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Morales, Royals top Red Sox

Jun 21, 2015 - 4:39 AM Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Kendrys Morales smacked a two-run homer as part of a five-run fifth inning and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Boston Red Sox 7-4 in the second of a three-game set.

Mike Moustakas had two hits and a pair of RBI and Salvador Perez cracked a solo shot for Kansas City, which has won five of its last six games.

Edinson Volquez (7-4) allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings to record the win, while Greg Holland fired a scoreless ninth to notch his 13th save of the season.

"He wasn't really sharp tonight," Royals manager Ned Yost said of Volquez. "He made pitches when he needed to."

Rick Porcello (4-8) surrendered six runs on eight hits and two walks over five frames for the Red Sox, who had won three of their last four games coming in. Mookie Betts belted a solo homer in defeat.

The Red Sox led 4-1 before the Royals surged ahead with their five-run fifth.

Alex Rios was hit by a pitch to begin the fifth and scored following consecutive singles by Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar. Infante and Escobar both moved up a base on a balk and Infante crossed the plate on Moustakas' sacrifice fly. Lorenzo Cain's hot-shot infield single plated Escobar to tie the game and he advanced to second on Pablo Sandoval's throwing error. Sandoval was injured on the play and exited the game.

Morales launched his two-run blast down the right field line and into the seats in right to give KC a 6-4 advantage.

Moustakas' RBI single in the sixth increased the margin to 7-4.

Earlier, Betts' solo shot in the first opened the scoring but Perez's solo blast into the fountain in the second knotted the contest.

"The Royals never back down and never quit until it is over," Betts said.

Brock Holt's RBI double in the third put Boston back in front. Dustin Pedroia's run-scoring groundout and Hanley Ramirez's RBI single in the fifth gave the Red Sox a three-run cushion.

Game Notes

The Royals improved to 18-8 against teams under .500 ... Perez's homer was his 11th, while Morales' was his eighth ... Porcello has lost six straight starts ... KC was 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position, while Boston finished 2- for-9.