KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There’s been so much talk about Mike Moustakas at the plate that the third baseman ignored the conversation Wednesday — even after doing something positive.

Moustakas hit a three-run double in the second inning to account for Kansas City’s only runs, and Jason Vargas and the Royals’ bullpen made the meager offense work in a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies that completed a two-game sweep.

Afterward, reporters peppered Moustakas with a series of questions about his decisive double, and each time he responded that Vargas pitched a great game.

Moustakas steadfastly refused to address his own hit.

“It’s a big game for us against a great team. Feels good to go out there and get a W with the way that Vargas pitched,” said Moustakas, who entered the game hitting .147 on the year.

Moustakas did answer questions about his slumping performance during a lengthy session with reporters the previous day. But he was downright defiant when he was approached on Wednesday.

He did talk about a nice play he made on defense, when he teamed with catcher Salvador Perez to pick off Charlie Culberson at third. The out came with the outcome still in the balance.

“Moose coming up clutch was huge,” said Vargas, who was perfectly willing to talk about the game’s biggest hit. “A big chance to put them in a hole early and we did.”

Meanwhile, Vargas (4-1) did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and did not allow a run until Drew Stubbs belted a two-run homer to left in the seventh.

Louis Coleman got the Royals out of the inning without any more damage, and Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect eighth. Greg Holland then pitched a shaky ninth for his 10th save.

After giving up a one-out single to Carlos Gonzalez and walking Nolan Arenado, Holland got Justin Morneau to hit a grounder to second. The ball was fielded cleanly and Kansas City got the runner there, but Morneau barely beat the throw to first base to keep the game going.

Holland promptly struck out Stubbs to leave the tying run on third.

“I think we’ve hit a little bump in the road here offensively,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “It’s safe to say that we’re struggling a little bit offensively. We’ve got to go back home and get it going again. No doubt about it, we’ve hit a little a little slide offensively.”

Jhoulys Chacin (1-1) pitched six gritty innings for Colorado, yielding seven hits and two walks.

The Rockies came into the two-game series swinging the best bats in the majors, but they were silenced by some stingy pitching. James Shields was their foil in a 5-1 Royals victory in Tuesday night’s opener, combining with the bullpen on a 12-strikeout performance.

Vargas was just as tough, striking out a season-high eight in 6 2/3 innings.

One of those strikeouts proved to be especially important: Troy Tulowitzki was left looking at a called third strike in the fourth inning. The leading hitter in the major leagues argued with plate umpire Dan Bellino over the location, which appeared down and in, and continued their one-sided conversation when he reached the dugout. Bellino responded by ejecting him.

“I felt like it was over once Tulo went back to the dugout,” Weiss said. “He heard him say something and that’s when he threw him out.”

D.J. LeMahieu took his spot in the lineup. And when the Rockies had runners on the corners in the sixth, it was LeMahieu rather than Tulowitzki at the plate. He struck out.

“Sometimes you just get caught up in the moment,” Tulowitzki said, “but to sit there and say do you regret doing that, no, because we weren’t playing well the last couple of games. Sometimes that lights a little spark in the team.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Moments after James Shields struck out Rockies slugger Troy Tulowitzki, catcher Salvador Perez popped to his feet behind the plate and demanded the ball.

Shields raised his hands in utter confusion.

“He was like, `What’s going on? This is a good ball. I like this ball,” Royals manager Ned Yost said, “`and Salvy is making me throw the ball back in.”

It took Shields a moment — and some help from the scoreboard — to realize he had just reached 1,500 career strikeouts. It came in the sixth inning Tuesday night as he struck out the side, highlighting Kansas City’s 5-1 victory over hot-hitting Colorado.

“Normally when the umpire calls for the ball, the hitter is checking the ball or whatever, wants to take it out of play,” Shields said with a grin. “And I’m like, `I just struck the guy out!’ But once they pointed at the scoreboard I knew what was going on.”

The only run Shields (5-3) allowed came on an RBI single by Justin Morneau in the fourth inning. Shields wound up striking out eight without issuing a walk over seven sharp innings.

Perez helped him out with the bat, too, hitting a solo homer. Alcides Escobar drove in a pair of runs and Lorenzo Cain added a two-run shot to provide plenty of support.

Franklin Morales (3-3) gave up four runs for the Rockies. He allowed eight hits and four walks without a strikeout in five innings, needing 99 pitches just to get that far.

“I need to pitch better, man, because that’s my job,” he said. “I try to do the best I can, but when I’m behind in the count every time I got in trouble.”

The Royals jumped on Morales right from the start, a pair of double plays the only thing keeping the game from getting out of hand early. Still, Kansas City was able to coax a run across on a two-out single by Escobar to take the lead in the second inning.

Cain made it a 3-1 lead with his two-run shot in the fourth. It was the first home run by the Royals’ injury-prone outfielder since July 4 against Cleveland. The ball landed in the bullpen in left field to end a drought for Cain spanning 206 at-bats.

Perez added his solo shot in the fifth, the ball landing in just about the same spot.

That was more than enough support for Shields, who induced a double play to escape a jam in the second inning and then left two runners aboard in the fourth during a nice bounce-back performance at Kauffman Stadium.

In his previous home start, Shields allowed eight runs and 12 hits in a loss to Detroit.

“He did a good job of shutting this lineup down,” Rockies catcher Jordan Pacheco said.

When Shields recorded his milestone strikeout, the crowd at the K gave him a standing ovation. Shields appeared to be confused by the spontaneous applause, raising his hands on the mound as if to say, “What?” Eventually, he turned around on the rubber to see his strikeout mark on the giant video board in center field and started chuckling.

After stepping off the back of the mound, Shields tipped his cap and went back to work. He struck out Carlos Gonzalez to end the inning, then set down the Rockies in order in the seventh, finishing off his night by striking out Brandon Barnes for the second time.

“I knew about 10 days ago I was getting close,” Shields said. “To be honest with you, I didn’t even know how many strikeouts I had in the game. But that was a pretty special moment. Once I realized it, it’s kind of crazy to think — 1,500 strikeouts is quite a bit of strikeouts.”

— Associated Press —