KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — Ian Seymour pitched six strong innings, Cedric Mullins homered and drove in two runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-2 on Thursday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium before an announced crowd of 16,814.

The Rays won their fourth straight game and took the three-game series from the Royals, outscoring Kansas City 19-6 over the set. Tampa Bay improved to 51-33, while the Royals fell to 35-53.

Seymour (5-1) allowed one run on three hits over six innings, striking out six and walking one. He retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced after giving up a solo home run to Carter Jensen in the first inning. Bryan Baker pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 22nd save of the season.

The Royals struck first in the bottom of the first when Jensen led off with his 13th home run of the year, a fly ball to center field. Bobby Witt Jr. struck out, Jac Caglianone struck out, Lane Thomas doubled to left, and Starling Marte struck out on a foul tip to end the inning with Kansas City leading 1-0.

Tampa Bay answered emphatically in the top of the second. Victor Mesa Jr. flew out to open the inning, but Chandler Simpson singled on a soft ground ball to third baseman Nick Loftin. Cedric Mullins grounded out to first baseman Jac Caglianone, allowing Simpson to advance to second. Taylor Walls then doubled down the right-field line, driving in Simpson to tie the game at 1-1. Richie Palacios singled to left, scoring Walls to give the Rays a 2-1 lead. Hunter Feduccia followed with a triple to right field, plating Palacios to make it 3-1. Yandy Díaz walked, but Jonathan Aranda grounded out to end the inning with Tampa Bay ahead 3-1.

The Rays added two more runs in the fifth inning. After Junior Caminero grounded out and Mesa Jr. popped out, Simpson reached on a bunt single to catcher Carter Jensen. Mullins then crushed his 10th home run of the season to right field, a two-run shot that extended the lead to 5-1. Taylor Walls lined out to center to end the inning.

Kansas City got one run back in the seventh. Nick Loftin grounded out, Michael Massey grounded out, and then Isaac Collins homered to center field, his fourth of the season, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Kameron Misner struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Royals had a chance in the eighth when Jensen singled on a soft ground ball to third baseman Caminero. Witt Jr. popped out to second baseman Ben Williamson, Caglianone grounded into a force out, Jensen out at second on the play, and Lane Thomas grounded into a force out to end the inning.

Baker worked around a leadoff single in the ninth by Hunter Feduccia, with Yandy Díaz walking and Jonathan Aranda grounding into a double play. Josh Rojas struck out, Loftin flew out, and Massey grounded out to end the game.

The most significant sequence occurred in the top of the second inning, when the Rays sent eight batters to the plate and scored three runs on four hits, erasing the Royals’ early lead and seizing control of the game. Chandler Simpson’s bunt single in the fifth also set the stage for Mullins’ decisive homer.

Seymour allowed only one more hit after Jensen’s homer, a single by Caglianone in the sixth, and retired the side in order in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. He did not issue a walk after the first inning.

Stephen Kolek (4-3) took the loss, giving up four hits and three runs in two innings of relief. Randy Dobnak pitched two scoreless innings, and Steven Cruz worked a scoreless inning. Daniel Lynch IV pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one.

Tampa Bay’s lineup totaled 11 hits, with Simpson going 3-for-4 and scoring two runs. Mullins was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Feduccia had two hits, including a triple. Walls doubled and drove in a run.

Kansas City managed only five hits. Jensen homered and singled, and Collins homered. Thomas doubled. Witt Jr. went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

The Rays have now won six of the seven meetings between the teams this season, including a four-game sweep in St. Petersburg from June 22-25 and back-to-back shutout victories Tuesday and Wednesday. Tampa Bay’s next series opens Friday at Houston, while Kansas City hosts Philadelphia beginning Saturday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Tampa Bay 7, Kansas City 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Tampa Bay a 54.60 percent probability of winning. The Rays were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5, and the total of seven runs went over the over-under line of 10.5.