Witt delivers the knockout blow with 3-run homer in 10th inning

WEST SACRAMENTO – It was late in Kansas City, but Bobby Witt Jr. might have woken everyone up from the West Coast.

A three-run, opposite-field home run in the top of the 10th inning powered the Royals to a 4-1 series-opening win over the A’s at Sutter Health Park on Tuesday. Witt’s homer broke open a tight and tense game late with his second home run in as many days.

With two on base and one out, Witt pounced on a 1-0 cutter from A’s reliever Jacob Sterner, sending it a Statcast-projected 383 feet out to right-center field and into the Royals’ bullpen.

The win gave the Royals their fourth consecutive victory, with the swing from Witt backing up an gritty pitching performance from the Royals’ staff. Give credit to starter Kris Bubic, who had to grind through his start Tuesday, but still pitched into the sixth inning and held the A’s to one run.

Bubic needed 50 pitches to get through two innings, issued a season-high four walks and ended his night by hitting Carlos Cortes to begin the bottom of the sixth inning. But Bubic threw 96 pitches in five-plus innings, allowing one run in the second inning and striking out six batters.

And the back end of the bullpen was nails, which was desperately needed from the unit that has struggled to begin the season. After John Schreiber got Bubic out of the sixth inning unscathed, Daniel Lynch IV worked around a two-out double in a scoreless seventh. Matt Strahm tiptoed around a bases-loaded situation in a scoreless eighth, and Nick Mears – pitching in his hometown of Sacramento – shut down the top of the A’s order on 14 pitches (11 strikes) in the ninth inning. Lucas Erceg closed out his seventh save of the year in the bottom of the 10th.