KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Foltynewicz pitched the best game of his young career and it came against the defending World Series champions.

Foltynewicz pitched a career-high eight scoreless innings, Kelly Johnson and A.J. Pierzynski each drove in two runs, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 Saturday night.

“This guy did a lot of special stuff,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of his 24-year-old starting right-hander. “Not only was his line terrific, eight innings of shutout baseball, but we made a couple of mistakes, didn’t turn a (double play) ball, and he covered it up. For a young player to be able to do that, it was nice to see.

“He pitched in, he pitched up, his breaking ball was, it might be one of the best breaking balls he’s had. He had it throughout the game and he maintained it throughout the game.”

Foltynewicz (1-1) got his first victory since Aug. 8, holding the Royals to seven hits, while striking out four and walking none.

“I attacked and let the defense do the work,” Foltynewicz said. ” The defense played their butt off.”

He has allowed two runs and 12 hits with no walks and 12 strikeouts in 15 innings in his past two starts.

“He was that good,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

The Braves (9-26) avoided matching the worst 35-game start in franchise history — 8-27, set by the 1911 Boston Braves.

Dillon Gee (0-1), making his first start for the Royals in place of the injured Chris Young, held the Braves scoreless on three hits over the first five innings, but retired only one of the six batters he faced in the sixth. He was charged with three runs and six hits, while striking out five and walking three in 5 1/3 innings.

“I just stopped locating the ball that last inning,” Gee said. “I left some pitches and they hit them, put good swings on them.”

The Royals, losers of 13 of 18, have not won consecutive games since April 21-22.

Foltynewicz came up with two big strikeouts in the first two innings to strand runners at third base. Kendrys Morales went down swinging in the first to leave Lorenzo Cain at third. Christian Colon struck out to end the second inning with Salvador Perez, who had doubled, at third base.

“We missed a couple of opportunities early,” Yost said.

Johnson’s opposite-field single with the bases loaded in the sixth scored Nick Markakis, who had walked, and Ender Inciarte, who doubled home Mallex Smith with the first run. Smith, who had three hits, led off the inning with a double.

Pierzynski’s two-out double in the eighth off Chien-Ming Wang drove in Johnson and Jeff Francoeur.

Smith led off the ninth with the Braves’ first triple of the season. They were the only the team in the majors without a three-base hit.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen said an MRI Friday revealed a Grade One right rotator cuff strain. “I saw the MRI myself. I’m an expert now with MRIs,” Medlen said. “There was some fluid in there, some inflammation, a little tight. It’s a best-case scenario. It wasn’t like a progressive type thing. For the most part it was pretty mild compared to what it could have been.”

BRAVES STARTERS

Over the past 13 games, Braves starting pitchers have logged a 2.89 ERA, allowing 26 earned runs in 81 innings.

LAVARNWAY RELEASED

The Braves released C Ryan Lavarnway, who was hitting .276 with Triple-A Gwinnett. Lavarnway hit .227 in 27 games last year with Atlanta and also appeared in 10 games with Baltimore. Lavarnway, who was drafted in 2008 out of Yale by the Red Sox, also appeared in 97 games from 2011-14 with Boston.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Matt Wisler, who held the Mets to one hit in eight scoreless innings in a May 3 victory, will start the series finale.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy will make his first start after throwing 18 innings in 16 relief appearances. He will be on a 50-pitch limit.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Edinson Volquez pitched seven effective innings, Alcides Escobar had two hits, scored a run and drove in a run and the Kansas City Royals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 to open a six-game homestand Friday night.

The World Series champion Royals had dropped 12 of their previous 16 games, while the Braves, who have the worst record in the National League, lost for the 17th time in 25 games.

Volquez (4-3) picked up his first victory since April 21, snapping a three-game winless streak. Erick Aybar’s sacrifice fly in the seventh scored Jeff Francoeur, who led off the inning with a single, for the only run Volquez allowed.

Volquez, who threw 55 strikes in 83 pitches, allowed one run on six hits, walked none and struck out two.

Julio Teheran (0-4) is winless in eight starts this season, the longest winless streak of his career, despite a 1.48 ERA in his past five starts. Teheran held the Royals to two runs, one unearned, and four hits over seven innings.

Escobar led off the Royals’ first with a single to right and advanced to third on Francoeur’s two-base fielding error. Escobar scored on Lorenzo Cain’s groundout to Aybar.

Escobar’s two-out single in the second inning scored Cheslor Cuthbert, who has hit in all seven games he has played since being called up from Triple-A Omaha.

Braves rookie left-hander Hunter Cervenka, who had retired the past 30 hitters he had faced and not allowed a run in his first 15 major league appearances, gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in the eighth. Salvador Perez’s two-run single off Alexi Ogando was the key hit of the inning, while Kendrys Morales drove in the other run.

RARE GORDON ERROR

Royals LF Alex Gordon’s 188-game (187 of them starts) errorless streak ended in the fourth inning when he dropped Freddie Freeman’s fly. Gordon’s last error was Aug. 2, 2014, at Oakland.

YOST’S SLIM BOBBLEHEAD

There will be a Royals giveaway of 20,000 Ned Yost bobbleheads on Saturday. “There are two major features and they’re both wrong. My hair is way too gray and it’s got me skinny. I like that part of it,” the Royals manager said with a laugh.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: 3B Mike Moustakas (fractured left thumb) played catch for the first time since going on the disabled list May 5.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz, who struck out eight and walked none in seven innings in a no-decision against Arizona on Sunday, will make his third start since being recalled May 3.

Royals: RHP Dillon Gee will make his first start since last June 14 while with the Mets. Yost said Gee, who threw 5 1/3 innings in relief Monday against the Yankees, will be on a 90-95 pitch count. “A lot depends on how stressful those innings are, too,” Gee said. “What kind of situations you are in can affect how you feel. I’m in a mindset how deep I can get within 75-80 pitches and go from there.”

— Associated Press —