KANSAS CITY (Interstat) — Joe Mantiply pitched two scoreless innings of relief and Toronto used a four-run first inning to defeat the Kansas City Royals 9-2 on Friday at Kauffman Stadium. Toronto improved to 71-72, while the Royals dropped to 64-79.

Toronto had 13 hits to Kansas City’s six. Alejandro Kirk and Ernie Clement each drove in two runs. The Blue Jays opened the scoring when Kirk singled home Brett Bateman and Kazuma Okamoto singled home Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Clement followed with a two-run double. Bobby Witt Jr. homered in the bottom of the first for Kansas City.

Kirk’s RBI double in the second made it 5-1. Toronto broke open the game in the sixth, scoring three times. Myles Straw’s sacrifice fly brought home Clement, and George Springer added a two-run double. Sean Keys homered in the ninth for Toronto, and Vinnie Pasquantino homered for Kansas City in the ninth.

Mantiply improved to 2-0. Daniel Lynch IV fell to 4-5. Michael Lorenzen earned the save. Attendance was 18,218. Time of game was 2:21.