Aaron Crow lost command of the strike zone at the worst possible time for the Kansas City Royals.

Crow issued consecutive bases-loaded walks during Toronto’s three-run eighth inning, sending the Royals to a 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday.

”Throwing eight straight balls, it’s a terrible way to lose a game,” Crow said.

The Royals, who trailed Tampa Bay by 6 1/2 games for the second AL wild-card slot at the beginning of the day, lost their second straight following a five-game winning streak.

Kansas City failed to capitalize on a strong start by right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who allowed one run and eight hits in seven innings.

”Tremendous game from him,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He was still strong going into the eighth inning.”

Rather than stick with Guthrie, who was at 92 pitches, Yost turned it over to his relief corps, who came in with an AL-best 2.56 ERA and had allowed just one run in their past 14 2-3 innings.

”My mindset is, ‘OK, we’ve got a one-run lead, we’ve got the best bullpen in the American League, let’s get three outs and get to (closer Greg Holland),”’ Yost said. ”It just didn’t work out, we couldn’t get it done.”

Instead, the Blue Jays batted around while scoring three unearned runs against four relievers. Kansas City shortstop Alcides Escobar helped the Blue Jays with a key error.

Pinch hitter Munenori Kawasaki led off with a single against Kelvin Herrera (5-7), and went to second on a bloop hit by Jose Reyes. Will Smith came on to face Ryan Goins, who hit a potential double-play grounder that Escobar couldn’t handle, allowing Kawasaki to score from second.

Escobar said his line of sight was blocked by Kawasaki on the crucial play.

”I make that play all the time,” Escobar said. ”I didn’t see the ball, that’s why I missed that. The guy blocked me.”

Edwin Encarnacion walked to load the bases and Crow came on to face pinch hitter Mark DeRosa, who struck out on three pitches. Brett Lawrie and Rajai Davis each followed with four-pitch walks, giving the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead.

”We can’t be coming in and doing that at this time of year,” Yost said. ”We’ve got to command the ball a little better in these crucial situations. Aaron does, anyway.”

Upset at the ball four call to Davis, Yost was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Will Little when he came out to replace Crow with Tim Collins, who retired pinch hitter J.P. Arencibia to end the inning.

”I’d just seen enough,” Yost said. ”You don’t miss a pitch in a crucial situation like that. If he throws a ball, OK. But I think the replay will show it was definitely a strike.”

Yost, who was ejected for the first time this season, also argued with Little over a call at first base in Friday’s 3-2 loss.

The late rally made a winner of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (11-12), who allowed two runs and seven hits in eight innings.

”I changed speeds quite a bit today,” Dickey said. ”I was able to keep the slower knuckleball down and get some outs with it. Anytime you can add and subtract speed in the strike zone, you’re going to have a better chance of your opponent mis-hitting balls.”

Casey Janssen finished for his 26th save in 28 chances, with pinch runner Chris Getz thrown out trying to steal second for the final out.

Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer went 2 for 3 with a walk and an RBI in his 50th multihit game of the season. Among AL players, only Mike Trout and Adrian Beltre have more.

Royals outfielder Alex Gordon had two assists, throwing out Goins at third in the first and getting Josh Thole at second in the seventh. Gordon boosted his major league-leading total to 14. It’s the fifth time he’s had two assists in a game.

Kansas City opened the scoring in the second. Salvador Perez drew a one-out walk, moved up on Jarrod Dyson’s single and scored on a base hit by Escobar.

The Royals made it 2-0 in the third when former Blue Jays infielder Emilio Bonifacio led off with a triple and scored on Hosmer’s single through the left side.

The Blue Jays ran into another out on the bases in the third when Reyes was thrown by right fielder David Lough as he tried to stretch a single into a double. Escobar made a diving tag to retire Reyes for the second out.

Toronto broke through against Guthrie in the seventh when Rajai Davis hit a two-out double and scored on Josh Thole’s single. The inning ended when Gordon threw out Thole trying to stretch his hit into a double.

”We’re lucky that didn’t come back to bite us,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

— Associated Press —

Mark Buehrle’s stomach wasn’t feeling too good. His arm, however, was in exceptional shape.

Buehrle pitched seven shutout innings to win his sixth straight decision and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Kansas City 3-2 on Friday night, ending the Royals’ winning streak at five games.

Buehrle didn’t stick around to speak to reporters after the game, citing an upset stomach. But all those who remained had plenty of praise for the veteran left-hander.

”We just couldn’t get any hits off him, couldn’t get anything rolling,” Kansas City outfielder Alex Gordon said.

