Salvador Perez lashed a walk-off single in the 10th inning, and nine Kansas City pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout as the Royals blanked the visiting Atlanta Braves 1-0 on Wednesday.
In a bullpen game, Royals reliever Angel Zerpa served as the opener and tossed one-plus inning, allowing just a single. The bullpen finished with 10 strikeouts and a walk in the club’s ninth shutout.
Sam Long (1-2) escaped a first-and-third, no-out jam in the 10th with two strikeouts and a lineout.
Braves starter Joey Wentz, a Kansas City-area native, allowed only a leadoff single to Maikel Garcia in 6 2/3 innings.