MIAMI (AP) — Jose Fernandez pitched seven innings and appeared to avoid a serious injury when he tweaked his right leg on his final pitch Wednesday night, helping the Miami Marlins beat Kansas City 3-0 to snap the Royals’ nine-game winning streak.

Fernandez (13-7) pulled up after striking out Christian Colon to end the seventh, and rubbed his right knee before limping to the dugout.

The Marlins pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the seventh, and no injury was announced. Fernandez was laughing with teammates in the dugout in the ninth inning and joined in the postgame celebration on the field.

His nine strikeouts increased his season total to 213, breaking the Marlins record of 209 set by Ryan Dempster in 2000. Fernandez allowed six hits and won for the first time since July 23 to snap his three-game losing streak, a career worst.

Fernandez also had the Marlins’ first two hits, hiking his average to .286, and improved to 27-2 at Marlins Park.

Christian Yelich broke a scoreless tie in the sixth with a two-run single.

The Royals went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position against Fernandez. They loaded the bases in the second, but Fernandez escaped by retiring Paulo Orlando and Colon. Their first two batters singled in the sixth, but Alex Gordon struck out and Alcides Escobar bounced into a double play.

Orlando struck out in all four at-bats against Fernandez.

Fernando Rodney pitched around two singles and walk in the ninth for his 25th save and eighth with Miami. He was helped by a spectacular leaping catch by shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to rob Escobar.

Dillon Gee (5-7) allowed only two of the first 18 batters to reach — and both times it was Fernandez. He had an infield single in the third and another single in the sixth, when Gee proceeded to unravel.

The Marlins collected four consecutive singles, the last of them Yelich’s hit off reliever Peter Moylan. Marcell Ozuna followed with a sacrifice fly.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: LHP Wei-Yin Chen (sprained elbow) threw a bullpen session for the first time since being sidelined July 20, and he’s on schedule to return in mid-September. … Ozuna was back in the lineup after leaving Tuesday’s game to be with his pregnant wife, who became ill and was briefly taken to the hospital. She and the baby were doing fine Wednesday, Ozuna said.

Royals: LHP Mike Minor, who has not pitched in the majors since 2014 after suffering a torn labrum in 2015, is being shut down for the year after struggling in several rehab starts.

UP NEXT

RHP Edinson Volquez (9-10, 5.04) is scheduled to face Marlins RHP Tom Koehler (9-8, 3.82) in the series finale. Volquez is 6-0 in seven career starts against Miami. Koehler is 3-0 over his past six starts with a 1.62 ERA.

— Associated Press —

MIAMI (AP) — Yordano Ventura escaped two threats before turning the game over to the bullpen with a 1-0 lead, and for the Kansas City Royals, that meant another victory.

Ventura pitched six innings and the Royals extended their winning streak to nine games Tuesday by beating the Miami Marlins 1-0.

Three relievers closed out the win and extended the bullpen’s streak of 32 consecutive shutout innings since Aug. 10. That broke the franchise record of 29 2/3 consecutive innings set in 1969.

Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save. The longest winning streak since June 2014 by the Royals (65-60) has gotten them back in the mix in the AL wild-card race.

“The team you’re seeing is the team we are,” Ventura said.

“We’re definitely confident right now,” right fielder Lorenzo Cain said.

The Royals won with six hits. They scored the lone run in the sixth when Paulo Orlando led off with a single, stole second and came home on Cain’s single.

Ventura (9-9), who reached 101 mph on the scoreboard radar gun, allowed six hits and one walk while striking out six. The Royals’ starters have an ERA of 1.69 during the winning streak.

“Those guys have been outstanding,” Cain said. “It has been lights out every night.”

Andrew Cashner (4-10) had his best outing in five starts for the Marlins but fell to 0-3 since joining them on July 30. He allowed one run in six innings.

The Marlins had won three straight but were shut out despite totaling seven hits. They went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

“It was one of those games tonight where you didn’t feel it was going to take too much,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said. “Our guy was throwing the ball good, their guy was throwing it good. We just couldn’t really break through.”

Miami loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but Marcell Ozuna flied out to end the inning. Ventura pitched around a leadoff double by Ozuna in the sixth.

The Marlins played their 15th consecutive game decided by three runs or less, a club record. They are 7-8 during the stretch.

DEPARTURE

Ozuna left the game in the eighth inning because of a family emergency. Mattingly said he didn’t know whether Ozuna would be available Wednesday.

HOSMER HOMECOMING

The Royals played in Miami for the first time since 2008, and it was Eric Hosmer’s first game in his hometown. He went 0 for 3 with a walk.

