The Kansas City Royals put up four runs in the fifth inning and got a solid start from Bruce Chen to down the Detroit Tigers 9-6 on Tuesday.

The Royals were trailing 3-0 before answering back with the big inning and cruised from there, adding a single run in the sixth and a pair of runs in both the eighth and ninth.

The Tigers pulled to within striking distance with three runs in the bottom of the ninth and had the bases loaded, but Joakim Soria closed it out to earn his 40th save.

Kansas City second baseman Mike Aviles had three hits, three RBIs and a run scored. Yuniesky Betancourt had two hits and a big RBI single in the fifth, while Billy Butler had three hits and an RBI sacrifice fly in the sixth. The Royals finished with 15 total hits.

Chen (11-7) went six strong innings, allowing three runs on four hits, including back-to-back solo shots to Miguel Cabrera and Ryan Raburn in the fourth inning.

With his 35th homer of the year, Cabrera upped his RBI count to a MLB-best 120. He came into the game riding a 2-for-25 slump.

Detroit starter Armando Galarraga (4-7) gave up five runs over 5 1/3 innings on nine hits. He also walked five while striking out four to pick up his first career loss to the Royals.