five innings. Jensen finished 4 for 4 with a home run and an RBI. Attendance was 17,643, and the game lasted 2 hours, 49 minutes.

The Royals improved to 30-45; the Nationals dropped to 39-36.