Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Salvador Perez’s solo homer highlighted a six-run sixth inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 to earn a doubleheader split Saturday night.

After Perez’s second home run of the year snapped a 2-2 tie, the Royals chased Brandon Sproat (0-1) with three consecutive two-out singles. Kansas City took an 8-2 lead when eight straight hitters reached safely after two were out.

Sproat pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Royals starter Seth Lugo threw 103 pitches in five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out seven.

Nick Mears (1-0) earned the victory pitching a hitless sixth inning.

Eli Morgan recorded his second career save — and first since 2023 — with three scoreless frames, striking out five.

In the doubleheader, Kansas City relievers tossed 10 scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out 13.

Maikel Garcia had three of Kansas City’s 10 hits.

In the second inning, Carter Jensen doubled in two runs against Brewers opener Logan Henderson.

Milwaukee promptly tied the game in the third with Brice Turang’s RBI triple and Garrett Mitchell’s RBI double.

With three extra base hits Saturday, Mitchell collected six RBIs, including all of the Brewer’s five runs in their 5-2 victory in game one of the split doubleheader.

Sal Frelick exited the game with left side tightness while hitting a fourth-inning single.

GAME 1

Garrett Mitchell matched a career high for RBIs with a two-run double and a three-run homer in the first three innings alone, and the Milwaukee Brewers held on to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 on Saturday in the opener of their doubleheader.

Chad Patrick (1-0) scattered four hits and three walks over five scoreless innings for the Brewers. Aaron Ashby and Abner Uribe took over and handed a three-run lead to All-Star closer Trevor Megill, whose two-out walk to Bobby Witt Jr. in the ninth brought the tying run to the plate.

Megill struck out Vinnie Pasquantino with a 98 mph fastball to end the game, much to the delight of the resident “rally tortoise” hanging out in the Milwaukee clubhouse these days.

Mitchell did all of his damage against Luinder Avila (0-1), who made his first major league start for Kansas City after pitching out of the bullpen as a rookie last season. He allowed all five runs on eight hits and two walks in three-plus innings.

Avila was recalled from Triple-A Omaha to start Friday night in place of Michael Wacha, who was scratched because of an illness. That game wound up getting postponed 90 minutes before first pitch because of an approaching storm, setting up the doubleheader.

Mitchell, who had driven in five runs total during a 5-1 season-opening homestand, picked up two RBIs with his two-out double in the first. Two innings later, Mitchell hit Avila’s two-out pitch an estimated 420 feet to right-center to give Milwaukee a 5-0 lead.

The Royals had a runner cut down at the plate in the second inning and stranded two more at third before Lane Thomas’ RBI single in the seventh. Witt made it 5-2 with his hard-hit single before the Brewers bullpen got out of the inning.

Kansas City’s own relief crew wound up pitching six innings of two-hit ball.

Up next

The nightcap of the doubleheader featured the original Saturday afternoon matchups. RHP Brandon Sproat (0-0, 21.00 ERA) was on the mound for Milwaukee while RHP Seth Lugo (1-0, 0.00) got the start for Kansas City.

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