KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jacoby Ellsbury drove in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning, and the New York Yankees hung tough after blowing a four-run lead for a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

Dellin Betances (3-4) tossed two scoreless innings of relief for New York before Ben Heller loaded the bases with one out in the 10th. Chasen Shreve entered the game and calmly struck out Kendrys Morales and got Salvador Perez to fly out, picking up his first career major league save.

Brian McCann and Chase Headley started the Yankees’ go-ahead rally with singles off Joakim Soria (4-6), who recovered to strike out Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin. But after Soria walked Brett Gardner to load the bases, Ellsbury lined a single off Soria’s leg for his fourth hit of the game.

Judge hit a two-run homer for the Yankees, while Ellsbury finished with two RBI.

Morales went deep for the Royals to spur their comeback, then provided the tying sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain also drove in runs for Kansas City.

The Yankees built a 4-0 lead off Edinson Volquez by the third inning, only to watch it slowly slip away around a 59-minute rain delay that saturated the soggy turf at Kauffman Stadium.

In fact, just about all that could slow down the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka was the rain.

The right-hander mowed through the first eight batters he faced, extending the streak of 14 2/3 scoreless innings he had twirled in his last two starts. Tanaka didn’t allow a hit until a single by Raul Mondesi, who later scored on Dyson’s triple off the top of the wall.

Tanaka’s only other mistake came on Morales’ homer in the fourth inning.

The rain began falling and the tarp came out after the fifth inning, and the delay was long enough to end Tanaka’s night. He allowed two runs and four hits while striking out four without a walk.

The Royals got within 4-3 in the sixth inning when Cain slapped an RBI double off Adam Warren, then they coaxed across the tying run in the eighth against Tyler Clippard and Betances.

Clippard walked Cain to start the inning. Cain promptly stole second off Betances, and the throw from catcher Gary Sanchez squirted into the outfield, allowing Cain to reach third. He trotted home to knot the game 4-all when Morales lofted a sacrifice fly to center.

ROSTER MOVES

The Yankees optioned RHP Kirby Yates to rookie-level Pulaski and recalled Shreve from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Shreve joined the Yankees for the fourth time this season.

TRADE COMPLETE

The Pirates sent OF Tito Polo and LHP Stephen Tarpley to the Yankees to complete their Aug. 1 deal for RHP Ivan Nova. Polo hit .289 with 16 homers between Class-A Bradenton and West Virginia, and Tarpley was 6-4 in 20 starts with Bradenton.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: 1B Mark Teixeira sat again with pain in his neck, manager Joe Girardi said. “From a health standpoint I have to watch him closely, but he’s feeling better today than he was yesterday.”

Royals: RHP Wade Davis was due to make a rehab appearance at Triple-A Omaha after Monday night’s game was rained out. Davis has been sidelined with a flexor strain.

UP NEXT

RHP Luis Cessa, the second Yankees pitcher since 2004 to win his first two career starts, returns to the mound for New York. RHP Ian Kennedy tries for his fourth straight win for the Royals.

— Associated Press —

BOSTON (AP) — Raul Mondesi hit a bases-loaded triple and Eric Hosmer added a two-run single during an eight-run sixth inning, lifting the surging Kansas City Royals to a 10-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.

Salvador Perez hit his third solo homer in two games for Kansas City, which took two of three at Fenway Park and got its 17th win in 21 games.

David Ortiz hit his 534th career homer, a solo shot, for the Red Sox, tying Jimmie Foxx for 18th on the career list. Boston has lost four of five.

Matt Strahm (2-0) pitched 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief for the win.

Eduardo Rodriguez (2-6) gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings before the bullpen allowed five more in the sixth.

The Royals chased Rodriguez and regained the lead in the sixth after the Red Sox moved ahead in the fifth.

Alcides Escobar had an RBI single before Mondesi rocked his triple to the outfield-wall triangle in center. Cheslor Cuthbert had a run-scoring fielder’s choice grounder before Lorenzo Cain added an RBI single.

Robbie Ross Jr. relieved and gave up Hosmer’s two-run single off the Green Monster before getting the final two outs.

Boston capitalized on center fielder Paulo Orlando’s error to score three times off starter Yordano Ventura in the fifth. Chris Young singled and Orlando dropped Sandy Leon’s fly at the track, putting runners on second and third before a walk.

Brock Holt drove in the first run with a groundout before Xander Bogaerts’ two-run single.

Ventura gave up four runs — three earned — in 4 1/3 innings.

Ortiz’s 31st homer went into the bleachers behind Boston’s bullpen in the fourth.

Perez homered off a billboard above the Green Monster.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: C Perez took a foul ball in the chin area after it bounced in the dirt and up under his mask, but stayed in the game.

