NEW YORK (AP) — Chase Headley, Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius hit early home runs and the New York Yankees beat Kansas City 7-3 Thursday night, sending the World Series champion Royals to their 12th loss in 16 games.

Kansas City dropped three of four at Yankee Stadium. Before the game, manager Ned Yost insisted he wasn’t worried about his team, saying “it’s a group that doesn’t panic.”

Nathan Eovaldi (3-2) worked around eight hits in five innings, and overcame getting struck on the leg by Lorenzo Cain’s hard one-hopper at the outset.

On Eovaldi’s last pitch, Salvador Perez nearly launched a go-ahead, three-run homer, but right fielder Carlos Beltran caught the ball at the top of the wall. Eovaldi wiped his brow as he walked off the mound while Perez put both hands on the top of his helmet.

Relievers Kirby Yates and Dellin Betances each followed with a perfect inning to hold a 5-3 lead. After the Yankees scored twice more, Andrew Miller worked a 1-2-3 eighth and Chasen Shreve threw a scoreless ninth.

Alex Gordon hit a solo home run and an RBI single for Kansas City. The Royals outhit the Yankees 9-7.

Ian Kennedy (4-3) lost in his first game back in the Bronx since the Yankees traded him after the 2009 season.

Castro homered in the first, then Headley connected in the second for his first extra-base hit this season — and ending a drought of 166 at-bats without a home run dating to last year. Gregorius added a two-run drive in the fourth.

Chien-Ming Wang, another former Yankees pitcher, gave up an RBI single to Castro and a bases-loaded walk to Brian McCann in the seventh.

ROSTER MOVE

The Yankees recalled lefty reliever Tyler Olson from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and sent down outfielder Ben Gamel. On Monday, Gamel got his first hit in the majors.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Chris Young (strained forearm) and RHP Kris Medlen (rotator cuff inflammation) were put on the 15-day disabled list. RHP Peter Moylan and LHP Scott Alexander came up from Triple-A.

Yankees: 1B Mark Teixeira returned to the lineup after missing two games because of neck spasms. He went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts… OF Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) hasn’t played since last Friday. … LHP CC Sabathia (groin strain) is set for a bullpen session Friday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez (3-3, 3.89 ERA) starts at home on Friday night against RHP Julio Teheran (0-3, 3.48) and the Braves. Atlanta has only played two games at Kauffman Stadium, both in 2013.

Yankees: RHP Luis Severino (0-5, 6.12) tries again for his first win when he faces ace Chris Sale (7-0, 1.79) and the visiting White Sox on Friday night.

— Associated Press —

NEW YORK (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer in yet another big first inning against Michael Pineda, and the slumping Kansas City Royals rebounded to beat the New York Yankees 7-3 Wednesday night.

Down by four runs six batters in, New York clawed back to 4-3 against Yordano Ventura before Lorenzo Cain hit a two-run single in the sixth against reliever Nick Goody.

Kendrys Morales added a solo homer in the seventh off Phil Coke as the Royals won for just the fourth time in their past 15 games.

After winning the opening two games of the four-game series, the Yankees were hoping to string together three straight victories for the first time since Sept. 1-4. They are 0-5 this year when attempting to win a third consecutive game.

Ventura (3-2), coming off losses at Seattle and Cleveland, gave up three runs and six hits in six innings.

Danny Duffy, Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis followed with scoreless relief.

The World Series champions, just 16-17 this season, were boosted when Perez pulled a hanging slider for his fifth home run this season, a drive that came one day after his 26th birthday.

Winless in his past six starts, Pineda (1-4) has fallen behind early and often. He has a 15.43 ERA in the first inning this season, allowing 12 runs and 19 hits — five of them homers — in 38 at-bats. After the first, his ERA is 4.26.

Six of the first seven Royals reached, interrupted only by Alex Gordon’s sacrifice fly. Pineda settled down and left after a career-high 114 pitches with a 4-3 deficit. Goody hit Alcides Escobar on the back with a pitch, then allowed a two-run single to Cain, who had three homers and five RBI in Tuesday’s 10-7 loss.

Kansas City had been 0 for 13 this year with the bases loaded.

Pineda gave up six runs in 5 2/3 innings and walked four, his most since 2011. He needed 36 pitches to get through the first, when Eric Hosmer hit a key grounder that went under Dustin Ackley at first and into right field that put two on with one out.

