KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kendrys Morales started the season scuffling to get his average above .200. He’s finishing up a lot better.

Morales homered for his 1,000th career hit and drove in four runs, Danny Duffy pitched effectively into the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 10-3 Sunday.

“First and foremost, I didn’t even know I had 999 hits,” Morales said with catching coach Pedro Grifol as his translator.

Morales was hitting .191 on June 5, but in his past 20 games he is hitting .359 with a .705 slugging percentage, bringing his season total to .261 with 38 home runs and 85 RBI.

“Obviously, I didn’t have a good start, but the season is a very long season,” Morales said. “I was able to get back on track and finish strong.”

Duffy (12-2) picked up his first victory since Aug. 21. He struck out eight and gave up three runs.

“Again, it sounds boring, but it’s a simple mindset,” Duffy said. “I trust my fastball and everything else plays off of it. That’s probably why I don’t try to nibble with it.”

Morales homered in the sixth with Paulo Orlando aboard. Orlando reached base four times — two doubles, a walk and hit by pitch — and scored three runs.

Morales contributed a RBI single in the first and doubled home Eric Hosmer in the fourth.

Hosmer drove in three runs, giving him a career-best 95 RBI. Whit Merrifield had three hits and two RBI.

Alex Gordon ended an 0-for-21 drought with his 16th home run, which splashed into the upper right-field fountain.

Todd Frazier hit his 37th homer, a White Sox record for a third baseman.

Jose Quintana (12-11) was removed after four innings. He faced 24 batters, giving up 10 hits and three walks.

“It wasn’t the normal stuff, the stuff you expect from him,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “They hit him pretty hard, too. He just wasn’t locating the way he usually does. It was just an off day for him. We didn’t do much offensively against Duffy. He was throwing it pretty good. But, you know, just a rare one for Q.”

Quintana’s career record against the Royals dropped to 1-9.

DOUBLE CHALLENGE

The third inning included a 4-minute, 25-second review that included both managers making a challenge on the same play. Ned Yost of the Royals claimed shortstop Tim Anderson did not touch second base before throwing to first on Hosmer’s grounder. White Sox manager Robin Ventura challenged that Orlando violated the slide rule. After the review, the call on the field was overturned with Orlando ruled safe and the slide was legal.

“We felt like when you slide and you can’t reach the bag that’s enough for me to feel like it’s not a real slide or a bona fide slide,” Ventura said. “Again, that stuff is written in a way that it could go either way.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: INF Tyler Saladino was out for the second straight game with a left calf issue. “He’s getting better,” Ventura said. “There’s nothing mechanically wrong in there. He’s just sore and you just have to treat it.” … DH Justin Morneau missed his sixth straight game with neck discomfort.

UP NEXT

White Sox: LHP Carlos Rodon, who is 5-1 with a 2.77 ERA in his past eight starts, will start the series finale.

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura has allowed at least 11 baserunners in each of his past three starts with 12 walks and 23 hits.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yonder Alonso’s doubles are spoiling the Kansas City Royals’ postseason hopes.

Alonso and Marcus Semien hit two-run doubles as the Oakland Athletics beat Kansas City 8-0 for the third straight game on Wednesday night to further ruin the Royals’ postseason chances.

The 2015 World Series champion Royals are five games out in the American League wild card with 17 games left and would have to climb over five teams.

“I think our guys were really fired up coming into today,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “There was some anger in that locker room today before the game, so I don’t feel any deflation. Guys are upset that we lost those games. They’re not pointing any fingers because they know that we win as a team and lose as a team. They’re not happy with it.”

Alonso’s two-run eighth inning laser pinch double Tuesday lifted the A’s to victory. Alonso’s broken-bat double in the first scored Danny Valencia and Stephen Vogt.

“A totally different swing in a totally different situation, but it got the job done and that’s what matters,” Alonso said. “In this game, sometimes you’d rather by lucky than good. It worked out for me yesterday. Today was a new day and it worked out. The bat died a hero.”

A’s rookie left-hander Sean Manaea (5-9) picked up his first career road victory, retiring 13 of the final 14 batters he faced in five scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one. Manaea, who had not pitched since Aug. 29 when he left in the fourth inning with a strained left rhomboid, was removed after 67 pitches. The A’s acquired Manaea from the Royals in July 2015 as part of the Ben Zobrist trade.

“I don’t think about those things,” Manaea said of facing his former club. “It was great seeing those guys again and doing well against them makes everything better.”

Yordano Ventura (10-11) threw 39 pitches, 28 after two outs, in a three-run third. Ventura retired the first two batters and then gave up five consecutive hits, two of them doubles. Semien’s double scored Alonso and Ryon Healy. Bruce Maxwell’s single scored Semien.

“I was trying to be a little too fine and I was falling behind in the count,” Ventura said through an interpreter.

Ventura was pulled after 4 1/3 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits, four walks, a hit batter and two wild pitches. He has yielded 17 hits and nine runs in 11 1/3 innings in losing his past two starts.

Khris Davis delivered a two-out two-run eighth inning single and scored on Healy’s single to cap off the scoring.

Oakland relievers John Axford, Liam Hendriks and Chris Smith held the Royals to one single the final four innings. The A’s bullpen has restricted the Royals to one run and three hits over 12 1/3 innings in the first three games.

“Manaea did a great job of pitching, as did their whole staff,” Yost said. “You know, Ventura was out there competing his tail off. He just struggled to command the secondary stuff and his fastball.”

The Royals, who have lost seven of their past eight home games, did not have a runner reach third base.

STICKING WITH SORIA

While RHP Joakim Soria is 0-3 with three blown saves and a 9.00 ERA in seven games since August 30, Royals manager Ned Yost said he is not forsaking him. “Jack’s had great outings and he’s had bad outings,” Yost said. “Yeah, he’s had a rough year. The thing that is so puzzling to him is he feels good. It’s just one of those things.”

FUENTES RELEASED

The Royals asked for unconditional release waivers on Rey Fuentes, who was their opening day starting right fielder after hitting .386 in spring training. Fuentes hit .317 in 13 games and 44 plate-appearances with Kansas City. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Omaha, where he hit .254 and swiped 17 bases in 22 attempts.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray (strained forearm) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session and could appear in a game before the season ends. “The look on his face and the intensity in which he threw suggests that he wants to pitch,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Obviously, we’ll be careful and make sure that every step along the way he’s healthy, but there’s a good chance, at this point, we’ll get him in a game or two.” . RHP J.B. Wendelken (forearm tightness) was unavailable.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Daniel Mengden, who is 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA in two September starts, faces the Royals for the first time.

Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez, who has won his past three decisions against the A’s, starts the series finale.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joakim Soria blew another save and the Kansas City Royals’ chances to return to the postseason took another hit.

Pinch hitter Yonder Alonso delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics rallied past Kansas City 5-4 Tuesday night.

The defending World Series champion Royals dropped five games out of the wild-card race with only 18 games left.

“That’s a really hard situation to come in to,” Alonso said. “I think early on, I knew I was going to have an opportunity, a meaningful opportunity obviously, with the game on the line to come up with a big at-bat.”

Soria blew his seventh save chance in eight opportunities. He was summoned with two outs in the eighth and the Royals clinging to a 3-2 lead.

On his second pitch, Soria gave up a double to Alonso over the head of center fielder Jarrod Dyson, scoring Brett Eibner and pinch runner Joey Wendle.

Soria then yielded an RBI single to Marcus Semien.

“It’s a difficult position when you’re not used to that,” said Soria, who has 203 career saves. “This season has been really, really different to me. I guess in 10 years it can happen sometimes.”

“Unfortunately for me and my team, it happened this year. They need me the most and I’ve been having poor results,” he said.

Rookie Matthew Strahm (2-1), who gave up an infield single to Chad Pinder before Soria replaced him, took the loss.

Royals manager Ned Yost said he did not to use Kelvin Herrera for a four-out save and Wade Davis was unavailable after throwing nearly 50 pitches in back-to-back saves Saturday and Sunday.

“I had confidence in Jack,” Yost said. “I thought it was a good situation for him. I didn’t mind the matchup with Alonso. Jack’s had two days off.”

“Ultimately, it’s my plan. I’m responsible for my plan. And that was my plan and it didn’t work,” he said.

Will he continue to use Soria in those pressure situations?

“I don’t make decisions after games like this,” Yost said. “I haven’t even thought about. I’m not even going to speculate on what I’m going to do, without thinking about it and sleeping on it.”

“Jack’s that guy right now that everybody is on. Jack’s had some really good outings this year and he’s had some poor outings. How do you determine from one day to the next if I put him out there if it’s going to be a good outing or a bad outing? It very easily could have been a good outing. It wasn’t,” he said.

John Axford (6-4) pitched one inning. Ryan Madson balked home Dyson with two outs in the ninth before closing for his 30th save in 36 tries.

Royals starter Danny Duffy, who has not won since Aug. 21, limited the A’s to three hits, but two were home runs, in 7 1/3 innings.

Duffy gave up a home run to Khris Davis on his first pitch in the fifth. Davis has homered in back-to-back games and hiked his season total to 37, which is the most by an Athletics player since Frank Thomas hit 39 in 2006.

Ryon Healy homered to lead off the eighth. After Duffy walked Eibner with one out, he was replaced by Strahm.

Paulo Orlando hit a two-run single in the fourth to score Cheslor Cuthbert, who had doubled, and Alcides Escobar, who reached on Semien’s error.

Semien has committed 11 errors in the past 53 games and tops major league shortstops with 19 fielding miscues.

Escobar’s two-out single in the sixth scored Salvador Perez and chased Jharel Cotton, who was making his second big league start since being acquired in an Aug. 1 trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cotton allowed three runs, only one earned, in 5 2/3 innings, while walking one and striking out two.

“I’m just going out there and pitching the way I know how to pitch,” Cotton said. “I’m not trying to do anything special, just go out there and give my team a chance to win every time I get the ball.”

ROOKIES GALORE

The A’s started five rookies — 2B Pinder, RF Eibner, 3B Healy, DH Renato Nunez and RHP Cotton — matching a season high.

FOOTBALL VISIT

A’s manager Bob Melvin stopped by the Chiefs’ practice Tuesday. He is a friend of Chiefs coach Andy Reed. The manager’s cousin, Tom Melvin, coaches the Chiefs tight ends.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (right biceps tendinitis) is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday. “I don’t think it will be tomorrow, but he’s definitely making progress,” Yost said. … Perez returned to the lineup after missing the game Tuesday for the birth of his second son, Johan Salvador.

UP NEXT

Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea will make his first start since Aug. 29 when he left after 3 1/3 innings with strained left rhomboid muscles in the shoulder blade.

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura gave up a season-high 10 hits over seven innings in a loss Friday to the White Sox.

— Associated Press —