Kansas City Royals outfielder Mark Canha returned from an injury-rehabilitation assignment on Monday and was then designated for assignment, the club announced before its series-opening home game against the Texas Rangers. Canha, 36, was recovering from a left-elbow injury. He had been on the injury list since June 8, missing 32 major-league games.

David Lesky recaps the weekend and appraises the Wild Card race.

The Kansas City Royals scratched veteran Salvador Perez, who was supposed to catch for starter Michael Wacha and bat fifth in the lineup, from the starting lineup of their series opener against the Texas Rangers on Monday night because of an illness.

The Kansas City Royals offense has been clicking of late, and recent additions have taken away his playing time.

KC is now riding a five-game winning streak. Vinnie Pasquantino led the offensive charge with a solo home run in the first inning. He later began a seventh-inning rally with a leadoff double just past Rangers center fielder Evan Carter’s outstretched glove.

The two-run shot in the eighth inning against Texas on Tuesday night merely padded the lead for Kansas City, which went on to a 5-2 victory. It was the fifth straight win for the Royals, who closed to within 2 1/2 games of an AL wild-card berth and are within nine games of the first-place Tigers in the AL Central.

When he hit his 20th home run of the season earlier this week, Kansas City Royals legend Salvador Perez continued to move up an impressive list in baseball history, as noted by Bob Nightengale of USA Today: He just set a franchise record with his ninth season hitting at least 20 homers,

Seth Lugo bounced back to throw a quality start, and Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino each homered in a 5-2 win over the Rangers Tuesday night. The Royals are four games over .500 for the first time since May 25 when they were 29-25.