Red Sox: RH reliever Koji Uehara (strained chest muscle) is still expected to throw a bullpen session Monday.

FAMILY MATTER

Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia left the team after a death in the family. He’s expected back after Monday’s game starts following the services, so he won’t be on the bereavement list that requires three games missed.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Dillon Gee (5-7, 4.55 ERA) is set to start Monday against New York RHP Michael Pineda (6-10, 5.02) when they open a three-game series at home against the Yankees.

Red Sox: RHP Rick Porcello (17-3, 3.23) looks to become the first Red Sox pitcher in 70 years to open a season 13-0 in Fenway Park on Monday against the Rays. RHP Matt Andriese (6-5, 3.71) is set to start for Tampa Bay.

— Associated Press —

BOSTON (AP) — Dustin Pedroia came to the plate in the eighth inning knowing he had some sort of special streak going.

He just wasn’t exactly sure how historic it was.

Pedroia had four hits to extend his streak to 11 straight at-bats before bouncing into a double play with a chance to tie the major-league record, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 8-3 on Saturday night.

“I heard something,” said Pedroia, the 2008 AL MVP. “I didn’t know what it was. I was going to the bathroom and heard them say it on TV.”

Pedroia’s streak, which stretched over three games, ended in the eighth inning. The big league mark of hits in 12 straight official at-bats is shared by Walt Dropo for Detroit in 1952, Pinky Higgins of the Red Sox in 1938 and Johnny Kling of the Cubs in 1902.

“Whenever your name is up there with guys in black and white photos, it’s pretty special,” winning pitcher David Price said. “He’s a gamer. He’s a very special teammate. Everybody on this team cherishes what he brings to his team each and every day.”

Xander Bogaerts homered and drove in three runs, and Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez hit consecutive homers for Boston, which snapped a three-game losing streak with its 11th win in 16 games.

Price (13-8) won his fourth straight start, giving up two runs in six innings to lower his ERA to 3.97, the lowest it’s been since after his first start of the season.

Danny Duffy (11-2) gave up three homers and seven runs in five innings, halting a personal 10-game winning streak.

Salvador Perez hit two solo homers for the Royals, who lost for just the fourth time 20 games.

Even Royals manager Ned Yost could appreciate the run Pedroia was on.

“He’s been hotter than a firecracker, for sure,” he said. “I mean 4 for 4 last night, 4 for 5 tonight. He had a real hot streak and what’s amazing to me is he keeps his bat in the zone for so long he can handle so many pitches. Just a really good hitter. I’ve always thought that about him though.”

Duffy had allowed two or fewer runs in five straight starts — and six of seven — before Boston took care of that string with two each in the first and second innings.

Two batters in, the Red Sox jumped ahead 2-0 on Bogaerts’ 16th homer, a drive that completely left Fenway Park over the Green Monster after Pedroia singled.

In the bottom of the second after the Royals had tied it, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Pedroia had consecutive RBI doubles, pushing Boston in front 4-2.

Perez homered and Alcides Escobar had an RBI double in the top of the inning.

Pedroia collected his 10th consecutive hit with a run-scoring single to make it 5-2 in the fourth. His 11th was a ground single to center in the sixth. He then bounced into the double play in the eighth.

Betts hit his 29th, a solo shot, in the fifth and Ramirez followed with his two pitches later to nearly the same spot, two rows into the Monster seats about three fans apart. After watching Ramirez’s drive land in the seats, Duffy just smiled in disbelief as he waited for a new ball from home plate umpire Adrian Johnson.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Wade Davis (flexor strain), LHP Jason Vargas (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and RHP Kris Medlen (right rotator cuff inflammation) were all expected to pitch for Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

Red Sox: Manager John Farrell said RHP Koji Uehara (strained chest muscle) threw 53 pitches with “good intensity” in a bullpen session on Friday and he’s expected to throw again Monday. … C Ryan Hanigan (left ankle tendinitis) started a rehab assignment with Double-A Portland on Saturday.

YES, 2K

David Ortiz played his 2,000 game as a DH (1721 for Boston, 279 Minnesota), most ever in the big leagues. Harold Baines (1980-2001) is next with 1,643.

NICE GRAB

A fan in the upper deck reached over the railing with his glove a foot or so and grabbed a foul ball behind home plate.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura (9-9, 4.27 ERA) is set to start the series finale on Sunday night. He’s 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in six starts this month.

Red Sox: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-5, 5.11) is expected to start for the first time since leaving his Aug. 16 start with tightness in his left hamstring. The lefty was scratched the night before his scheduled start last Sunday.

— Associated Press —