BALTIMORE (AP) — Rather than dismantle the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline, Dan Duquette worked diligently to improve the club.

Appreciative of his confidence, the Orioles backed up his effort with a rousing 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

Craig Gentry singled home the winning run in the ninth inning, and closer Zach Britton — who was rumored headed out of town hours earlier — got three outs to earn the win.

Baltimore started the day with a 50-54 record, but Duquette, the team’s executive vice president of baseball operations, believes the team can be a contender. He beat the non-waiver trade deadline by obtaining infielder Tim Beckham from Tampa Bay, three days after snagging right-hander Jeremy Hellickson from Philadelphia.

“We still have some hope that we can make the playoffs,” Duquette said, hours before the Orioles extended their modest winning streak to three games.

Caleb Joseph got Baltimore going in the ninth with a one-out single off Joakim Soria (4-3). Ruben Tejada singled with two outs before Gentry hit a grounder up the middle that sent Joseph home from second base without a throw.

“We feel good about ourselves,” Joseph said. “Maybe some of the fans have left, but we still believe in ourselves, 100 percent.”

By keeping Britton (1-0), who has converted an AL-record 57 straight saves, Duquette showed his faith in this team.

“I’ve played with Zach since `09, so even the thought of not playing with him is not fun,” Joseph said.

Knowing he was going to be sticking around with the only team he’s ever been a part of, Britton walked to the mound in the ninth with a clear head.

“You get some things off your mind that shouldn’t be there and just focus on pitching,” the lefty said.

It was the second loss in 12 games for the Royals, who managed only five hits off three Baltimore pitchers.

The first seven innings featured a pitching duel between Kansas City’s Danny Duffy and Ubaldo Jimenez, both of whom allowed one run and struck out six.

“I just grinded through that outing,” Duffy said. “I felt like I had really good stuff but I didn’t pitch very well. That was the least impressive seven-inning, one-run outing I’ve ever had.”

Jimenez came in with a 6.93 ERA, but on this night he was exceptionally sharp.

`If he’s not on, we get him,” manager Ned Yost said. “We couldn’t get him. Couldn’t do much against him.”

Kansas City used first-inning doubles by Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer to jump to a 1-0 lead.

Jimenez settled down after that, and Baltimore pulled even in the fifth when Manny Machado doubled and scored on a two-out single by Jonathan Schoop .

Though quiet on the final day of the trade deadline, the Royals welcomed back Melky Cabrera, who made his 2017 debut with Kansas City after being acquired from the White Sox on Sunday.

Playing right field and batting third, Cabrera went 0 for 4.

HOLE IN ONE

Orioles first baseman Chris Davis was charged with an error when he failed to handle a throw in the ninth inning from Machado at third. Turns out, the ball went right through the faulty webbing of Davis’ glove. He immediately got a new glove.

HAPPY HOMECOMING

Cabrera said he’s “really happy” to return to the pennant-contending Royals, whom he played for in 2011. “What I love to do is play postseason baseball,” the 13-year veteran said through an interpreter. Yost said Cabrera, a switch-hitter, “brings a great personality to a locker room filed with great personalities. He’s going to mesh perfectly with our group.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Yost is optimistic third-baseman Cheslor Cuthbert (wrist) can return to his rehab assignment sometime this week after fouling a ball off his foot.

Orioles: DH Mark Trumbo was placed on the 10-day disabled list with an oblique injury. He played in Baltimore’s first 103 games before sitting on Sunday. … SS J.J. Hardy (wrist) was transferred to the 60-day DL.

UP NEXT

Royals: Ian Kennedy (4-6, 4.43 ERA) seeks his fifth straight victory in the second game of the series Tuesday night.

Orioles: Dylan Bundy (9-8, 4.53 ERA) can match his win total of last season with a victory.

— Associated Press —

BOSTON (AP) — Knowing they’ve completely recovered from their rough first two months of the season, the Kansas City Royals are having a lot of fun.

Alex Gordon’s two-run triple capped a four-run eighth inning, and the Royals rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, a day after their season-high, nine-game winning streak was snapped.

Alcides Escobar added a two-run single in the eighth and drove in three runs for the Royals, who lost in extra innings on Saturday after taking the series opener.

“The vibes good right now,” winning pitcher Jason Hammel said. “The vibes real good.”

The Royals ended May in last in the AL Central — eight games under .500. They’ve taken off and now trail first-place Cleveland by two games after the Indians lost 3-1 to the White Sox in Chicago.

A few cheers went up in the clubhouse when the White Sox won.

Rookie Rafael Devers hit a solo homer for Boston and starter Drew Pomeranz gave up one run on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings in his 100th career start.

Hammel (5-8) allowed three runs on seven hits to end a six-start winless streak. His last victory also came against the Red Sox, at home on June 19.

Kelvin Herrera got the final three outs for his 23rd save, getting Mookie Betts to fly out with the bases loaded.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts booted Lorenzo Cain’s grounder for an error to open the eighth and Eric Hosmer had a hard single off the right hand and body of Matt Barnes (6-3). Salvador Perez then loaded the bases with a single.

“It opens the door, and then all of a sudden there’s life instead of the potential of an out, nobody on, against a team that is aggressive, playing with a lot of momentum,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said of the error.

Escobar followed with his game-tying single before Gordon greeted reliever Robby Scott with his hit that rolled into the left-center gap and bounced off the edge of the bullpen wall in right-center, making it 5-3.

“It’s been an up and down season. Early-on everybody was talking about getting rid of all these players and what not, and then we just kind of took it upon ourselves to play better,” Gordon said. “It’s been a heck of a year and we like where we’re at right now.”

