KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — Salvador Perez’s two-run double in the eighth inning broke a 3-3 tie and lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals snapped a two-game losing streak and evened the three-game series after dropping the opener 6-1 on Saturday. Kansas City improved to 36-54, while Philadelphia fell to 50-40.

A crowd of 14,891 watched the game, which lasted 2 hours, 23 minutes.

Philadelphia struck first in the top of the fifth inning. Bryson Stott led off with a triple to center field and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Gabriel Rincones Jr., giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead.

The Royals answered in the bottom half of the inning. Isaac Collins doubled to center, advanced to third on a single by Bobby Witt Jr., and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Jac Caglianone, tying the game at 1-1.

The score remained deadlocked until the seventh inning, when Philadelphia pushed across another run. Stott singled to center, moved to third on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by third baseman Josh Rojas, and scored on a forceout by Garrett Stubbs, putting the Phillies ahead 2-1.

Kansas City responded again in the bottom of the seventh, but the Phillies held them scoreless. Royals reliever Matt Strahm worked a perfect inning with one hit and one strikeout.

The game turned in the eighth inning. With the score still 2-2, the Royals loaded the bases after walks to Bobby Witt Jr. and Lane Thomas, followed by a strikeout of pinch-hitter Nick Loftin. Perez then stepped to the plate and lined a double to left field, scoring Witt and Thomas to give Kansas City a 4-2 lead.

The Royals added an insurance run later in the inning on a groundout by Josh Rojas, making it 5-2.

Philadelphia threatened in the top of the ninth but went down in order against Royals closer Alex Lange, who earned his eighth save of the season.

Royals starter Luinder Avila earned the win, improving to 4-3. He allowed one earned run on three hits over five innings, striking out four and walking one.

Phillies starter Aaron Nola took the loss, falling to 3-6. He surrendered two earned runs on five hits over five innings, striking out six and walking one.

Key contributors for Kansas City included Isaac Collins, who went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored; Bobby Witt Jr., who went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run; and Salvador Perez, who drove in two runs on a 1-for-4 day. For Philadelphia, Bryson Stott had two hits including a triple and scored both runs, while Justin Crawford added a hit and a sacrifice bunt.

Kansas City outhit Philadelphia 8-5.

The series concludes Monday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, with the Phillies sending their ace to the mound against a Royals pitcher still to be announced. Philadelphia then travels to Cincinnati for a three-game series starting Tuesday, while Kansas City heads to New York to face the Mets.

The Interstat game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia 7, Kansas City 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Philadelphia a 59.90 percent probability to win. The Phillies were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The combined total of seven runs went over the over-under line of 9.5.