New York was 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position. The Yankees have scored just 11 runs during Pineda’s winless streak.

Carlos Beltran’s 399th home run, his third in three days, started New York’s comeback attempt in the second, when Chase Headley hit an RBI single. Starlin Castro, who hasn’t driven in a run since April 27, hit into an inning-ending forceout with the bases loaded.

Rookie Ben Gamel stranded a runner on third in the fourth, and the Yankees got just one run in the fifth after Castro’s double put runners at second and third with no outs. Brian McCann hit an RBI grounder, but Beltran and Ackley grounded out.

Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (hip), first baseman Mark Teixeira (neck) and designated hitter Alex Rodriguez (hamstring) once again sat out; because of the injuries, Aaron Hicks, Ackley and Gamel started for the second straight day.

THWACK

In addition to Escobar getting hit by Goody, Cain (knee) and Alex Gordon (elbow) were plunked by Pineda. Davis hit Brett Gardner on a thigh with two outs in the ninth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Royals manager Ned Yost said he had not yet received results of the MRI of RHP Chris Young’s right forearm.

Yankees: LHP CC Sabathia (strained left groin) will throw a bullpen session this week and anticipates he will be activated from the DL as soon as May 20, the first day he is eligible. … Manager Joe Girardi said Rodriguez (strained right hamstring) also could be reinstated the first day he is eligible, on May 19. … Girardi said Ellsbury might play this weekend.

UP NEXT

Nathan Eovaldi (2-2) is scheduled to start for the Yankees in Thursday’s series finale and former Yankee Ian Kennedy (4-2) is slated to pitch for the Royals. Kennedy is among the AL leaders in ERA (2.13) and opponents’ batting average (.209). Eovaldi’s average four-seam fastball velocity of 97.7 mph is the highest among big league starting pitchers this year, according to Baseball Prospectus’ PITCH f/x data.

— Associated Press —

NEW YORK (AP) — When Aroldis Chapman takes the mound at his new home, the Yankee Stadium scoreboard spells his name in animated flames.

“Mucho fuego,” he said, meaning “there’s a lot of fire.”

Chapman got his first save for New York, capping a back-and-forth 10-7 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night as the Yankees overcame three home runs and five RBI from Lorenzo Cain.

“We would have lost 7-0 a couple of weeks ago,” said Brett Gardner, who doubled home the tiebreaking run off Kelvin Herrera (0-1) in a three-run eighth inning.

Chapman, who returned from a 29-game domestic violence suspension on Monday, worked around a walk in a hitless ninth for his first Yankees save, retiring Cain on a game-ending popup. Twelve of his 21 pitches were at least 100 mph, making it 19 of 38 in two appearances.

“I’d pay a ticket to watch that,” said Yankees catcher Brian McCann, who added a two-run double off the fence in right-center later in the eighth.

Chapman reached a peak velocity of 102.1 mph on Cheslor Cuthbert’s leadoff groundout. Fans’ energy increased throughout the ninth as they turned toward the scoreboard seeking the velocity of every pitch.

“When he comes in, there’s definitely more energy in the ballpark,” Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said.

With Teixeira (neck spasms), Jacoby Ellsbury (strained hip) and Alex Rodriguez (strained hamstring) sidelined, the Yankees started Dustin Ackley at first base, Aaron Hicks in center field and rookie Ben Gamel in right, shifting Carlos Beltran from right field to designated hitter.

Ackley scored two runs and drove in two, Hicks had two hits and an RBI, and the speedy Gamel scored the go-ahead run on Gardner’s hit after reaching when Gold Glove shortstop Alcides Escobar allowed his one-out grounder to bounce out of his glove for an error.

New York (13-18) trailed 2-1, 3-2 and 6-5 before winning for the fourth time in five games.

“This is the first time that we’ve battled back through a game a couple different times,” McCann said. “Guys had some quality at-bats and huge moments, and we really haven’t done that all year.”

New York is 13-3 when scoring three or more runs — and 0-15 when scoring two or fewer. With 28 runs in the first five games of a 10-game homestand, the Yankees’ offense is starting to revive.

“Maybe it’s the weather heating up. It’s not raining on us,” manager Joe Girardi said. “All of a sudden I think we’re swinging the bats like we’re capable of.”

Still, the last-place Yankees are six games off the AL East lead. The immediate goal is to get back to .500.

“That’s your first step,” Girardi said. “More than that, I think it’s winning series that’s important. And if you win series, that will all take care of itself.”

