The Kansas City Royals (22-55) defeated the Tampa Bay Rays (53-27) 9-4 on Saturday evening at Tropicana Field.
Wander Franco returned from a two-game benching and hit a home run in his first at bat, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs driven in and a run scored.
The Rays built a 4-0 lead, but the Royals rallied scored nine unanswered runs to get the win. Yonny Chirinos (3-3, 3.91) gave up eight of the runs in five and one-third innings of work on eight hits while striking out three and walking two.
The Rays will now look to salvage a split with the Royals on Sunday afternoon. Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to start for the Rays, while Daniel Lynch is expected to start for Kansas City. First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 1:40 PM - pregame coverage begins with This Week In Rays Baseball at high noon on 95.3 WDAE & AM 620.
PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES