ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay reached its high-water mark of 2018 by just putting the ball in play.

A throwing error on Kevin Kiermaier’s bases-loaded grounder in the bottom of the ninth inning helped the Rays complete their first season sweep of an American League opponent with a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.

“A win is a win,” Kiermaier said. “We’ll take it any way possible.”

Tampa Bay swept the four-game series and finished 7-0 against the lowly Royals this year. The only other season sweep in team history that included multiple series was a four-game wipeout of the Marlins in 2013.

Jake Bauers drew a leadoff walk from Brian Flynn (4-4) in the ninth and went to third on C.J. Cron’s single.

After Joey Wendle grounded out and Willy Adames was intentionally walked to load the bases, Kiermaier grounded a 3-2 pitch to first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, who made a wild toss to the plate.

“We always say, `Put the pressure on the defense,” Kiermaier explained. “Anytime you put the ball in play, you at least give yourself a chance.”

Sergio Romo (3-3) worked a perfect ninth and the Rays improved to a season-high six games over .500 (67-61) with their fifth consecutive victory. It is Tampa Bay’s sixth winning streak of at least five games this year.

Kansas City, which has lost five in a row and 17 of 21, fell a franchise-record 52 games under .500 at 38-90 and was eliminated from the playoff race.

“We wanted to salvage one at the end of the series,” Flynn said. “You don’t want to be the guy that comes in here and gives that one up.”

The Rays tied it at 3 when Matt Duffy scored from second on bad throw to first by second baseman Whit Merrifield on a potential double-play grounder hit by Cron.

Tampa Bay appeared to go up 4-3 later in the seventh on Kiermaier’s grounder, but the run was taken away after a replay review determined Adames made an illegal slide at second base. The call was changed to an inning-ending double play.

“There were a lot of odd things that took place in that game,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Alex Gordon had an RBI single in a two-run fifth against Tampa Bay starter Tyler Glasnow that put the Royals ahead 3-2.

Adames hit a run-scoring infield single against Danny Duffy during a two-run third.

Duffy, making his first start in 12 days due to a left shoulder injury, allowed two runs and six hits over five innings.

“The last start I felt really bad,” Duffy said. “This start I felt really good.”

Lucas Duda drove in a run with a first-inning single and had a potential two-run extra-base hit taken away with two outs in the third on a leaping catch by Rays right fielder Carlos Gomez.

Glasnow allowed three runs, five hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out eight.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: INF Adalberto Mondesi (hamstring) was out of the lineup. … RHP Ian Kennedy (left oblique) will throw a simulated game Friday. … OF Jorge Bonifacio (lower back stiffness) missed his third straight game.

Rays: OF Tommy Pham (dislocated right ring finger) felt soreness hitting off a tee but could play this weekend.

ROAD TRIP

Former Royals George Brett, Mike Sweeney, Bret Saberhagan and Reggie Sanders will visit U.S. troops at four locations in the Middle East next month as part of a USO trip. The group will watch a Sept. 11 telecast with members of the Missouri National Guard’s 35th Combat Aviation Brigade.

NUMBERS GAME

Merrifield had three hits, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. … Rays LF Mallex Smith went 3 for 5 and has multiple hits in seven of his last eight games. … The Royals have been swept 15 times this season. . Tampa Bay has played 52 one-run games, most in the majors. The Rays are 24-28 in those games.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Brad Keller (6-5) will face Cleveland RHP Mike Clevinger (9-7) on Friday night.

Rays: Will go with a bullpen day, including LHP Jalen Beeks (2-1), against Boston RHP Hector Velazquez (7-1) on Friday night.

— Associated Press —

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — It took Brandon Lowe 20 at-bats to get his first major league hit last week, so the Tampa Bay rookie wasn’t about to let an 0-for-9 stretch bother him.

Lowe came through with a two-out, two-run single in the first inning Wednesday night, and the Rays went on to a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.

“You get up to the big leagues and you feel that you have to go out and prove yourself,” said Lowe, one of six Rays to produce two hits each in the club’s fourth straight win. “I’ve been really stressing, trying to prove I belong here. Yesterday I was able to take a step back and relax and it worked out for the better.”

Lowe is hitting .135 after 11 games, but he feels the worst might be over.

“All you want to be able to do is help the team win,” he said. “I was searching, racking my brain and stressing out. Today I came in a little early, got in the cage and told myself to relax and don’t stress, trust your skills.”

Lowe and Mallex Smith drove in two runs each, and the Rays moved five games over .500 for the first time since July 2017. They had 14 hits, none of them with two outs.

“A lot of good offensive numbers tonight that we kind of needed,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Lowe’s two-run single came off Jakob Junis after hits by Michael Perez and Carlos Gomez.

Junis (6-12) allowed four runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out five. Only two of the runs were earned.

“He’s been consistently sharp, especially the last four outings,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I expect him to go out and make starts like this, give us a chance to win like he did.”

Whit Merrifield led off the fourth with his ninth home run, the Royals’ first hit of the game, extending his hitting streak to 11 games.

Hunter Dozier added a two-run homer in the eighth, the second of the game off Yonny Chirinos. Dozier’s sixth homer of the season came on his 27th birthday.

Ryan O’Hearn had his first first multi-hit game for the Royals with three of their seven hits, but Rosell Herrera was thrown out at the plate for the game’s final out after O’Hearn’s third hit.

Rays opener Ryne Stanek pitched two hitless innings before Chirinos (2-5) took over. Chirinos gave up three runs on four hits while striking out four in five innings.

Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 25 opportunities.

The loss clinched a sixth straight series loss for the Royals, who have lost 16 of 20 games overall and all six games against Tampa Bay this season.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Kevin Kiermaier, who had two hits and a walk, is hitting .357 in his last eight games, noteworthy mostly because he was batting .175 before that. “I’ve been pressing this whole year, trying to make up for all my lost time and all my (lack of) performance in one swing,” the Rays center fielder said. “I’ve been trying to kill the ball all year and hit the ball 700 feet, and that’s how I get myself out. You learn from things like this — being hurt and not playing the way you want to. It’s a learning experience and now I’m instituting those experiences into my approach.”

GETTING A BREAK

Rays rookie 1B Jake Bauers, mired in a 1-for-33 slide, was out of the lineup. “He’s been pressing, there’s no denying it,” Cash said. “He’s frustrated with himself.” Bauers entered Wednesday hitting .209 with nine homers and 34 RBI in 66 games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: OF Jorge Bonifacio, scratched from Tuesday’s lineup with lower back stiffness, was on the bench again Wednesday, but available, Yost said.

Rays: OF Tommy Pham said he hopes to be back Friday after dislocating his right ring finger on a head-first dive back to first base on Tuesday. “It feels fine other than the swelling,” Pham said.

UP NEXT

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow (1-3, 4.10 ERA) will make his fifth start for the Rays in the season series finale Thursday night. Glasnow took his first loss Saturday at Boston, going 6 2/3 innings after a second inning in which he gave up three walks and four runs. Left-hander Danny Duffy (7-11, 4.90) will start for Kansas City. He hasn’t started since Aug. 11 because of a left shoulder impingement.

— Associated Press —

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Blake Snell added to a run of top-notch pitching by the Tampa Bay Rays.

The All-Star left-hander helped Tampa Bay match a team record with 27 consecutive shutout innings, and the Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Tuesday night.

“This pitching staff, I think, is very, very talented,” Snell said. “I’m not surprised. Guys can pitch, they come in compete and work every day.”

The scoreless stretch ended when Snell (15-5) allowed a fifth-inning solo homer to Ryan O’Hearn.

Snell struck out 11 and gave up four hits in six innings. The left-hander has 13 straight home starts of allowing one earned run or fewer, which is longest stretch in the majors since 1913, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“I like being at home, I don’t like going on planes or buses,” Snell said with a smile. “I don’t know what it is. I feel very comfortable here.”

Tampa Bay has a 1.89 ERA over the last 11 games.

“We’re doing it with a lot of young pitchers,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Blake did his thing. Another dominating performance. I like where Blake’s going.”

Since returning from a stint on the disabled list for left shoulder fatigue Aug. 4th, Snell is 3-0 and has given up two earned runs over 20 innings in four starts.

“He’s not an All-Star by accident,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

O’Hearn has five homers in 14 career games for the Royals, who dropped to 50 games (38-88) under .500.

Tampa Bay’s Tommy Pham had three hits, an RBI and a walk but left in the eighth after dislocating his right ring finger diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt. He’s day to day.

“I thought I broke it,” Pham said. “My finger was pointed the other direction. Got lucky.”

Willy Adames had three hits and put the Rays up 1-0 on a homer off an overhanging catwalk in the second that left fielder Alex Gordon nearly made a diving catch on. The effort would have been in vain if Gordon caught it because Tropicana Field ground rules state a ball hitting that catwalk is an automatic home run.

Gordon was OK after going over the short wall down the left-field line trying to catch Brandon Lowe’s fifth-inning foul ball.

Joey Wendle made it 3-0 with a two-run triple off Glenn Sparkman (0-2) during the fourth.

Sparkman gave up three runs and seven hits over four innings in his second career start.

Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his 17th save, working out of a two-on, one-out jam.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Yost said LHP Danny Duffy, placed on the 10-day DL on Aug. 13th, is “pretty much on track” to start Thursday night. … RHP Ian Kennedy (left oblique strain) could start a minor league rehab assignment next week. … OF Jorge Bonifacio was a late scratch with lower back tightness.

Rays: 3B Matt Duffy, hitting .202 over his previous 25 games, was rested. Duffy was limited to three minor league games in 2017 following Achilles tendon surgery. “We’re getting to the dog days of the season, that’s something I’ve got to recognize,” Cash said. … LHP Vidal Nuno (right hamstring) allowed three hits in three scoreless innings for Class A Charlotte.

RARE COMPANY

Snell joined Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (1968) as the only pitchers since 1920 with at least 160 strikeouts and fewer than 35 runs allowed through 24 starts, according to Stats LLC.

UP NEXT

Royals RHP Jakob Junis (6-11) will face Rays reliever Ryne Stanek (1-3) in a bullpen game Wednesday night. Junis is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in two appearances against Tampa Bay.

— Associated Press —

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays and their parade of relievers are closing in on some franchise history.

Ryan Yarbrough helped extend Tampa Bay’s shutout streak to 23 innings, and the Rays got their only run via video replay in a 1-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

The franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings is 27, set in 2013. Tampa Bay began this streak with 14 shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox, including a 2-0 win Sunday.

“They shut out the best team in the league yesterday so that tells you how good they’re doing now,” said Willy Adames, who drove in the game’s only run.

Yarbrough (12-5) pitched 5 1/3 innings in relief of opener Hunter Wood. The rookie left-hander gave up two hits and a walk while striking out six, earning his major league-leading 10th relief win.

Yarbrough has primarily been a long man out of the bullpen while Tampa Bay has experimented with using relievers for one or two innings at the start of most games. He leads the majors with 96 relief innings and has a 3.84 ERA.

“It’s something that you see another guy doing really well, and … we’re all competitive by nature or we wouldn’t be here,” Yarbrough said. “We just want to go out there and do the same, if not better. A little friendly competition in the clubhouse never hurts.”

Ryne Stanek pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Jose Alvarado pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

After singles by Ji-Man Choi and Kevin Kiermaier in the second inning, Adames hit a two-out chopper over third base. Adames beat Rosell Herrera’s throw across the diamond, but it took a 43-second review to reverse the original out call.

“Usually the run you score in the second inning doesn’t define the game. It was pretty unusual,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It just shows we had to play seven innings of perfect baseball.”

The run came off right-hander Jorge Lopez, who pitched five innings in his second major league start. Lopez (0-3) gave up five hits and three walks.

The Royals, who were shut out for the ninth time this season, are 0-4 against Tampa Bay with all four losses coming by one run. They never got a runner as far as third base Monday night.

“The pitching was fantastic. We just couldn’t muster any offense,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Kiermaier had three of Tampa Bay’s eight hits after coming into the game batting .127 in August.

Royals reliever Jake Newberry struck out three in 1 2/3 innings in his major league debut.

Wood pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up two hits with two strikeouts.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (left shoulder) “felt really good” after a bullpen session, according to manager Ned Yost, who will determine Tuesday whether Duffy will pitch Thursday night’s series finale.

Rays: INF Daniel Robertson said recent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb went well and he has no pain. Robertson hasn’t given up on getting at-bats during the final days of the season. “There won’t be any rushing it,” he said. … LHP Vidal Nuno (strained right hamstring) will make his second rehab start Tuesday night with Class A Charlotte and should be back in September.

MINORS MATTERS

LHP Matthew Liberatore, taken by the Rays in the first round of the 2018 draft, allowed three hits and struck out eight over five innings to get his first pro win in the GCL Rays’ 6-0 victory over the Twins. He has a 0.98 ERA over 27 2/3 innings in eight starts.

UP NEXT

LHP Blake Snell (14-5) will pitch Tuesday night’s game against Royals RHP Glenn Sparkman (0-1). Snell, whose 2.10 ERA ranks second in the AL, has not given up a run in two straight starts of five innings each.

— Associated Press —

CHICAGO (AP) — For many struggling teams, a large early deficit results in a lackluster effort the rest of the way.

The Chicago White Sox, though, keep battling.

Omar Narvaez homered and drove in the go-ahead run with a single, Chicago relievers tossed seven scoreless innings and the White Sox rallied from a six-run deficit for a 7-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Avisail Garcia and Tim Anderson also homered for Chicago, which has won four of five.

Hector Santiago (5-3) allowed just two hits in four innings of relief to get the win. Jace Fry, the last of six relievers, got the final two outs for his second save.

Of Chicago’s 46 wins, 26 have been come-from-behind affairs.

“It says a lot about them because they’re fighting,” manager Rick Renteria said. “Certainly a great team win.”

Ryan O’Hearn, Whit Merrifield and Alex Gordon homered for Kansas City, which dropped to 2-13 in the rubber game of series this season.

White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in order in the first, but was rocked for six runs and three homers (on 46 pitches) in the second. O’Hearn started things with a two-run shot, Merrifield made it 5-0 with a three-run blast and Gordon added a solo shot.

“I wasn’t commanding my pitches,” Lopez said through a translator.

Kansas City starter Heath Fillmyer allowed just one hit in the first three innings, but then suddenly lost it. The right-hander faced six batters in the fourth and didn’t record an out.

Jose Abreu and Daniel Palka had back-to-back singles to start things and Garcia hit a three-run homer to trim the deficit in half. After Nicky Delmonico singled, Anderson homered to make it 6-5. Narvaez followed with a solo blast to tie the score and chase Fillmyer.

“He just couldn’t stop the bleeding,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Second time around, they kind of got on him. Wasn’t a bad pitch to Garcia, but from that point it snowballed on him and other pitches weren’t that great of pitches.

“By the time I could get somebody up, the game was tied.”

In the fifth, Narvaez gave the White Sox a 7-6 lead with a two-out RBI single off Brian Flynn (3-4), scoring Garcia from second base.

PROMOTED

Highly touted prospect Michael Kopech will make his major league debut Tuesday night when the White Sox host the Minnesota Twins. The 22-year-old is 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 24 starts with Triple-A Charlotte this season, including a 4-0 mark with a 1.84 ERA in his last seven starts. The hard-throwing right-hander has 170 strikeouts in 126 1/3 innings.

“I’m excited to see his progression,” said catcher Kevan Smith, who caught Kopech in Charlotte earlier this season. “His fastball is electric.”

ROYALTY

Gordon’s homer was the 169th of his career (all with the Royals), tying Hal McRae for fourth in franchise history.

DAY TRIPPIN’

The White Sox play the Twins in Minneapolis on Monday night in a makeup of one of three games snowed out in April. The teams then play two games in Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It’s an odd thing, for sure,” Renteria said of the one-game road trip. “I’ve never experienced it.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (shoulder impingement) threw long toss on Saturday and is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Monday. Yost said Duffy will start at Tampa Bay on Thursday — the day he’s eligible to come off the 10-day DL — if there are no issues.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jorge Lopez (0-2, 4.44 ERA) makes his second start of the season on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series at Tampa Bay. RHP Ryan Stanek (1-3, 2.74) pitches for the Rays.

White Sox: RHP Lucas Giolito (8-9, 6.15) takes the mound Monday night at Minnesota in the makeup of a game snowed out in April. LHP Stephen Gonsalves (0-0, 0.00) makes his major league debut for the Twins.

— Associated Press —