Toronto ? Bruce Chen must enjoy the heat because he has a knack for winning in August.

Chen won four consecutive starts for the first time in his career, Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 on Tuesday night.

Chen (9-5) struck out nine and improved to 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA in five August starts this year.

He is 18-9 in 61 career August games, his most wins in any month.

Royals manager Ned Yost called Chen’s performance “spectacular.” The left-hander allowed three runs and four hits in 72/3 innings.

He walked one and matched his career high for strikeouts.