REVERSAL

Cain was caught stealing in the sixth when the initial call of safe was overturned by replay.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: Cashner pitched with a blood blister under a nail on his pitching hand. “Tonight was worse than it has been, but I found a way to get it done,” he said.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, made his first Triple-A rehab start Monday and allowed three runs in three innings for Omaha.

UP NEXT

RHP Jose Fernandez (12-7, 3.05) is scheduled to start Wednesday for Miami against RHP Dillon Gee (5-6, 4.52). In his past four starts, Fernandez is 0-3 with an ERA of 6.00.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Danny Duffy keeps winning and so do the Kansas City Royals.

Duffy won his 10th straight decision, Eric Hosmer doubled in the go-ahead run and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Sunday for their eighth consecutive win.

The Royals swept a four-game series from the Twins for the first time since 1999 and have their longest winning streak since an eight-game run Aug. 3-11, 2014. The Royals have won 13 of 15 since the Rally Mantis showed up in the dugout.

“We all know as a team we can go on some crazy runs,” Hosmer said.

Duffy (11-1), unbeaten since June 6, improved to 5-0 with a 1.18 ERA in August. His 2.66 ERA ranks second in the American League, while his .917 winning percent tops the majors.

Duffy left after 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and a season-high eight hits while walking two and striking out four.

“There was a lot of traffic out there,” Duffy said. “I made some pitches when I had to. When you don’t have your best stuff, you just battle. That’s kind of how I felt today, just get through as many outs as I can and let your defense play behind you. And goodness, didn’t they, the defense killed it out there today. I’m very happy with the way it went.”

He outpitched Twins right-hander Ervin Santana (6-10), who allowed two runs and five hits while striking out 10 and walking one over seven innings.

“They way he’s been pitching the last few games, he’s lights out,” Santana said of Duffy. “He’s doing his job. He’s doing what he’s supposed to do. He just keeps everybody off balance. He just locates his fastball and his changeup. So, that’s what makes him better today.”

Duffy worked out a no-out, bases loaded jam in the second inning with the help of a couple of fielding gems. After Eddie Rosario struck out, Alex Gordon made a sliding catch of Kurt Suzuki’s fly to shallow left . Third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert snagged Danny Santana’s hard hit grounder and threw out Eduardo Escobar at second base.

“I thought it could have been his best start in this run,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “For the simple reason he was really struggling with command of his fastball. When good pitchers don’t have their best stuff, they still find ways to compete at a high level and that’s exactly what Danny did with the help of some great defense.”

Hosmer’s two-out double in the sixth over the head of center fielder Rosario scored Lorenzo Cain, who had an infield single.

Hosmer singled in the second, moved to third on Kendrys Morales’ double and scored on Alcides Escobar’s ground out for the first Kansas City run.

Santana has a 1.91 ERA in his past 11 starts after beginning the season 1-7 with a 5.10 ERA.

“It’s terrible, man,” Twins second baseman Brian Dozier said to be swept by the Royals. ” We’re playing good, it seems like. These past four games we’ve always make that one mistake and against good teams like Kansas City, it’s not getting people in, bases loaded, nobody out, that’s the ballgame.”

Robbie Grossman and Trevor Plouffe doubled in the third to produce the only run off Duffy.

Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect ninth to log his seventh save in nine chances.

MOLITOR’S BIRTHDAY

Twins manager Paul Molitor turns 60 Monday. “There’s some plans being made for me,” Molitor said. “I’ll be a willing participant. It’ll be nice to have an off day and do some things with the family. But not celebrate, I’m past that point.”

NO MAUER

1B Joe Mauer, who is a career .326 hitter with 14 home runs and 111 RBI against the Royals, went 0 for 12 in the series and was not in the lineup Sunday. He grounded out as a pinch hitter in the ninth.

SEEING THE LIGHT

The Twins recalled RHP Pat Light, who was acquired from Boston on Aug. 1, from Triple-A Rochester, where he had a 2.57 ERA in six outings. He appeared in two games for the Red Sox this season, giving up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen (rotator cuff inflammation) made a Saturday rehab start for Triple-A Omaha, allowing three runs and two hits, including a home run, and a walk in 1 2/3 innings against Nashville. He threw 22 strikes in 34 pitches.

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson starts the series opener against Detroit on Tuesday. Gibson threw a complete-game Wednesday at Atlanta.

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura starts the series opener at Miami on Tuesday. Ventura is 0-2 in two interleague starts, yielding 11 runs over eight innings.

— Associated Press —