KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bobby Witt Jr. had two homers, a double and four RBIs as the Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 8-4 Wednesday night and salvaged the final game of a three-game series.
With the victory, the Royals moved 1½ games ahead of Boston in the race for a wild-card spot in the American League.
In the AL Central, Kansas City moved within a half-game of the second-place Minnesota Twins, who lost to the Chicago Cubs. The Royals are four games back of the Cleveland Guardians, who were swept in a doubleheader by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Witt had his fourth multihomer game of the season, getting the Royals on the scoreboard in the first with his 21st long shot. Witt's second homer was a 421-foot blast to center field in the sixth inning. He also added a two-run double.
The Royals have homered in 13 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest streak in club history.
Cole Ragans (9-7) allowed four runs, one earned, on six hits in 6⅓ innings, striking out seven and walking two in picking up the win.
Kutter Crawford (7-9) took the loss, working 3⅔ innings and allowing six runs on five hits. He had three strikeouts and four walks.
After Witt's homer in the first, the Royals added a run in the second on a two-out single by Michael Massey, scoring MJ Melendez.
The Red Sox moved ahead in the third inning when Romy Gonzalez hit a two-out, three-run homer into the left-field bullpen. All three runs were unearned, as Ceddanne Rafaela reached base with no outs on an error by Massey. Boston's Danny Jansen lined a home run, his seventh of the season, into the same bullpen leading off the fourth.
The Royals regained the lead with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Kansas City scored its first run of the inning on a wild pitch before Witt's opposite-field double scored two. Vinnie Pasquantino then hit his 17th homer of the season -- a two-run shot -- off reliever Brennan Bernardino, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.