Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro made quite the pregame assertion. When asked his thoughts on Mike Mayers’ upcoming start, Quatraro quipped that a complete- game shutout would be the best-case scenario against the Detroit Tigers.

The lofty goal, even in jest, made sense considering the team’s recent pitching woes. On Monday, the Royals bullpen was taxed after Brady Singer pitched 3 2/3 innings.

So Mayers was tasked with providing a strong start … and he delivered in the Royals’ 4-1 win over the Tigers.

“He threw so many strikes and it was efficient,” Quatraro said. “Several times it was a three-pitch strikeout or early-count out. It looked like he had a good cutter. He located his fastball and threw several good breaking balls as well. He mixed it to the point where obviously they weren’t exactly sure what he was going to throw.”

Mayers set the tone early and silenced the Tigers offense. He pitched 4 2/3 innings and recorded a career-high eight strikeouts. Mayers worked the strike zone and mixed in a variety of pitches including his signature slider.

He threw the slider on 30 of his 84 pitches. The slider’s movement kept the Tigers off balance, as Mayers generated 17 swings, nine whiffs and four called strikes.

“I think I was able to throw strikes with all my pitches,” Mayers said. “Definitely relied a little heavily on my slider, but it was working for me and the command of it was good tonight.”

It was a stark contrast to his last outing in San Diego, when Mayers issued four walks and allowed a home run in his Royals debut. He seemed more comfortable at Kauffman Stadium. He attacked hitters from the start and breezed through the first inning with three strikeouts.

While he didn’t qualify for the victory, his impressive outing was noteworthy. After the game, Mayers said he would’ve liked to have kept pitching. However, he felt the start was important given what happened last time out.

“Putting guys on with free passes like that was something I wanted to limit tonight,” Mayers said. “I allowed the one walk, but it took a very good pitch, 3-2 just below the zone. ... It doesn’t matter how good your stuff is in this league. You can’t get away with putting guys on for free.”

The Royals ensured a his performance was not wasted. In the fourth inning, KC scored three runs to break a scoreless tie. Edward Olivares reached on an error and he later scored following Michael Massey’s RBI double.

Maikel Garcia would add an RBI-single and Salvador Perez finished the frame with a sacrifice fly.

In the fifth inning, the Tigers cut into the deficit. Tigers star Javier Baez hit an RBI-single to score Zach McKinstry. It would be Detroit’s lone run as the Royals bullpen shut the door late.

Notably, Jose Cuas escaped a bases-loaded jam — thanks in part to Massey snaring a line drive from Tigers catcher Jake Rogers — as Kansas City improved to 15-35 with a chance to win the series outright on Wednesday night.

Hot Start: Mayers finds early rhythm The Royals needed a strong start from Mike Mayers. He found a groove in the early innings by striking out five of seven batters he faced.

He struck out the Tigers in order in the first inning, striking out Zach McKinstry, Riley Greene and Javier Baez in swift succession.

In the second inning, Mayers worked around a one-out single by striking out future MLB Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera.

“I thought a lot of it was executing the game plan and getting ahead like the pitching staff has preached since the beginning of spring training,” Mayers said. “It’s a lot easier to pitch when you are ahead. I kind of ran into some trouble in the fifth inning there. I think a lot of it had to do with falling behind.”

Bobby Witt Jr. snaps hitless streak Bobby Witt Jr. turned in a strong game at the plate. He snapped out of an 0-for-13 streak with a bunt single. He later stole second base as the Royals added a much-needed insurance run in the fifth inning.

Witt scored on an Edward Olivares single as KC extended its lead to 4-1. Witt finished 2 for 4 on the night and now has 14 stolen bases on the season.

Amazingly, Witt said it was his first bunt single. “It’s one of those things where I think about it and think about it and then I don’t do it,” Witt said. “I actually thought about doing it the first pitch and then I swung.”