World Series champion Kansas City has lost 11 of 14, dropping two games under .500 at 15-17. The Royals rallied from deficits of 1-0, 5-3 and 7-6 as Cain tied his career high with five RBI. Cuthbert also homered for the Royals, who have hit six home runs in the first two games of the series.

“We’re just not getting many breaks right now, but you make your own breaks,” manager Ned Yost said. “Not anything good happening for us for the most part.”

Cain hit a solo homer in the third and a three-run drive in the fifth, both off Masahiro Tanaka, who did not have a sharp slider. Cain added a tying homer off Andrew Miller (2-0) leading off the eighth and became the seventh Royals player to hit three homers in a regular-season game. George Brett and John Mayberry did it twice, and Brett also accomplished the feat against the Yankees in the 1978 AL Championship Series.

“I had a good night,” Cain said, “but at the end of the day we lost.”

MILLER TIME

Miller allowed a run for the first time this season.

TROUBLED TANAKA

In his first start against the Royals, the only AL opponent he had not faced, Tanaka matched career highs by allowing six earned runs and three homers in seven innings. “If you look back at some of the previous games, I think I got away with some mistakes, but that wasn’t the case today,” he said through a translator.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Teixeira wasn’t sure whether he could play Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Michael Pineda (1-3) starts for the Yankees on Wednesday night against Yordano Ventura (2-2). Pineda is winless in five starts.

— Associated Press —

NEW YORK (AP) — Kansas City Royals infield prospect Raul Mondesi was suspended for 50 games following a positive test for Clenbuterol, negotiating a 30-game reduction from the usual penalty for a banned steroid after providing evidence he ingested the drug in an over-the-counter medication.

The penalty, announced Tuesday, was reached as part of an agreement between Major League Baseball and the players’ association. As part of the deal, Mondesi remains eligible to appear in this year’s postseason, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced.

“I took an over-the-counter medication (Subrox-C), which I bought in the Dominican Republic to treat cold and flu symptoms,” Mondesi said in a statement released by the union. “I failed to read the labeling on the medication or consult with my trainer or team about taking it and did not know it contained a banned substance. … It is solely my mistake, and there are no excuses for my carelessness in not being fully informed of what I put in my body.”

A son of former NL Rookie of the Year Raul Mondesi, 20-year-old Raul Mondesi last year became the first player to make his big league debut in the World Series. He has spent this year on option to Double-A Northwest Arkansas and is hitting .250 with five homers, 15 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 25 games.

Because of the suspension, he will lose $11,311 of his $41,400 salary while in the minor leagues. If called up to the major leagues, he gets paid at the rate of the $507,500 minimum.

Clenbuterol is used to treat congestion. A positive test for the drug caused New York Mets reliever Guillermo Mota to be suspended for 100 games in 2012.

An initial positive test for performance-enhancing drugs resulted in a 50-game suspension from 2006 through 2013, and the penalty was increased in March 2014 to 80 games. Mondesi could have appealed to arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who would have held a hearing to decide whether there was just cause for the discipline, but the sides reached their agreement.

Mondesi provided evidence under section 8.B.3 of the joint drug agreement, the person familiar with the agreement said. That provision states “a player is not in violation of the program if the presence of the prohibited substance in his test result was not due to his fault or negligence.”

“It just shows you, you can’t take anything nowadays over the counter or anything without consulting the training staff first,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “You can fail a drug test with an energy drink. We try to do our best to inform these guys, look, you don’t take anything without letting a trainer know exactly what it is and getting an OK from him.”

Yost said he understands what happens in these instances.

“Subconsciously, you go into a store and you buy something for a cold. How much damage can that do?” he said. “Well, you find out it can do a lot of damage. It can cost you 50 games.”

Kansas City added Mondesi to its Series roster in case Ben Zobrist had to leave the team to be with his wife, who was due to give birth. He pinch hit in the fifth inning of Game 3 against the New York Mets and struck out on four pitches.

“This is an unfortunate incident that we believe to be an innocent mistake, but these are the consequences that players face when they do not adhere to the policies that have been collectively bargained,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in a statement. “We have a protocol in place with our medical team should a player ever have questions about what they may be taking, even if an over-the-counter medication. In this particular case the protocol was not followed.”

