DETROIT -- The Royals are playing some pretty good baseball right now, and for a number of reasons. Pitching, hitting and defense are firing on all cylinders, making the box score look every bit as good as the record.

Sometimes, though, the mental game is just as important, as Kansas City demonstrated during a 7-1 win against the Tigers on Thursday night at Comerica Park.

It started with Maikel Garcia reaching on a single to lead off the game. Garcia then danced off the bag against rookie Keider Montero, who had a conundrum: Guard against Garcia, who is challenging the Rays’ José Caballero for most steals in the American League, or lose focus pitching to Bobby Witt Jr., who is fresh off a .489/.520/.833 July.

The Royals duo let Montero think on it for two pitches, with Witt standing patiently in the box and Garcia continuing to dance off the bag. Garcia stole second on the third pitch of the at-bat and then took an enormous secondary lead as Montero and Witt battled for another six pitches before Witt drew a walk.

In the end, Montero lost both battles. By the time he conceded to Witt, Garcia had also stolen third. If Detroit’s No. 7 prospect was rattled by the sequence, Vinnie Pasquantino didn’t give him time to recover, driving the first pitch he saw over the wall in right field to give Kansas City a 3-0 lead.

The Royals added on late with back-to-back homers from Witt and Pasquantino for the final margin. Witt extended his hit streak to 14 games with his solo shot, No. 20 on the season. He became the first player with 20 homers and 20-plus stolen bases in each of his first three MLB seasons.

Seth Lugo moved to 13-5 on the season after another eight sharp innings. Lugo, who leads the team with a career-high 150 1/3 innings pitched, has 16 quality starts in 23 tries this season.