Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela leaps high to make a spectacular catch before crashing into the wall on a fly ball by Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia in the fifth inning of Monday’s game in Kansas City, Mo. Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — James Paxton pitched six solid innings, Masataka Yoshida tied his career high with four of Boston’s 18 hits and the Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 9-5 on Monday night.

Boston, which has won four its last five, now trails the Royals by 1 1/2 games for the final American League wild-card spot.

Paxton (9-3) allowed two runs on five hits to pick up his first win since being traded to the Red Sox by the Dodgers.

Brady Singer (8-7) allowed four runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed at least one hit in every inning.

David Hamilton pulled a double down the right-field line for Boston’s first run in the second. Jarren Duran added an RBI with a slow roller.

The Royals got on the board in the third. Kyle Isbel coaxed a one-out walk from Paxton and advanced to second on a groundout. Bobby Witt Jr. lined a single to right, scoring Isbel. Michael Massey tripled off the top of the wall in right center in the fourth and scored when Freddy Fermin tapped one off the end of the bat that resulted in an RBI single.

Boston regained the lead in the sixth. Reliever Angel Zerpa gave up a line drive down the left-field line to Duran, scoring two runs. The Red Sox added four more runs off Zerpa before recording an out in the seventh, including two on Romy Gonzalez’s pinch-hit home run.

The Royals scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh off Cooper Criswell.

NOTES: Red Sox OF Tyler O’Neill, who missed Boston’s last two games with an illness, was not in the lineup. Manager Alex Cora said O’Neill was “feeling better, but not great. Still available, but not starting.”