OAKLAND, Calif. -- When Kansas City faced the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday afternoon, the Royals still felt the sting from their high-scoring loss and bullpen meltdown in the eighth inning from the night before.

The Royals blew another lead in the eighth inning Wednesday, but this time they rallied to beat the A's 7-6 and cap their eight-game road trip with a second straight 2-1 series win.

Alcides Escobar hit a leadoff double against A's reliever Blake Treinen in the ninth, and Alex Gordon lined an RBI single to right, breaking a 6-6 tie. Kelvin Herrera pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for his 26th save, stranding Ryon Healy at second.

"This was a big win for us today, especially after last night," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We talk about grinding out that game that we did (Saturday) in Chicago, and that rebuilds your momentum. Games like last night can cease your momentum. So to come back and show the heart and the ability to grind a tough game out, like our guys did today, was very satisfying."

The Royals, who have an off day Thursday, have won four of five games going into the opener of a three-game series Friday at Kauffman Stadium against the first-place Cleveland Indians, the team they are trying to catch in the American League Central.

"Last night was a tough game, but you got to give credit to Oakland," said Gordon, who is batting .200 but went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. "These last two games have been back and forth with two teams just not giving up, two hard-fought games. They came out on top yesterday, and we were able to bounce back and found a way."

The Royals had contributions Wednesday from hitters throughout the order. Lorenzo Cain went 2-for-3 with his 13th homer of the year, a two-run shot in the fourth. Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas each went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Escobar finished 3-for-4 and scored two runs.

"We got big clutch hits when we needed it," Yost said.

Escobar delivered a huge double in the ninth, turning on the jets to beat left fielder Matt Joyce's throw to second.

"I know that's a close, close play right there, but in the right moment, when I hit the ball, I said, 'I'm going straight to second base,'" Escobar said.

That brought Gordon to the plate, and he lined a Treinen slider to right, sending Escobar home with the go-ahead run.

"I was trying to drive him in but also trying to get him over any way that I could," Gordon said. "I went up there with the mindset, maybe possibly bunt, trying to get (him) to third any way I could. When I got two strikes, I was just trying to hit it that way, and he threw me a slider, a pretty good pitch to hit."

Oakland's Marcus Semien went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer in the third inning, his fifth blast of the year. Rookie Matt Chapman hit a two-run shot in the eighth, his ninth home run of the season. Jed Lowrie had two hits and two RBIs, and Healy added two hits.

On Tuesday night, the Royals scored five times in the top of the eighth to take a 8-4 lead, but the A's scored six times in the bottom of the inning and won 10-8.

The A's trailed 6-4 entering the bottom of the eighth Wednesday, but Healy hit a leadoff single and Chapman crushed a homer to left center off reliever Brandon Maurer (1-1).

"It is a results-based industry and you want to win, but the fact that you keep battling in what was early on not a really good game for us does have a little value," A's manager Bob Melvin said.

Royals left-hander Danny Duffy allowed four runs and six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in five innings of a no-decision.

A's rookie right-hander Paul Blackburn made his ninth career start and gave up four runs and eight hits in four innings, his shortest outing. Blackburn struck out two and walked three in a no-decision.

"It's tough when I fall behind every batter," Blackburn said. "That's kind of on me. I've got to do better than that."

The Royals scored a run in the top of the first inning when Moustakas brought Hosmer home with a bases-loaded infield single.

Semien put Oakland ahead 2-1 in the third with his two-run blast after Dustin Garneau led off with a walk.

The Royals responded with three runs in the fourth, regaining the lead at 4-2. Escobar led off with an infield single and raced to third when Chapman threw wildly from third to first. Drew Butera brought Escobar home with a single, and Cain followed with a two-run blast to center off Blackburn.

"It just seems like when he's going good, we're going good," Yost said of Cain.

NOTES: Royals RHP Joakim Soria (lower back soreness) will undergo an MRI on Thursday in Kansas City and might land on the 10-day disabled list, manager Ned Yost said. Soria gave up four hits and four runs in the eighth inning Tuesday night in a 10-8 loss to Oakland. According to Yost, Soria has been pitching in pain for two weeks. ... A's RHP Chris Hatcher, who was acquired Tuesday from the Los Angeles Dodgers, made his Oakland debut and pitched a perfect sixth inning with one strikeout. RHP Josh Smith was optioned to Triple-A Nashville. ... LHP Sam Moll was acquired by Oakland from Colorado in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations. Moll, who has spent the entire season at Triple-A Albuquerque, was assigned to Nashville. RHP Zach Neal was designated for assignment, clearing a spot on the A's 40-man roster for Moll. Neal had been pitching for Nashville.