KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alcides Escobar pumped his fist. Jarrod Dyson did a backflip. And for the first time in more than a decade, the Kansas City Royals were in first place in mid-August.

Yordano Ventura outpitched Sonny Gray in a matchup of talented young starters Monday night, and Escobar drove in the go-ahead run as Kansas City beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 to take over the AL Central lead from Detroit with its eighth consecutive victory.

“You want to be in first place. Our goal was to get back to first place,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Now our goal is to stay in first place.”

The Royals trailed the Tigers by eight games on July 21, but their 16th win in 19 games wiped away the deficit and gave them the lead at the latest point in a season since 2003.

“We’re playing great,” said Escobar, who drove in a run in the second inning before his two-out single off Gray (12-6) in the seventh gave Kansas City the lead for good.

Ventura lasted through sixth innings before giving way to Kelvin Herrera (3-2), who tossed a spotless seventh. Wade Davis breezed through the eighth and Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 35th save, though it didn’t come without a little drama.

Josh Donaldson led off the ninth with a single, the first hit by the Athletics since the second inning, and Brandon Moss drew a walk. But after a brief conference on the mound, Holland got Derek Norris to bounce into a double play and Stephen Vogt to fly out to end the game.

“He has the ability to focus pitch to pitch, which good closers can do,” Yost said. “You get first and second with his stuff, you just have a feeling he’s going to get out of it.”

Kansas City put pressure on right from the start, when Dyson and Omar Infante opened the game with back-to-back singles. Gray might have escaped the jam, though, if right fielder Josh Reddick hadn’t flubbed a routine throw to the infield after Infante’s hit. It allowed Dyson to reach third base easily, and he scored on Salvador Perez’s double-play groundout.

“It’s pretty embarrassing,” Reddick said, “especially since it cost us a run. And we end up losing by one run, so it doesn’t make your feel any better.”

After Escobar made it 2-0 in th second, Oakland answered with some help from Ventura, who worked to overcome command problems most of the night. John Jaso led off with a single, Coco Crisp worked a walk and Donaldson earned another free pass to load the bases with two outs.

Moss hit a full-count pitch up the middle to score both runners and knot the game.

Yost pulled Ventura after a double play got the rookie right-hander through the sixth. And when Gray faltered in the seventh and Kansas City took the lead, one of the stingiest bullpens in baseball made sure the smallest of margins was enough.

“Those three guys at the end are as good as you get,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “They don’t worry about righty-lefty. They feel when they get to the seventh inning with a lead, they feel pretty good about it.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon is eager for another marketing gimmick.

Gordon and Salvador Perez homered, Danny Duffy pitched into the seventh inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 7-4 Sunday for their seventh consecutive victory.

The Royals gave out 10,000 Gordon bobbleheads for the series finale against San Francisco. Gordon, who played his college ball at Nebraska, also homered on Husker Night on Saturday.

“We’ve got to think of a promotion for tomorrow to keep it going,” Gordon said.

The big weekend is part of a nice roll for Gordon, who is batting .350 (14 for 40) with three homers and seven RBIs in his last 11 games.

“Gordy is not swinging the bat well because it is Husker day or because it was bobblehead day,” Yost said. “Gordy is swinging the bat well because he is seeing the ball well and putting good swings on it.”

The Royals, who won 10 in a row in June, have put together two winning streaks of seven or more games this season for the first time since 1985, the last time they were in the playoffs.

They moved within one-half game of first-place Detroit in the AL Central. The Tigers lost 6-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays in 19 innings on Sunday.

Gordon hit a two-run shot off Tim Lincecum (9-8) in a four-run first. The inning also included Billy Butler’s run-producing double and Perez scoring on a wild pitch.

“He was all over the board,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Lincecum. “When he threw a strike or threw an off-speed pitch it was up. He regrouped, but it’s tough when you get down four runs.”

Perez homered off Juan Gutierrez with Nori Aoki aboard in a three-run fourth. Aoki reached base four times — two walks and two singles — and stole three bases.

Jarrod Dyson went 3 for 3 and also swiped a career-high three bases.

Duffy (7-10) allowed four runs and three hits in 6 2/3 innings in winning back-to-back starts for the first time this season. He walked two in the seventh and both scored on an Andrew Susac’s double.

“You are really comfortable on the mound,” Duffy said after the four-run first. “The offense just keeps doing their job. It’s been a lot of fun to watch.”

Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, was roughed up for six runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. Lincecum, who is winless since July 11, has a 10.59 ERA in his past four starts, giving up 20 runs and 28 hits in 17 innings.

“You just see how far you can go to give your team a chance to fight back and get in the game,” Lincecum said.

Wade Davis pitched a scoreless eighth and Greg Holland worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth while picking up his American League-leading 34th save in 36 opportunities.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — James Shields turned and gave a salute after striking out Pablo Sandoval to end his four-hitter, the Kansas City Royals’ sixth straight victory, 5-0 over San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.

“I was just saluting the bullpen, man,” Shields said. “They’ve done a phenomenal job for us, saving our behinds all year long. It’s nice to give them a day off. It just a nice little salute to the bullpen, tell them to take a day.”

Alex Gordon homered for the Royals, who have won nine of 10 to move with 1 1-2 games of AL Central-leading Detroit. The Royals, who have not made the playoffs since beating St. Louis in the 1985 World Series, are in second place in the AL wild card standings.

Shields (11-6) gave up three singles in the first four innings. He allowed only two Giants to reach second base. He walked Joe Panik in the fifth and he moved to second on a wild pitch with two outs, but was stranded. Panik doubled in the eighth.

“He’s got good stuff,” said Buster Posey, who went 0-for-4 and struck out once against Shields. “That’s about it. He’s been good for a while.”

It was Shields’ ninth career shutout, his first since Sept. 9, 2012.

Tim Hudson (8-9) gave up the home run to Gordon to lead off the fifth inning on Nebraska Night at Kauffman Stadium. Gordon is a Lincoln, Nebraska, native and was the college player of the year in 2005 as a junior with the Cornhuskers. Was it a coincidence Gordon homered on Nebraska Night?

“I go deep all the time. What are you talking about?” Gordon deadpanned before laughing. “It was a good crowd. It just energized all the players. It added excitement and energy. There was a lot of [Nebraska] red tonight, so that was good to see.”

Hudson yielded three straight hits to start the four-run seventh and was replaced by Jeremy Affeldt. The inning included Mike Moustakas’ run-producing double while Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Jarrod Dyson had RBI-singles.

Hudson was charged with three runs and six hits in six-plus innings. Affeldt, who had held the opposition scoreless in his previous 13 outings, faced four batters and gave up two runs and three hits.

“They’re playing very well,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of the Royals. “When you play good teams, you have to play your best ball. Last night we let it get away. Tonight we just ran into a well-pitched game.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Billy Butler is hot at the plate and Kansas City Royals are even hotter.

Butler homered and drove in three runs and right fielder Nori Aoki threw out two runners in the same inning as the Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2 Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

The Royals, who have not been in the playoffs since winning the 1985 World Series, hold a half game lead for the second AL wild card. They have won 13 of 16.

Butler, who is hitting .423 in the past seven games, homered with two out in the first off Madison Bumgarner (13-9). In the past 13 games, Butler has four home runs and 11 RBIs.

“Those are feeling really good,” Butler said. “Bumgarner is one of the best pitchers in the National League and in baseball in general. I just caught one out front. He battled all night, throwing a complete game. We capitalized on a few mistakes and got some runs across.”

Said Bumgarner of Butler’s homer, “It just caught a bit too much of the middle of the plate. He’s a good hitter.”

Butler singled home the go-ahead run in the two-run sixth, which was aided by throwing errors on Giants infielders Michael Morse and Matt Duffy. Alex Gordon had an RBI single.

“Morse had more time than he thought,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “You’d just like to get one out there. Duffy knew he came of the bag and was trying to get the out (at first).”

The Giants scored twice in the third on Joaquin Arias’ double and Matt Duffy’s single. Aoki prevented a bigger inning, throwing out Hunter Pence at third and Arias at home.

“You might get two in a game, but never two in an inning,” Aoki said through a translator.

The Giants out hit the Royals 12-7, but self-destructed with three errors and base running blunders.

Bumgarner went the distance, allowing four runs on seven hits, while walking none and striking out five. His road scoreless streak was snapped at 17 innings.

Jason Frasor (3-1), the second of five Royals pitchers, threw a spotless sixth, striking out two. Greg Holland pitched a flawless ninth for his American League-leading 33rd save in 35 opportunities. It was Holland’s 100th career save.

— Associated Press —