Before the game, the Royals acquired outfielder Melky Cabrera from the Chicago White Sox for two minor league pitchers in a bid to bolster their offense.

Gordon entered the day hitting just .201 with five homers and 32 RBI.

The switch-hitting Cabrera is batting .288 with 13 homers and 56 RBI.

Boston moved ahead 2-0 in the second on consecutive RBI singles by Mitch Moreland and Christian Vazquez.

The Royals sliced it to 2-1 on Escobar’s double before Devers hit his second career homer, a drive that barely cleared the top of the Green Monster and bounced onto the field.

It was originally called “in play” and a double when he stopped, but overturned by the umpiring crew after a brief review.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: Second baseman Dustin Pedroia missed his second straight with a sore left knee.

ANNIVERSARY

The Red Sox honored their 2007 World Series champion team on the field before the game.

Recently retired slugger David Ortiz was asked if the current club could use his bat for the stretch run.

“Not me, man. I’ve been doing nothing but slow cycle, bro,” he said, laughing. “I sit down and watch the game now and say, `Man, that’s hard.’ I view the game differently now.”

Former lefty reliever Hideki Okajima flew from Japan on Saturday to be a part of the event.

Mike Lowell, the 2007 Series MVP, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to former catcher Jason Varitek.

FUN UNDER THE SUN

Kansas City is 17-7 in its last 24 day games after opening losing 11 of its first 12.

NO EXCUSE

Barnes had a bandage on his right hand after, but credited the Royals.

“I didn’t think I made terrible pitches,” he said. “I didn’t think I was leaving the ball middle and I was getting hit. I thought that they kind of did what hitters are taught to do with pitches away.”

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (7-6, 3.56 ERA) is slated to start the opener of a three-game series in Baltimore on Monday.

Red Sox: RHP Doug Fister (0-5, 7.46) is in line to start Monday when Boston hosts AL Central-leading Cleveland in the first of three.

— Associated Press —

BOSTON (AP) — Rick Porcello stepped in for David Price, who is back on the disabled list.

Kansas City’s offense wasn’t fazed by the switch.

Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas homered as the Royals extended their winning streak to a season-high nine with a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

Perez homered over the Green Monster in the second and Moustakas made it 4-0 in the fourth. He hit his 30th homer in his 92nd game, the fastest to reach the mark in team history, and he is six homers shy of the Kansas City season record set by Steve Balboni in 1985.

“It was a big win for us against a great club over there,” Moustakas said. “It’s always nice to hit homers, but when they help you go ahead or add some runs against a great team, it definitely makes it a little better.”

Jorge Bonifacio had singled leading off, and Eric Hosmer beat the shift with a single to left that put runners at the corners.

Porcello (4-14), who had been scheduled to pitch Saturday, leads the major leagues in losses. He allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings.

“The one to Moustakas is really the one that’s going to make it hard to sleep tonight,” Porcello said. “He was fouling off some pitches off — just trying to drive a fastball in right there and if I miss for a ball so be it. I didn’t have a problem putting him on and ran right back into his barrel.”

Price started the season on the DL and didn’t make his first start until May 29. The 31-year-old left-hander, winner of the 2012 AL Cy Young Award, is 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA.

“I do not know if he’ll miss the season,” Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombroski. “I’m not anticipating that at this time.”

Porcello said that he “knew pretty early” after his July 23 start at the Los Angeles Angels that it was possible he would be moved up.

“It was early enough for me to prepare and be fine,” he said.

Boston has lost five of six and nine of 14, dropping out of the AL East lead for the first time since June 29 and falling a half-game behind the New York Yankees.

Jason Vargas (13-4) gave up one run and five hits in six innings. Vargas, who had been winless in three starts since June 30, is one shy of his career high for wins, set in 2012 with Seattle.

Kelvin Herrera pitched a one-hit ninth for his 22nd save in 25 chances, getting rookie Rafael Devers to hit into a game-ending forceout after Andrew Benintendi’s two-out single.

Kansas City, which has rebounded from a 7-16 start, is 15-8 in July and on its longest winning streak since nine consecutive victories from last Aug. 14-23. The Royals have outscored opponents 67-27 during the streak and outhomered them 20-2.

Three days after his big league debut, Devers went 1 for 2 in his first home game for the Red Sox. He doubled down the right-field line in the fifth and scored on Mookie Betts’ single, and at 20 years, 277 days became the youngest Boston player with a hit at Fenway Park since Mike Garman in 1969.

Chris Young tripled off Mike Minor leading off the seventh and scored on Sandy Leon’s groundout.

CLUTCH

Ten of Perez’s 21 homers have put the Royals ahead.

LATER, DAD

The Royals dealt RHP Luke Farrell, the son of the Red Sox manager, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations. Farrell made his major league debut on July 1, allowing five runs over 2 2/3 innings against the Twins.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Perez returned to the lineup after leaving Tuesday’s game and sitting out Wednesday with soreness on his right side. … The Royals recalled OF Terrance Gore from Triple-A Omaha. Gore has split time between Double- and Triple-A this season, hitting .231 with 17 steals. … OFs Paulo Orlando and Cheslor Cuthbert will remain on rehab assignment after both suffering setbacks.

Red Sox: LHP Robby Scott was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Price’s roster spot.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Trevor Cahill (4-3, 3.69 for San Diego) is to make his first start for the Royal on Saturday following his acquisition from the Padres. Cahill is 0-2 with a 7.79 ERA at Fenway Park.

Red Sox: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-3, 3.89) is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA in four home starts this season but is 0-2 in three starts since beating Seattle on May 26.

— Associated Press —