KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — Michael Wacha pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Salvador Perez and Kyle Isbel homered, and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Saturday at Kauffman Stadium.

Wacha struck out six and allowed one earned run while improving to 7-8. Craig Kimbrel struck out two in a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the season. Drew Anderson took the loss for Detroit, allowing three runs on five hits over five innings.

The Royals took the lead in the third inning when Isbel led off with a solo home run to right field, his sixth of the season. One inning later, Perez made it 2-0 with a drive to center field, his 17th homer. Kansas City added another run in the sixth without the benefit of a hit. Jac Caglianone doubled to right field with one out, advanced to third on a groundout by Perez, and scored when Nick Loftin’s fly ball to right field was dropped for an error, giving the Royals a 3-1 lead.

Detroit’s only run came in the fifth inning when Hao-Yu Lee homered to left-center field, his seventh of the year. The Tigers had few other threats against Wacha, who retired batters in order during the first, second, third, and seventh innings. Wacha faced the minimum through four innings before Lee’s homer. He finished with 92 pitches and did not walk a batter.

Anderson kept the Tigers close despite the homers. He allowed five hits and struck out four but was hurt by the long ball. The right-hander retired the side in order in the first and second innings before running into trouble in the third. After Isbel’s homer, Anderson retired the next three batters. In the fourth, Perez’s homer gave Kansas City a two-run cushion, and Anderson worked around a two-out single by Loftin.

The Tigers managed only three hits total. Lee’s homer was Detroit’s lone extra-base hit until Brett Callahan doubled in the seventh inning. Callahan’s double came with two outs, but Wacha induced a fly ball from Spencer Torkelson to end the inning. The Tigers went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and struck out 10 times as a team.

Detroit’s best chance to rally came in the ninth inning against Kimbrel. Colt Keith grounded out to second base to lead off, and Dillon Dingler struck out swinging. Zach McKinstry then drew a two-out walk, but Callahan struck out swinging to end the game. Kimbrel threw nine pitches, eight for strikes, and earned his first save of the season.

The Royals received a boost from their bullpen as well. Alex Lange pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Drew Sommers struck out four over two scoreless innings for Detroit. Tanner Rainey also threw a scoreless inning for the Tigers.

Kansas City’s offense was limited beyond the home runs. Bobby Witt Jr. singled in the first inning but did not score. Caglianone doubled in the sixth but was the only Royal to reach scoring position after the fourth inning. The Royals stranded three runners total and struck out nine times as a team.

Perez finished 1 for 3 with a home run and an RBI. Isbel went 1 for 3 with a home run and an RBI. Caglianone was 1 for 3 with a double. Carter Jensen went 0 for 4. Loftin walked and singled, while Michael Massey and Tyler Tolbert each went hitless.

For Detroit, Lee went 1 for 3 with a home run and an RBI. Callahan also went 1 for 3 with a double. Dingler singled and was hit by a pitch. Kevin McGonigle, Gleyber Torres, Colt Keith, Zach McKinstry, Torkelson, and Max Clark combined to go 0 for 25 with eight strikeouts.

The Tigers have now lost six of their last seven games. They fell to 61-68 on the season. Detroit has dropped five consecutive games against Kansas City, including a 5-2 loss on Friday in the opener of this three-game series. The Tigers were swept by the Royals in a four-game series in Detroit in late July.

Kansas City improved to 57-74 with the victory. The Royals have won three straight games, including a series win over earlier in the week. They took two of three from the Athletics before returning home to face Detroit.

Wacha entered the game with a recent winning performance. He earned the victory Aug. 17 against the Athletics, allowing four earned runs over five innings. On Saturday, he was sharper, consistently ahead in counts and generating swings and misses on his changeup and curveball. He struck out the side in the second inning? He struck out two in the second and one in the third. The Tigers struck out at least once in every inning except the fifth and seventh.

The game lasted 2 hours, 6 minutes, with an attendance of 23,156.

Detroit and Kansas City will close the series Sunday afternoon. The Tigers then return home to face Tampa Bay, while the Royals travel to Toronto. The Tigers’ upcoming schedule also includes series against the Dodgers and Twins. The Royals will visit Toronto and Cleveland before returning home to host Miami.

In the head-to-head series this season, Kansas City has won six of the eight meetings. The Tigers took a 6-3 victory May 10 at Kauffman Stadium, but the Royals swept the four-game series in Detroit from July 23-26 and have won the first two games of this current set.

The projected final from Interstat’s game simulator was Kansas City 5, Detroit 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Detroit a 53.40 percent probability to win the game. Detroit was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 4 went over the over/under line of 8.5.