KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Graham Pauley homered and tripled to drive in four runs, Kyle Stowers also went deep, and the Miami Marlins rolled past the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Tuesday night.
Tyler Phillips (4-6) threw five innings of one-hit ball for the Marlins, striking out four and walking two. Three relievers combined to give up five hits with two strikeouts, with Tyler Zuber finishing off the ninth.
Pauley, recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville ahead of the game — his fifth call-up of the year — hit his second major league homer of the season in the second, a two-run shot to right.
Stowers added a 412-footer to right in the fifth to make it a three-run game.
Pauley’s first triple of the season drove in two more and sent Royals starter Randy Dobnak (2-3) to the dugout in the seventh. Javier Sanoja got Pauley across with a single to make it 6-0.
Dobnak went six-plus innings and allowed seven hits and six runs while striking out six and walking two.
Kansas City began a rally in the eighth as Carter Jensen hit an RBI double and Bobby Witt Jr. hit a sacrifice fly.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro was ejected in the eighth inning after the Royals were initially granted a run-scoring balk to make it a three-run game, but it was reversed after the umpires discussed the call.
The Royals got one more on Nick Loftin’s homer in the ninth.
The Marlins remain three games behind San Diego for the final NL wild card.
Up next
Marlins RHP Eury Pérez (7-10, 3.44 ERA) starts Wednesday opposite LHP Noah Cameron (9-8, 3.98).