Kansas City Royals start new winning streak with another close victory vs. Jays

The Kansas City Royals reached deep into their playbook on Wednesday night.

The Royals played a little small-ball in a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, manufacturing each run in a different manner.

In the first inning, it was star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. who put pressure on the Blue Jays. He earned a one-out walk against Toronto starter Yariel Rodriguez.

Witt quickly stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error. Two batters later, he scored on Salvador Perez’s RBI single.

“That’s Royals baseball,” Witt said. “We’ve got to keep doing that: get on the basepaths and be aggressive on there. Make things happen and the bats will come around and (we’ll) hit some homers there, too.”

The Royals scored their second run in the next inning. Kyle Isbel hit a two-out double and scored as Maikel Garcia drove him home.

Isbel also factored into the final KC run. He scored after reaching on a leadoff single, racing home to give Witt his 11th RBI of the season.

The Royals produced nine hits and all three of their runs were driven by timely hitting in clutch situations.

“I mean, we are going to have to do that, as the long-ball wasn’t a part of it tonight,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “It was good, but still only three runs. The pitching made it stand up.”

Royals starter Alec Marsh seemed to be fueled by the run support. He pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings before departing with a right-forearm contusion.

He allowed two hits and now sports a 2.70 earned-run average.

“I thought it was a good outing,” Marsh said. “The command of the fastball and mixing pitches was really good. Sal did a good job back there keeping them off-balance.”

The Blue Jays scored two runs in the middle innings. George Springer hit a solo home run and Ernie Clement registered an RBI groundout.

Rodriguez took the loss. He allowed three earned runs in four innings.

The Royals’ bullpen, meanwhile, continued to shine. James McArthur pitched the ninth inning for his sixth save.

The Royals (15-10) will look to win the home series Thursday.

Missed previous games of the series?

Game 1: Royals drop 3rd consecutive game in 5-3 loss to Blue Jays

Game 2: Royals find offensive mojo with 3-2 comeback victory

Here are more notable aspects of Wednesday’s game:

Royals’ Alec Marsh exits with injury

The Royals were forced to turn to their bullpen early Wednesday. In the fifth inning, Marsh was removed from the game after being hit by a line drive.

Blue Jays outfielder Addison Barger, who was making his MLB debut, hit a comebacker to the mound. The baseball caught Marsh in his right forearm.

“The ball squared me up pretty good,” Marsh said. “So obviously, (it’s) initially scary when it happens. ... when that stuff happens, you start thinking about everything. All the possibilities.”

Marsh recovered and was able to throw out Barger at first base. Then he began to grimace in pain. The Royals’ training staff came out to check on him as he walked back to the mound. After a few minutes, Marsh was pulled from the game for further evaluation.

The Royals announced that Marsh sustained a right-forearm contusion. Relief pitcher Angel Zerpa came in to finish the inning.

“Everything was good and the X-rays were negative,” Marsh said. “So we are going to take it day-by-day right now and go from there.”

Royals squander chance for big inning

The Royals added a key run in the fifth inning ... but they blew an opportunity to extend their lead even further.

Isbel hit a leadoff single and later advanced to third base with Garcia at the plate. Next, Witt took advantage with a RBI single. As a result, Isbel scored as Rodriguez was chased from the game.

KC held a 3-1 lead as the Blue Jays turned to reliever Génesis Cabrera.

Cabrera inherited two base runners. He forced Vinnie Pasquantino to ground out with the infield playing shallow. The Blue Jays then intentionally walked Perez to set up a bases-loaded situation.

Toronto got out of the jam. Cabrera got MJ Melendez to ground into a fielder’s choice at home plate. Later, he got Nelson Velazquez to fly out to end the threat.

“We need to capitalize their in some way,” Quatraro said. “You know, Cabrera is tough, but we need to be able to at least punch one across there.”

KC finished 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine men on base.

What’s next on the KC Royals’ schedule?

The Royals conclude their four-game series against the Blue Jays.

Cole Ragans is slated to pitch on Thursday afternoon against Jose Berrios. Ragans will make his sixth start of the season. He has posted a 4.32 ERA in 25 innings pitched.

Ragans allowed seven earned runs in his last start against the Baltimore Orioles. He lasted 1 2/3 innings in the Royals’ 9-7 loss.