Mondesi is the ninth player suspended this year under the big league drug program. Miami second baseman Dee Gordon was suspended for 80 games, as were Cleveland outfielder Abraham Almonte, Cincinnati outfielder Juan Duran, free-agent catcher Taylor Teagarden, Philadelphia pitcher Daniel Stumpf, Toronto first baseman Chris Colabello and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin.

New York Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia received a permanent ban following a third positive test.

— Associated Press —

NEW YORK (AP) — Early power, late heat. Now that Aroldis Chapman is available in the bullpen, that’s the game plan for the New York Yankees.

Carlos Beltran hit two of New York’s five solo homers in the first three innings off an ineffective Chris Young, and Chapman allowed a run in his Yankees debut before closing out a 6-3 victory over the slumping Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

“I felt good out there for being my first outing,” Chapman said through a translator. “Very excited and happy to see the fans receive me the way they did, but I was looking to stay focused and get the job done.”

Brian McCann, Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks also went deep to help New York win the opener of a four-game set against the defending World Series champions.

Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer homered for the Royals, who have lost 10 of 13.

“We didn’t really deal with anything like this last year and I think this will be a good test for us to see what we’re made of,” Hosmer said.

Ivan Nova gave the last-place Yankees (12-18) a solid effort in his first start of the season, pitching in place of injured lefty CC Sabathia. Nova was pulled after 81 pitches — one out short of qualifying for a win — but New York’s fortified bullpen held Kansas City at bay.

“Maybe this gets us going,” manager Joe Girardi said.

Chapman, a four-time All-Star with a fastball that often exceeds 100 mph, was eligible to pitch for the first time with the Yankees after serving a 29-game suspension under baseball’s new domestic violence policy. The left-hander from Cuba was obtained from Cincinnati for four prospects in December.

He entered to a warm ovation in a non-save situation with a 6-2 lead in the ninth and drew gasps from the crowd by firing his first four pitches 100-101 mph. Chapman struck out his first two batters before pinch-hitter Paulo Orlando doubled to deep center field and scored on a sharp single by Alcides Escobar.

Lorenzo Cain bounced back to the mound for the final out.

Chapman threw seven of his 17 pitches at least 100 mph, including six that topped 101 mph.

“It’s tougher than I thought. I mean, it’s hard to see. But it was nice to get him back, get him in the mix,” said McCann, the Yankees’ catcher. “It’s a huge weapon for us.”

When winner Kirby Yates (2-0) preserved a 5-1 lead in the sixth, Girardi had an opportunity to try out his formidable new 1-2-3 combination of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Chapman over the final three innings.

Girardi, however, stayed with Yates for a perfect seventh and went to left-hander Chasen Shreve in the eighth after Hicks added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Betances and Miller both warmed up in the bullpen during the late innings, but neither was brought into the game.

“I felt that if we could not use them, it’d be great,” Girardi said. “If we got in a situation where I felt that I needed them, I wanted to make sure they were ready.”

Phil Coke, called up Friday from Triple-A, retired Hosmer on a deep fly with runners at the corners to end the fifth. It was his first appearance for the Yankees since Game 5 of the 2009 World Series.

Young (1-5) served up a career-high five homers in 2 2/3 innings. He has allowed 13 long balls in seven starts this season, including nine in his last three outings.

“It’s a horrible feeling, feeling like you’re letting a team down and not even giving them a chance,” Young said. “The life on the ball isn’t there for whatever reason. I don’t know why.”

MEMORY MAKER

Yankees rookie Ben Gamel singled in the eighth, his first major league plate appearance. “Words can’t describe it, man. It was awesome,” he said. “I was just excited.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: With 3B Mike Moustakas (broken left thumb) on the 15-day disabled list, rookie Cheslor Cuthbert made his third straight start at the hot corner since being recalled from Triple-A Omaha.

Yankees: 2B Starlin Castro was given his first day off this season after tweaking his lower back Sunday night and coming out of the game late. He was available off the bench. Castro said he felt better and was ready to play. Ronald Torreyes started at second. … CF Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) missed his third consecutive game and isn’t expected to play Tuesday, either. “Hopefully, shortly after that,” Girardi said.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen (1-3, 6.85 ERA) pitches Tuesday night, hoping to rebound from perhaps the worst start of his career as he tries to avoid his first four-game losing streak.

Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 2.29 ERA) has not yielded more than two earned runs in any of his six starts this season. He’s taken a shutout into at least the seventh inning in each of the past two.

— Associated Press —