KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Whit Merrifield drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer and the Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Monday night for their eighth win in nine games.

Jason Hammel (4-6) pitched seven sharp innings before turning it over to Mike Minor, who loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth. No. 9 hitter Christian Vazquez proceeded to send a slow bounder toward third base that Cheslor Cuthbert fielded cleanly and fired to first to end the threat.

Kelvin Herrera worked around Andrew Benintendi’s triple in the ninth for his 16th save.

Red Sox reliever Blaine Boyer (0-1), who wriggled out of a jam in the sixth, gave up Merrifield’s bouncing RBI single in the seventh. Boyer was lifted after Lorenzo Cain added an insurance run with a single, the second straight night Boston’s stingy bullpen has allowed a pair of runs.

Red Sox relievers had thrown 26 straight scoreless innings before the slump.

Hammel scattered seven hits without a walk, stranding seven along the way, and the only damage against him came in the fourth inning. That’s when he gave up a leadoff single to Hanley Ramirez, and hot-hitting Jackie Bradley Jr. sent a 1-0 pitch over the bullpen in right field for a two-run homer that tied the game.

It was the third straight start in which Hammel pitched into the seventh.

Boston right-hander Hector Velazquez was nearly as good as Hammel in his second career start, carefully navigating a bunch of baserunners during the first two innings. Hosmer finally dinged him in the third with an estimated 446-foot shot to center, a line drive that cleared the seats and landed in the fountains.

Velazquez turned it over to his faltering bullpen after giving up five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia was out of the lineup after getting hit in the ribs by a pitch Sunday in Houston. An MRI came back negative, and manager John Farrell said Pedroia is day to day. … LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (right knee) will face hitters this week before embarking on a rehab assignment.

Royals: C Salvador Perez got a planned night off, though it came at an opportune time. Perez has been dealing with soreness in his side that could result in a couple more days off.

SIGN ON THE LINE

The Royals and first-round draft pick Nick Pratto agreed to a contract that includes a $3.45 million signing bonus. The high school first baseman, chosen with the 14th overall selection, will head to rookie ball in Arizona on Tuesday to begin his professional career.

MAKING MOVES

Royals RHP Kevin McCarthy was recalled from Triple-A Omaha and LHP Eric Skoglund was optioned back to the Storm Chasers before the game. McCarthy is in his second stint with the club this season.

UP NEXT

Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale comes off his best start in more than a month — and his first defeat — when he takes the mound Tuesday. The major league leader in strikeouts allowed one run and four hits over eight innings with 10 strikeouts in a 1-0 loss at Philadelphia last Thursday.

Royals: LHP Matt Strahm makes his second career start after allowing one unearned run over five innings in a 7-2 win against the Angels last week. Strahm retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced.

— Associated Press —

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jason Vargas never had to worry about clearing his schedule for the All-Star Game. That might be about to change.

Vargas earned his 10th win, most in the majors, and Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer as the Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 on Sunday.

As the first pitcher to reach double digits in wins, Vargas finds himself ahead of perennial All-Stars such as Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale. Still, the Royals’ unassuming left-hander with the 2.27 ERA isn’t locking in travel arrangements to Miami next month just yet.

“I’ve never been invited to the summer classic, so we’ll just see,” said Vargas, who allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings. “The coaches have a lot to do with what’s going on with the pitching staff. We’ll just keep going until the All-Star break and see where things shake out.”

Although he ended up with another comfortable win, Vargas (10-3) found himself in trouble early and late. The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the first inning before the streaking Royals offense stepped in.

Mike Moustakas hit a three-run double in the third, giving him 19 RBI this month and providing the Royals with a lead they did not relinquish.

Perez then launched a drive to center field for his 14th homer of the season, leaving Cameron Maybin to climb the wall for show as part of a four-run outburst in the fourth.

“He went out and gave up some runs there early, and we picked him up right away,” Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said about Vargas. “He’s been picking us up all season with the outings he has been putting in. That’s what good teams do — they pick up their guy when he slips up a little bit.”

Vargas was able to avoid another slip-up before departing. Facing a bases-loaded jam with nobody out in the sixth, he was able to limit the damage to one run, bookending two popups around Ben Revere’s sacrifice fly.

