Lucas Duda came through with Kansas City’s first pinch-hit homer of the season to break a tie in the eighth inning, and the Royals held on for a 5-4 victory over the first-place Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.
Alex Gordon also homered for the Royals and drove in two runs. Both starters — Atlanta’s Dallas Keuchel and Kansas City’s Danny Duffy — went six strong innings with double-digit strikeouts but didn’t factor in the decision.
Braves RHP Julio Teheran (5-6, 3.60) will make his second career start against the Royals when he goes in the finale of the brief two-game series on Wednesday. Kansas City will counter with RHP Brad Keller (6-9, 4.18), a 2013 graduate of Flowery Branch High School in Atlanta