Salvador Perez had three hits including a home run, Cole Ragans pitched six strong innings and the Kansas City Royals routed the visiting Los Angeles Angels 12-1 on Saturday night.

Nick Loftin had two hits and drove in four runs for the Royals, who go for their first series sweep of the season on Sunday. Kansas City has won three of four, scoring at least six runs in each game.

Ragans (1-4) allowed a run on five hits and struck out 11 batters without a walk. It was the third time this season Ragans went six innings and allowed one run or less.

Jo Adell homered and Vaughn Grissom had three hits for the Angels, who have lost six of seven.

Walbert Urena (0-3) lasted 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Los Angeles pitchers issued 10 walks, including two with the bases loaded.

Perez lined a homer to left leading off the second inning. Jac Caglianone walked, went to third on a single by Michael Massey and scored on a single by Loftin to make it 2-0.

In the third, Bobby Witt, Jr. doubled and Vinnie Pasquantino walked. Perez lined a single to left, scoring Witt and Isaac Collins walked to load the bases before Loftin walked, forcing in Pasquantino.

Adell homered to center leading off the fourth to pull the Angels within 4-1.

Loftin reached on an error leading off the sixth. Kyle Isbel singled and Carter Jensen walked to load the bases. With one out, Pasquantino walked, scoring Loftin.

The Royals broke it open with a three run seventh. Caglianone led off with a walk and Collins singled. Massey lined a single to left, scoring Caglianone. Loftin smacked a grounder that got past shortstop Zach Neto. Collins scored and Massey raced for third and came home on Neto’s throwing error to make it 8-1.

Loftin and Jensen hit two-run singles to make it 12-1 in the eighth.

–Field Level Media

Austin Wells socked a leadoff home run to ignite a three-run seventh inning as the New York Yankees claimed a three-game series against the host Houston Astros with an 8-3 win on Saturday.

Wells’ second homer was the third of the game for the Yankees, who improved to 5-0 on their current nine-game road trip and have won eight straight overall. The Yankees were locked in a pitcher’s duel before Wells snapped a 2-2 tie by driving an inside fastball from Astros reliever Kai-Wei Teng (1-1) out to right field.

Teng faced only three batters before ceding the mound to left-hander Bennett Sousa, who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list and made his season debut. The Yankees made it a forgettable appearance for Sousa, who issued four walks, including two with the bases loaded.

Sousa walked Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr., with Bellinger and Chisholm forcing home Grisham and Ben Rice (who had singled) in succession to up the lead to 5-2.

Rice delivered a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the eighth that plated Ryan McMahon. Rice and Jose Caballero recorded three-hit games for the Yankees, with Caballero extending the lead to 2-1 in the fifth with his third homer, a solo shot to left off Astros starter Mike Burrows.

Burrows matched his career high of eight strikeouts while working five innings. He allowed five hits and issued three walks. Burrows surrendered a solo home run to Grisham, his fourth on the season, with one out in the third inning that enabled the Yankees to erase a 1-0 deficit.

The Astros grabbed that lead in the bottom of the first. Carlos Correa roped a leadoff double to left-center and scored when Isaac Paredes added an RBI single to left two batters later. Yankees starter Ryan Weathers immediately settled down and retired 11 consecutive batters after Paredes’ run-scoring hit.

Yainer Diaz opened the fifth with a single, but Weathers didn’t allow another run until Correa led off the sixth with his second homer, a 391-foot blast to left-center that tied the game at 2-2.

Weathers surrendered two runs on six hits with no walks and four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Right-hander Fernando Cruz (2-0) earned the win in relief for the Yankees.

–Field Level Media

Sal Stewart homered and drove in five runs on Saturday night to help the streaking Cincinnati Reds earn a 9-2 victory to clinch a series win over the visiting Detroit Tigers.

Brady Singer (2-1) allowed two runs on eight hits across 5 1/3 innings for the Reds, who have won nine of their last 11 games. Singer struck out three and TJ Friedl went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, as Cincinnati scored nine runs for the second straight day.

Jack Flaherty (0-2) lasted just two innings for Detroit, yielding six runs on five hits, striking out four and walking two. Spencer Torkelson homered in his fourth straight game for the Tigers, who have dropped four of their last six.

Kevin McGonigle turned on the second pitch of the game, connecting on his second homer of the year to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.

After Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz each earned out-one walks in the bottom of the first, Stewart’s three-run homer put the Reds ahead 3-1.

Nathaniel Lowe followed with a solo homer, his third in the last two games, to make it 4-1.

In the second inning, De La Cruz belted a two-run blast to extend the margin to five before Torkelson’s solo shot cut the Detroit deficit to 6-2 in the fourth.

Ke’Bryan Hayes and Friedl singled off Tigers left-hander Tyler Holton to begin the sixth before Connor Seabold entered for Detroit. After De La Cruz’s walk loaded the bases, Stewart’s single to right plated two to push the lead to 8-2.

Four Reds relievers combined to throw 3 2/3 stellar innings, including Emilio Pagan’s scoreless ninth.

–Field Level Media