NEW YORK (Interstat) — The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets engaged in a slugfest Tuesday night at Citi Field that featured 28 runs, 32 hits and enough twists to fill a week of games, with the Royals emerging with a 16-12 victory.

Kansas City improved to 38-54 with the win, matching the Mets’ record at 38-54. The game took 3 hours 30 minutes before an announced crowd of 32,734.

The Royals erupted for seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 9-9 tie and take control after the Mets had built leads of 5-2 and 9-4 earlier in the contest.

Kansas City starter Seth Lugo struggled with command and was tagged for nine runs, though only three were earned, over four innings. The Mets jumped on Lugo in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs on a Carson Benge single that turned into a three-run play after a throwing error by Lugo and additional miscues by first baseman Jac Caglianone and third baseman Nick Loftin. A.J. Ewing and Bo Bichette had singled ahead of the Benge hit, and all three runners came home when the ball was misplayed.

The Royals answered in the top of the second when Tyler Tolbert hit a two-run homer off Mets starter Kodai Senga, cutting the deficit to 3-2. The Mets responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning when Ewing hit a two-run homer off Lugo, making it 5-2.

Kansas City chipped away in the fourth against Senga. Michael Massey and Tolbert singled, and after a strikeout, Bobby Witt Jr. walked to load the bases. Lane Thomas then doubled to left, scoring Massey and Tolbert to pull the Royals within 5-4. Senga limited further damage by getting Salvador Perez to line out.

The Mets appeared to take control in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs off Lugo. Jared Young singled, Brett Baty reached on a forceout and Luis Torrens singled. Ewing singled to score Baty, and Juan Soto followed with a three-run homer, his 20th of the season, to give New York a 9-4 lead.

Kansas City began its comeback in the fifth against reliever Matt Seelinger. Caglianone doubled, Loftin was hit by a pitch and Isaac Collins doubled to score Caglianone. Massey followed with a double that scored Loftin and Collins, cutting the lead to 9-7. Tolbert singled, moving Massey to third, and Carter Jensen walked to load the bases. Witt grounded into a forceout that scored Massey, making it 9-8. Thomas walked to reload the bases, and Perez singled to center, scoring Tolbert to tie the game at 9-9. Caglianone struck out to end the inning, but the Royals had erased the five-run deficit.

Both teams went quietly in the sixth, with Royals reliever Beck Way pitching a scoreless frame to keep the game tied. Way would later be credited with the win, his first of the season against no losses.

The decisive top of the seventh began with Thomas walking off Mets reliever Austin Warren. Perez doubled to center, scoring Thomas for a 10-9 Royals lead. Caglianone struck out, but Loftin homered to left center, his fourth of the season, scoring Perez and pushing the lead to 12-9. Collins walked, Massey walked and Tolbert singled to load the bases. Jensen walked, forcing in Collins for a 13-9 lead. Witt grounded into another forceout that scored Massey, making it 14-9. Thomas then doubled to left, scoring Tolbert and Witt for a 16-9 advantage. Perez struck out to end the inning, but the Royals had sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven times.

The Mets got two runs back in the bottom of the seventh off Way. Benge walked, Jorge Polanco doubled to score Benge, and Young singled to put runners at the corners. Baty hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Polanco, cutting the deficit to 16-11. Torrens grounded out to end the rally.

New York scored once more in the eighth against Royals reliever Cionel Pérez. Ewing singled, Soto flied out, Bichette popped out and Lindor walked. Benge then singled to right, scoring Ewing and making it 16-12. Polanco flied out to end the threat.

Pérez worked a scoreless ninth to close out the win, allowing two hits and striking out one in his lone inning. For the Mets, Seelinger took the loss after allowing seven earned runs on five hits over two innings. Warren was also ineffective, allowing four hits and five earned runs without recording an out.

Key offensive performers for Kansas City included Thomas, who doubled twice and drove in four runs; Loftin, who hit a homer and a double and scored three times; and Tolbert, who had three hits including a homer and scored four runs. For the Mets, Ewing had three hits, including a homer, and scored three times. Benge had two hits and three RBIs. Soto homered and drove in three.

The Royals entered the game having won two of their previous three, including a 15-1 rout of Philadelphia on Monday. The Mets had won two straight, including a 7-6, 10-inning victory at Atlanta. Both teams continue their series Wednesday night at Citi Field.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York Mets 3, Kansas City Royals 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Mets a 53.60 percent probability to win. New York was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 28 went under the over-under line of 8.