Angels starter J.C. Ramirez did not have the same luck. Ramirez (6-5) was pulled after failing to get an out in the fourth, needing 89 pitches to make it that far. He started off well enough by striking out five consecutive batters, but then lost the strike zone. Ramirez walked four and hit a batter with a pitch as he gave up five earned runs.

“Even though he was striking those guys out, he needed a lot of pitches and worked really hard,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “I don’t think he ran out of gas. Those guys did a pretty good job in the batter’s box against him.”

BIG BATS

The Royals went 7-2 on their California road trip and scored at least seven runs in six of those victories, bolstered by 18 homers.

With his team now well on pace to set a franchise record for home runs in a season, Hosmer is most impressed with when they are coming, citing Perez’s two-out shot that broke the game open.

“They have been some big homers, too, especially on this road trip,” Hosmer said. “As long as they keep coming in big spots like that, we’ll take every single one.”

Hosmer picked up his 500th career RBI earlier in the fourth.

OH, SO CLOSE

When Kole Calhoun doubled off the very top of the wall in right field to drive in a run for the Angels in the first, even he wasn’t sure what to make of the play. Scioscia came onto the field thinking it was definitely worth another look. The umpires agreed, initiating a video review.

It turned out the call on the field was absolutely right.

“I think that’s about as close as you can get to a home run without getting one,” Scioscia said.

Calhoun went 3 for 5, notching his 16th RBI over the last 18 games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Perez and DH Brandon Moss were back in the lineup after getting a rest during a 9-0 loss Saturday. … Whit Merrifield got the afternoon off and was replaced at second base by Ramon Torres.

Angels: CF Mike Trout (thumb) will start swinging a bat next week, but Scioscia isn’t ready to deviate from the previously announced timetable of a six-to-eight-week recovery. “He’s about where you would expect a guy with his injury to be looking at,” Scioscia said.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jason Hammel (3-6, 5.05 ERA) faces Boston’s Hector Velazquez (1-1, 6.48) on Monday, marking his first appearance against the Red Sox since 2013. Hammel has allowed just one run in each of his last two starts.

Angels: RHP Parker Bridwell (1-0, 2.79) takes injured Matt Shoemaker’s spot in the rotation Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium for the start of an eight-game road trip. Bridwell has never started against the Yankees, but did toss 3 2/3 innings as a reliever against them on Wednesday, giving up one run and seven hits. Michael Pineda (7-3, 3.71) pitches for New York.

— Associated Press —

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Albert Pujols, Cameron Maybin and Luis Valbuena each homered and Alex Meyer dominated for six innings as part of a two-hitter, helping the Los Angeles Angels beat Kansas City 9-0 on Saturday to snap the Royals’ six-game winning streak.

Maybin hit a leadoff homer in the first inning, Pujols had a two-run shot in the fifth and Valbuena added a three-run homer in the seventh.

Meyer (3-3) pitched the best game of his young career, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out nine.

Rookie right-hander Jake Junis (2-1) got the first loss of his career, surrendering five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out six.

The Royals had at least 10 hits in each of their last four games, but Meyer and relievers Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian and Yusmeiro Petit combined to shut them down.

Pujols’ 602nd career homer gave him 1,865 career RBI, moving past Mel Ott into 10th place on baseball’s career list. It was Pujols’ 11th home run of the season.

ANGELIC BULLPEN

With Bedrosian back and the anticipated return of Huston Street on Tuesday, the Angels bullpen is approaching good health. A myriad of relievers have performed in their place. The Angels bullpen is fourth in the majors in wins (14), seventh in strikeouts and eighth in ERA (3.62).

“These guys have really been holding up well,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: RHP Matt Shoemaker (forearm tightness) was placed on the 10-day disabled list, though no starter has been named for his next turn in the rotation Tuesday. RHP Parker Bridwell was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to take his roster spot. … Bedrosian (groin) was also activated from the DL and RHP Daniel Wright returned to Salt Lake. Bedrosian last pitched April 21. … OF Mike Trout (thumb surgery) is expected to start holding a bat next week.

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas (9-3) will take the majors’ second-lowest ERA (2.10) into Sunday’s series finale against the Angels. He has held opponents to two or fewer runs in 10 of his 13 previous starts.

Angels: RHP JC Ramirez (6-4) is scheduled to make his 13th start of the season. Ramirez, a career reliever until four games into this season, threw a career-high 111 pitches in his last outing.

