TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Jac Caglianone hit two home runs and drove in three runs, Nick Loftin went 4-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs, and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 12-5 on Tuesday night at George Steinbrenner Field.

The Royals, who entered the game with a 33-46 record, improved to 34-46 with the victory. The Rays fell to 43-33.

Kansas City scored two runs in the first inning, four in the fifth, five in the eighth and one in the ninth. Tampa Bay scored one run in the first, one in the eighth and three in the ninth.

Kansas City finished with 14 hits; Tampa Bay had nine.

Luinder Avila (3-3) earned the win for the Royals, pitching five innings and allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out six. Shane McClanahan (6-5) took the loss for the Rays, pitching six innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts.

The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the eighth inning when Kansas City broke the game open with five runs. The rally began with back-to-back singles by Nick Loftin and Jac Caglianone, putting runners at the corners. Salvador Perez then doubled sharply to center field, scoring Loftin and Caglianone to make it 9-1. Carter Jensen singled to left, moving Perez to third. Starling Marte followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Perez for a 10-1 lead. After Michael Massey struck out, Tyler Tolbert singled to right, advancing Jensen to third. Kameron Misner then doubled to right, scoring Jensen and moving Tolbert to third. The inning ended when Lane Thomas grounded out, but the Royals had extended their lead to 11-1.

Kansas City had taken an early lead in the first inning. After Lane Thomas grounded out, Nick Loftin homered to left field, his third of the season, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead. Caglianone followed with his 13th home run of the season, a solo shot to right field, making it 2-0. Salvador Perez struck out and Carter Jensen flied out to end the inning.

Tampa Bay answered in the bottom of the first. Yandy Diaz was hit by a pitch, and Jonathan Aranda singled to left, moving Diaz to second. After Cedric Mullins struck out, Junior Caminero singled to center, scoring Diaz and cutting the lead to 2-1. Aranda advanced to second on the play. Richie Palacios grounded into a force out, with Aranda moving to third and Caminero out at second. Palacios was then caught stealing second to end the inning.

The score remained 2-1 until the fifth inning. Michael Massey led off with a double to right. Tyler Tolbert attempted a sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error by McClanahan allowed Massey to score and Tolbert to reach third. Kameron Misner struck out, and Lane Thomas lined out sharply to left. Nick Loftin then singled to left, scoring Tolbert to make it 3-1. Caglianone followed with his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left-center field, his 14th of the season, giving the Royals a 5-1 lead. Perez grounded out to end the inning.

Kansas City added a run in the ninth inning. With one out, Josh Rojas doubled to center, scoring Loftin to make it 12-1.

Tampa Bay mounted a late rally in the bottom of the ninth against Royals reliever Beck Way. With one out, Chandler Simpson walked and Taylor Walls singled, putting runners at first and second. After Hunter Feduccia struck out and Victor Mesa Jr. struck out, Jonathan Aranda singled to center, scoring Simpson to make it 12-2. Walls advanced to third. Cedric Mullins then singled to left, scoring Walls to cut the lead to 12-3. Aranda advanced to second. Junior Caminero singled to left, scoring Aranda to make it 12-4. Mullins advanced to third. Richie Palacios flied out to left to end the game.

Caminero finished 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs for the Rays. Tampa Bay’s other hits came from Aranda (2-for-5, one RBI), Mullins (1-for-4, one RBI), Jonny DeLuca (1-for-3), Taylor Walls (1-for-3) and Richie Palacios (1-for-4).

For Kansas City, Loftin had four hits, including his third home run. Caglianone had three hits, two homers and three RBIs. Perez went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Marte had a sacrifice fly. Massey doubled. Tolbert had two hits. Misner doubled. Rojas doubled late.

The Royals’ bullpen held the Rays in check for most of the game. Matt Strahm pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing no hits and striking out one. Steven Cruz pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit. Beck Way pitched the ninth, allowing three earned runs on three hits.

The game drew an announced attendance of 11,171 and lasted 2 hours, 33 minutes.

The two teams are scheduled to meet again Wednesday at George Steinbrenner Field, continuing a three-game series. Kansas City then travels to Chicago to face the White Sox for three games, followed by a four-game homestand against Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. Tampa Bay will host Arizona after the series with Kansas City before traveling to Kansas City and Houston.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tampa Bay 5, Kansas City 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Tampa Bay with a 57.00 percent probability to win. Tampa Bay had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 17 went under the over/under line of 8.