Kris Bubic pitched five shutout innings, Salvador Perez homered and doubled and the Kansas City Royals beat Miami 7-4 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep and end the Marlins’ winning streak at four.

Their 19-10 record over the last month of play was tied for the most in the Majors. Their star outfielder Kyle Stowers showed up big in Atlanta when he hit a home run for the NL in the All-Star swing-off. They started to look like a club that could close out a series.

Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers has emerged as one of the top young talents in the majors, so it's no surprise that the team won't be trading him without receiving the right price.

BOTTOM LINE: The Miami Marlins face the Kansas City Royals with a 1-0 series lead. Miami has a 45-51 record overall and a 21-27 record at home. Marlins hitters are batting a collective .254, which ranks fourth in the NL.

What’s next: The Royals continue their weekend series at the Marlins. On Saturday, KC right-handed starter Michael Wacha (4-9, 3.74 ERA) will start opposite MLB veteran Cal Quantrill (3-8, 5.62 ERA) at 3:10 p.m. Central Time.

This past weekend was not good news for the Kansas City Royals' odds of keeping Seth Lugo. Lugo and Co. lost two of three games to the Miami Marlins in their fi

Marlins first. Xavier Edwards triples to deep right field. Jesus Sanchez pops out to Salvador Perez. Otto Lopez grounds out to shallow infield, Maikel Garcia to Vinnie Pasquantino. Xavier