Royals 11, Tigers 4: Omar Infante drove in three runs and Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas each belted two-run homers as red-hot Kansas City blasted Detroit for its ninth straight victory.

Alcides Escobar went 3-for-5 and scored three runs and Billy Butler was 2-for-4 and scored twice as the Royals torched reigning American League Cy Young winner Max Scherzer for 10 runs and overtook the Tigers for first place in the American League Central. Kansas City had 15 hits and has outscored the opposition 67-29 during its streak to take a half-game lead over Detroit.

Yordano Ventura (5-5) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings to record his third straight victory. Scherzer (8-3) matched a career worst for runs allowed and gave up 10 hits in four-plus innings while losing at home for the first time in six decisions this season.

Kansas City exploded for seven second-inning runs off Scherzer as each of the first eight hitters reached base. Gordon and Moustakas hit their homers to make it 4-0, Infante contributed a two-run single and Eric Hosmer’s double-play ball accounted for the final run.

Detroit scored twice in the bottom of the inning before Kansas City added three in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Salvador Perez and Jarrod Dyson and Infante’s bases-loaded walk. Lorenzo Cain’s RBI single made it 11-3 in the seventh before Detroit’s Ian Kinsler homered in the eighth to complete the scoring.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Kansas City RF Norichika Aoki singled and scored in the second inning and then departed with a groin injury. … Tigers RF Torii Hunter (hamstring) sat out after being injured on Monday and will likely miss Wednesday’s game as well. … The Royals have 22 runs and 32 hits over the first two contests of the four-game set.