KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Seth Lugo struck out 10 and earned his American League-leading seventh victory as the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics 5-3 Saturday night.

The Royals improved to 28-19, nine games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2015 season, when they went on to win the World Series. Kansas City also claimed its eighth series win of the season, a mark the Royals didn’t reach until mid-September in 2023.

“With this pitching staff, we don’t need much,” second baseman Michael Massey said. “When a hitter is on a hot streak, at what point is he just good and not on a hot streak? I feel like that’s where we’re starting to get as a team. It’s not really a streak. We’re just playing the way we’re supposed to play.

“We’re just a good team.”

Oakland lost its seventh straight game, the team’s longest skid of the season.