McBroom's 1st RBI, Soler's 40th HR spark KC

KANSAS CITY -- Ryan McBroom, just acquired on Saturday from the Yankees, delivered his first Major League RBI, which got the Royals rolling en route to a 5-4 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals, who have won four straight, will go for the three-game sweep on Thursday afternoon.

McBroom singled in Hunter Dozier in the fourth inning, cutting Detroit’s lead to 3-1. The Royals added another run in the inning on a wild pitch. McBroom had two hits on the night.

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“It’s been super exciting,” McBroom said. “To get my first one was awesome. It was unbelievable.”

McBroom has been in Kansas City just two days. He already is 3-for-7.

“It’s been going too fast for me to think about being nervous,” he said. “The thing I was most nervous about was being traded to a team where I knew nobody, coming up to the Major Leagues and playing with them.”

Meanwhile, designated hitter Jorge Soler, who set the franchise single-season record for home runs when he hit his 39th on Tuesday night, became the first Royals hitter to reach 40 in a two-run fifth inning. Soler is also the first Cuban born player to hit 40 or more homers since Rafael Palmeiro in 2002.

“Getting No. 40 is really important,” Soler said through interpreter Luiz Perez. “But really, I was really happy to get 30.”

Soler’s shot traveled a projected 450 feet, according to Statcast, with an exit velocity of 116 mph.

“It felt like I’ve hit it like that a bunch of times,” Soler said, smiling. “I didn’t know I hit it [that hard].”

Soler now has 10 home runs against the Tigers this season. McBroom certainly has been impressed in the short time he has watched Soler.

“That’s a big boy,” McBroom said. “And he can swing it. When he gets a pitch over the plate, it can go really far. It’s been fun to watch.”

Royals starter Jakob Junis had a shaky inning in the second, giving up four straight hits and three runs. But he settled down and retired 16 of the next 18 hitters he faced. The right-hander went seven-plus innings and gave up seven hits and four runs. He struck out four.

"I gave up three or four hits in a row in that second inning and it cost me three runs,” Junis said, “but I was just glad that I settled in after that and kept us in the game. The offense came through when they needed to, got us a lead.

“I had a little better command after the second. I started to throw my slider for a strike, which helped, and then just getting quick outs. They were aggressive. Getting some ground balls, some double plays helped a lot, too. Just staying on the attack."