Toronto ? Ken Harvey more than atoned for messing up a bunt attempt.

Harvey hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the ninth inning, helping the Kansas City Royals rally for a 9-6 victory Saturday over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Harvey got the bunt sign one pitch before homering. He threw his bat over his head on the high and outside pitch.

“I kind of did a double-take. I’m not really a bunter. It was a horrible attempt, but luckily I came through at the end,” said Harvey, whose teammates laughed at him when he returned to the dugout.

Teammate Desi Relaford said Harvey would never be asked to bunt again.

“It was awful. It was bad,” Relaford said.

Harvey drove in a career-high four runs for the Royals, who have won six of seven. Kansas City improved to 17-4.

“That’s a Yankees-type start,” Harvey said. “If we continue to do this we’ll turn some more heads.”

Mike Sweeney singled off Jeff Tam (0-2) and Raul Ibanez singled off Jason Kershner before Harvey hit a shot to center for his third home run of the season.

Jason Grimsley (1-1) pitched two innings for the win. Rookie Mike MacDougal pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 10th save.

“They run some good arms out there,” Toronto’s Tom Wilson said. “They are pretty solid.”

Kansas City's Ken Harvey (28) gets a high 10 from teammate Mike Sweeney after hitting a three-run homer. Harvey's blast lifted the Royals to a 9-6 win Saturday against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

A crowd of 17,197, the largest since opening day, turned out three days after the World Health Organization warned against travel to Toronto because of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Shortstop Chris Woodward and other Blue Jays signed autographs before the game despite the SARS scare.

Trailing 4-2, the Royals scored four runs in the seventh off Toronto’s struggling bullpen. Relaford tied it with a two-run triple off Trevor Miller and Sweeney and Harvey hit RBI singles off Tam.

“Nothing is going right for our bullpen right now,” Wilson said.

Wilson tied it at 6 in the eighth with a two-run double off Grimsley.

Kansas City starter Miguel Asencio settled down after allowing four runs in the first. The 22-year-old right-hander gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings.

After Relaford doubled in the first, Carlos Beltran hit an RBI grounder.

Carlos Delgado hit a two-run double and Josh Phelps followed with a two-run homer, giving Toronto a 4-1 lead in the bottom half.

Beltran’s RBI single in the third cut it to 4-2.

Notes: Harvey tied a career best for hits. … Phelps recorded his first multi-RBI game of the season. He drove in two runs … Toronto starter Cory Lidle allowed two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. … Toronto catcher Greg Myers left the game in the third inning because of a bruised right forearm.