— Associated Press —

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A trip to California was all the Kansas City Royals needed to get their offense in gear.

Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon hit solo home runs and the Royals picked up their fifth consecutive victory, beating the Los Angeles Angels 7-2 on Thursday night.

The Royals have now scored at least seven runs in each of their last five games, marking only the third such streak in franchise history. The feat was previously accomplished May 25-June 1, 1978 and Aug. 9-12 1979.

The streaking Royals have been getting it done with power, clubbing 14 homers in this unbeaten stretch that began at San Diego, continued in San Francisco and has carried back down to Orange County.

“The offense is just rolling right now,” Gordon said. “It started in San Diego. As an offense, it kind of clicks, and everyone just, you know, tags along.”

Cain hit a line drive that barely cleared the wall in left center in the third inning, and Gordon followed it up with a shot to center in the fourth, his third of the year.

For Gordon, who went 3 for 5 and came up a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, it was especially gratifying. He arrived in California hitting .174, but is 8 for 22 on the trip.

“You try to keep your head up,” Gordon said. “Obviously, you are going to go through struggles in baseball sometimes, and just try to find a way out of it. Hopefully it will keep coming.”

That was more than enough support for Matt Strahm (2-3), who won his first career start after making 41 appearances as a reliever over the past two seasons. Strahm went five innings, striking out three while giving up three hits and one walk.

“It’s the first time we’ve seen him in the windup this year, but he commanded his pitches well,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Ricky Nolasco (2-8) dropped his sixth straight start, giving up five runs and 10 hits in six innings, while the Angels failed to pick up their first three-game winning streak since Mike Trout’s thumb injury.

Kole Calhoun put the Angels ahead 1-0 in the first, scoring an unearned run when Albert Pujols singled to right after initially reaching second on Gordon’s error, but the Royals responded with two runs in the second after a throwing error by Calhoun.

Danny Espinosa of the Angels lost a home run in the fifth when the video replay showed his shot into the corner in left had curled out of play.

The Angels did finally notch their second run an inning later when Yunel Escobar picked up an RBI, only for the Royals to respond with three in the seventh. Mike Moustakas had two RBI, giving him 16 in 13 games this month.

Moustakas’ eruption is indicative of a team-wide trend. The Royals have scored 42 runs in their last five games.

EASY ADJUSTMENT

Considering Strahm’s last start happened in Double-A last July, the second-year left-hander had no apparent issues transitioning from reliever to the first pitcher up.

“I don’t ever feel like I conserve anything,” Strahm said. “Competing every pitch and just try to be as effective as possible with every pitch.”

The plan was to have Strahm throw between 65 and 70 pitches, and he finished at 68. Pitching coach Dave Eiland wanted to have Strahm get up to throw four times, but Yost felt confident in letting him get back up for the fifth.

“Now, hopefully 85 pitches next time,” Strahm said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: DH Brandon Moss was back in the starting lineup after being limited to three at-bats as a pinch-hitter during interleague play at San Diego and San Francisco. Moss went 1 for 5.

Angels: RHP Matt Shoemaker’s status for his next scheduled start is uncertain after leaving Wednesday’s game against the Yankees with tightness in his forearm. “Historically, he has had these before and they seem like they go away in fairly short order,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “How many days that is remains to be seen.” . Scioscia believes RHP Cam Bedrosian (groin) is “very close” to returning. Bedrosian pitched 2/3 of an inning in a rehab assignment with the Angels’ Single-A affiliate Thursday.

SIGNED, SEALED, STARTING SOON

The Angels have signed first-round draft pick Jordon Adell and the No. 10 overall selection will report to the club’s rookie ball affiliate in Arizona next Wednesday.

“For me, it was a no-brainer,” Adell said. “This organization believed in me and it was easy. I didn’t want to waste any time. I wanted to get right to work.”

Adell led the nation with 25 home runs last season for Ballard High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (0-6) has given up at least four runs in each of his last six starts. The Huntington Beach native and former USC star is unlikely to find any home-cooking against the Angels, with an 0-4 record in six career starts.

Angels: RHP Jesse Chavez (5-6) has allowed a home run in 11 straight appearances to set a franchise record. Chavez dropped his only previous start against the Royals in 2015.

— Associated Press —