After pulling off a road win last week in Winnipeg to make up for losing the home opener the week before, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will try to defend home field on Friday night when they take on the BC Lions.

Hamilton’s 37-27 win over the Blue Bombers featured a balanced offensive effort. Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-24 accuracy, while Larry Rountree III racked up 124 yards on 23 carries for his first 100-yard game as a pro.

This week, Mitchell advised his teammates to not look back.

“Attack the day, attack the play,” he said. “Do everything you can do to be the best you can be on that day. We weren’t perfect … but this is a damn good football team.”

Hamilton (1-1) got a fine performance from its offensive line, which allowed just one sack against an opponent that used the pass rush as a big part of its Week 1 win in Calgary, registering four sacks. And Marc Liegghio added three field goals, including a game-sealing 23-yarder in the last minute.

Meanwhile, BC is coming off a season-opening 31-27 loss at Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan last Saturday. The Lions owned the lead until giving up a touchdown with 46 seconds left.

Adding injuries to insult, BC will be short-handed at receiver this week. Seven McGee (foot) has landed on the six-game injured list and Jevon Cottoy (thigh) wasn’t able to finish the game in Saskatchewan. Another receiver, Stanley Berryhill, was ruled out with a thigh injury as well, and wideout Keon Hatcher Sr. (thigh) is questionable after missing Wednesday’s practice.

The Lions were reduced to using backup fullback Jacob Bond at receiver on their final drive. They have signed receiver Jermaine Jackson to the practice squad but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were elevated sooner instead of later.

“Opportunities for guys to step up, opportunities for guys that you know have been here working,” second-year coach Buck Pierce said of the receiver situation. “It’s no different than any other team.”

BC quarterback Nathan Rourke is coming off a 330-yard effort at Saskatchewan, where he also ran for a team-high 59 yards and a touchdown.

–Field Level Media

Bobby Witt Jr. homered and was one of seven Kansas City players with at least two hits — but later exited with right knee discomfort — while Salvador Perez’s solo shot made him the all-time home run leader at Kauffman Stadium as the host Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 14-6 on Thursday night.

The star shortstop injured himself going into the hole to field Jordan Walker’s RBI infield single in the fourth. Witt finished the inning but was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the frame.

Witt’s departure overshadowed a potent night for the Royals, who set season highs for runs and hits (17), while posting eight doubles, including a club-record five during their six-run second inning.

Meanwhile, Perez had three hits and his 137th homer at home — a 385-foot shot to left in the sixth inning — broke George Brett’s record to give Kansas City a 12-4 lead. Starling Marte also had three hits and Jac Caglianone clubbed a two-run homer for Kansas City, now 2-2 versus St. Louis this season.

Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt each had three hits while Jose Fermin added two with two RBIs for the Cardinals, who recorded 13 hits but stranded 15 runners.

St. Louis wasted no time getting to the Royals’ Noah Cameron (4-4) in the first. Wetherholt singled, advanced when Ivan Herrera walked, and scored on Walker’s grounder that went under Witt’s glove. A walk to ex-Royal Nelson Velazquez loaded the bases, then Alec Burleson delivered a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the first, Witt sent a Matthew Liberatore pitch over the left field wall.

Perez opened the Royals’ second with a double off the right field wall. Kansas City then went ahead after RBI doubles from Carter Jensen and Isaac Collins, who scored when Velazquez dropped Michael Massey’s fly ball to left. A run-scoring double from Lane Thomas and Witt’s RBI hit followed.

Marte’s double down the right field line scored Witt for a 7-2 Royals lead and chased Liberatore (3-4), who was charged with seven runs — five earned — over 1 2/3 innings.

The Royals scored four more in the fourth. After Caglianone’s homer with a man on, Nick Loftin’s two-run double made it 11-3.

Cameron allowed four runs — three earned — and eight hits with two walks, while striking out six in five innings.

–Field Level Media

Luis Romo punished a critical 50th-minute error by goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, and co-host Mexico’s historical dominance of South Korea at the World Cup continued with a 1-0 victory in Zapopan, Mexico, on Thursday to win Group A.

Raul Rangel made a spectacular late double-save to keep Mexico’s second clean sheet and secure the top group spot, one that guarantees Mexico will play a round-of-32 match and a potential round-of-16 fixture in Mexico City.

Both heroes for Mexico (2-0-0, 6 points) were starring in the venue where they play their club football for CD Guadalajara. Their actions sealed El Tri’s third World Cup victory in as many appearances against South Korea.

South Korea (1-1-0, 3 points) still would finish second in the group with a win in their finale against South Africa (0-1-1, 1 point), regardless of how Mexico performs against Czech Republic (0-1-1, 1 point).

South Korea all-time caps leader Son Heung-min didn’t go the whole 90 minutes for a second consecutive match, with the attacker departing before the hour mark.

Romo’s finish — only his fourth international goal — could not have been simpler after Seung-gyu crashed into a teammate while trying to make a catch and spilled the ball near the penalty spot.

Romo connected on the first bounce, stabbing it with his right foot into an open goal to send a crowd into delight after the fans had been critical of their side not long before.

Seung-gyu made some measure of amends, denying Raul Jimenez with a strong stop in the 75th minute at the near post and making a sprawling denial of Obed Vargas in the 85th.

Shortly after, the rarely tested Rangel was forced into an exceptional sequence, first denying Cho Gue-sung’s header at the back post and then maintaining his position just long enough to deny Yang Hyun-jun’s second effort.

It was a late outburst during a match that took time to get going.

Mexico’s Julian Quinones had the only effort on target before the half, with Seung-gyu denying his glancing header in the 20th minute.

By halftime, the home crowd had tired of Mexico’s passiveness and booed the co-hosts off the pitch.

–Field Level Media