Max Muncy, Lawrence Butler homer as Jacob Lopez leads A’s to 4-0 victory over struggling Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Jacob Lopez became the latest pitcher to shut down the Royals with six innings of three-hit ball, Max Muncy and Lawrence Butler hit homers, and the Athletics beat struggling Kansas City 4-0 on Saturday.

Lopez (1-4) walked one and struck out nine while winning for the second time in his big league career. His other victory came on Oct. 1, 2023, when Lopez allowed five runs while pitching for the Rays in a game against Toronto.

He was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last month and had been 0-3 with a 6.88 ERA in three games since.

Michael Kelly pitched two perfect innings in relief and Hogan Harris finished off the four-hitter for the A’s.

Muncy followed a leadoff walk by Tyler Soderstrom in the second inning with his fifth homer of the year, a line-drive into the A’s bullpen off Kansas City starter Michael Lorenzen. Lawrence homered off reliever Daniel Lynch IV in the seventh.

Lorenzen (4-7) allowed three runs on four hits and four walks over six innings. He struck out four.

The Royals have lost the first five games on their homestand after getting swept by the Yankees earlier in the week, then losing the first two against the A’s. They’ve lost seven of their last eight overall and 13 of their last 16 at Kauffman Stadium.

Meanwhile, the A’s have finally found some kind of stride. They’d lost 13 of their last 16 games on their way to Kansas City, and were coming off a three-game sweep by the Angels in which they allowed 15 runs.

Muncy homered off an 85 mph slider from Lorenzen to give the A’s all the offense they needed.

Kansas City has been shut out in two of its last three games.

LHP Jeffrey Springs (5-5, 4.64 ERA) starts the series finale Sunday for the A’s. LHP Noah Cameron (2-2, 2.17) tries to bounce back from a rough outing against the Yankees when he takes the hill for Kansas City.