The ACL Mariners bounced back Friday night with a complete team effort, defeating the ACL Royals 6-4 at Surprise Stadium. Behind a three-run home run from Yonger Bautista and a strong start from Ricardo Perez, Seattle improved to 17-14 on the season.

The Mariners broke through in the third inning after Nick Becker worked a leadoff walk and Kelvin Alcantara reached with a single. Bautista made the Royals pay, launching a three-run home run to right-center field, his fourth of the season, to give Seattle a 3-0 lead.

Kansas City answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but Perez settled back in and kept the Royals from pulling even. The right-hander tossed five innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out two to hand the game over to the bullpen with the Mariners still in front.

Seattle added an insurance run in the sixth when Brayden Corn delivered a two-out RBI triple before Carter Gonzalez followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-2.

The Royals made things interesting in the sixth, scoring twice against reliever Ruben Ramirez to trim the deficit to one. Ramirez recovered to finish the inning and earn his second victory of the season before Cristian Guevara shut the door with a scoreless seventh to collect his sixth save.

The Mariners added a valuable insurance run in the seventh. Alcantara reached base for the third time before coming around to score, giving Seattle a 6-4 cushion heading into the bottom of the inning.

Bautista led the offense with his three-run homer, while Alcantara finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Corn added two hits, including a run-scoring triple, and Gonzalez drove in a run as the Mariners collected nine hits on the night.

Seattle also flashed the leather defensively. Bautista recorded an outfield assist by throwing out a runner at the plate, helping preserve the Mariners’ lead during a key moment in the game.

With the victory, the Mariners improved to 17-14 and returned to the win column after Thursday’s loss. Seattle will look to build on the momentum Saturday when it travels to Peoria Sports Complex to take on the ACL Padres.