Eric Hosmer's ninth-inning bomb doubled the breathing room for Wade Davis. He didn't need it anyway.
It's become a familiar pattern in this young 2016 baseball season for the Royals: score early runs, let your opponent claw back but not quite pull even, and lockdown over the later half of the game behind a stout bullpen.
That strategy was executed to perfection on Friday night, as the Royals doubled up the Oakland Athletics 4-2 for a series-opening win. Kansas City ran its winning streak to a season-best four games, climbing to 8-2 in the process.