The Tampa Bay Rays used the offensive woes of the Kansas City Royals to their advantage, as Austin Pruitt and Matt Andriese combined to throw a two-hit shutout while Lucas Duda and Wilson Ramos each homered as the Rays took the opener at Kauffman Stadium 12-0 Monday.
Tampa Bay wasted little time taking the lead, as Kevin Kiermaier led off the game with a double, moving to third on a Lucas Duda fly out and scoring on a sacrifice fly from Evan Longoria.
The game stayed 1-0 until the third inning when Lucas Duda followed a double from Adeiny Hechaverria and a walk to Kevin Kiermaier with his 25th home run of the year, turning a 1-0 lead into a 4-0 advantage.
Evan Longoria then doubled and Logan Morrison brought him in with a double of his own to make it 5-0, and Wilson Ramos made it 7-0 two batters later with a titanic shot to left-center, his sixth of the year.
The Rays added a run in the fourth off reliever Bryan Flynn on a RBI single from Kiermaier, scoring Hechaverria, who had tripled to start the frame.
Pruitt (7-4) allowed just a single hit, a fourth-inning double by Lorenzo Cain, over the first six innings, walking one and striking out six.
The Rays salted the game away in the ninth off Kevin McCarthy, with Brad Miller singling to start the inning and Peter Bourjos drawing a one-out walk. Cesar Puello, pinch-hitting for Duda, then singled in Miller for a 9-0 lead, and Morrison followed two batters later with his 32nd home run of the year, a three-run shot that capped the scoring.
Matt Andriese, activated from the 60-day disabled list before the game, worked the final three innings, allowing just a Cain double of his own, to finish off the shutout and earn his first save of 2017.
The win was Tampa Bay's first in Kansas City since a 1-0 win on April 8, 2014, a stretch of eight games, and gets the Rays back to a single game under .500 at 66-67.
Alex Cobb (9-8, 3.69 ERA) will look to give Tampa Bay its third straight win Tuesday, taking on Jakob Junis (5-2, 4.68 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 8:15, with coverage on WDAE starting at 7:00 with The Inside Pitch presented by Sykes Lakeland.