Adam Lind drove in two runs for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of 14 meetings with Kansas City dating to 2011. Second baseman Ryan Goins made a diving play for the final out with two runners aboard.

The Royals, who came in six games behind Oakland for the second AL wild-card berth, lost for the first time since Aug. 24 against Washington, the final defeat in a seven-game skid.

”This one’s not overly frustrating,” manager Ned Yost said. ”You don’t ever want to lose at this time of year, but it was a good game. We fought to the end, it just didn’t happen.”

Buehrle (11-7) allowed four hits, walked one and struck out five to match his longest winning streak since 2005, when he won a career-best nine consecutive decisions. He’s 6-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his past eight outings and has gone 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 14 home starts this season.

”He’s got so many different weapons,” Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia said. ”He’s so good at executing a plan.”

Thanks to Buehrle’s brisk, efficient outing, the game was completed in 2 hours, 24 minutes.

”He works quick, and once he gets in a groove he just gets in that rhythm,” Gordon said. ”You look up and it’s the eighth inning and it’s 8 o’clock.”

Arencibia said Buehrle isn’t bothered when opposing batters try to disrupt his pace by stepping out of the box.

”A lot of teams try to take their time, call timeout and try to get him off his rhythm,” Arencibia said. ”It doesn’t faze him, really. It’s funny because I see teams try to do that and I know he doesn’t care. He’s just ready to pitch.”

Brett Cecil and Sergio Santos worked the eighth before Casey Janssen finished for his 25th save in 27 chances.

Mike Moustakas hit a leadoff single in the ninth and was replaced by pinch-runner Chris Getz. Pinch-hitter David Lough popped out before Jarrod Dyson singled. Pinch-hitter George Kottaras lined out sharply to center, and Janssen ended it by getting Gordon to ground out, with Goins diving for the ball and throwing from his knees.

Goins went 1 for 4 and has hit safely in all seven games he’s played since being promoted from Triple-A Buffalo.

”He’s done a terrific job,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. ”There’s no panic with the kid. He carries himself like he belongs.”

Ervin Santana (8-8) was the hard-luck loser. He allowed three runs, two earned, and four hits in seven innings, extending his winless streak to five starts. The right-hander walked two and struck out six.

Toronto took the lead with a two-run first. After leadoff batter Jose Reyes flied out on the first pitch, Goins reached on an error by former Blue Jays infielder Emilio Bonifacio at second base. Goins went to third on Edwin Encarnacion’s double, and Lind followed with a two-run single.

”The pitch to Lind wasn’t a bad pitch,” Yost said. ”It was kind of middle-away a little bit and he just served it up the middle for the two runs.”

Toronto made it 3-0 in the fifth when Anthony Gose hit a leadoff triple and scored on Goins’ infield single, a hot shot that Moustakas couldn’t handle cleanly at third.

The Royals rallied with two runs off Cecil in the eighth. Alcides Escobar singled and went to third on a base hit by Gordon, then scored on Bonifacio’s sacrifice bunt. Replays showed that Bonifacio beat the throw to first, but he was called out by umpire Will Little, bringing Yost out for an argument.

”He wasn’t doing much talking, I was,” Yost said when asked what kind of explanation Little offered.

Eric Hosmer chased Cecil with an RBI single before Santos came on to end the threat. He got some help from third baseman Brett Lawrie, who made a spectacular barehanded catch and throw on Billy Butler’s chopper for the second out.

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Royals are hoping to make another push for a playoff spot, and their latest successful series at Target Field is definitely going to help.

Bruce Chen bounced back with a solid start and the Royals earned their fifth consecutive win with a 3-1 victory over Minnesota, sending the slumping Twins to their fifth straight loss.

”This was a nice series for us,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. ”We did everything really well, we pitched well, swung the bats well, played solid defense.”

The Royals outscored Minnesota 17-3 in the three-game set to finish the season series with a 15-4 record against their AL Central rival. Kansas City has won seven straight at Target Field.

”They’ve probably had our number in the past, so it’s tough to say anything bad about them,” said second baseman Chris Getz, who had one of Kansas City’s three RBI singles.

Coupled with Oakland’s 7-6 loss in Detroit, the Royals are six games back of the A’s for the AL’s second wild-card slot.

”I couldn’t even tell you who’s ahead of us,” Yost said. ”My focus is if we win everything else takes care of itself.”

Getting Chen back on track certainly helps.

Chen (6-2), who is good at deception and changing speeds, gave up one run and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. In his past two starts, he allowed 13 runs in nine innings. Before those two, he had allowed just three earned runs in 38 2-3 innings over six starts.

”I went back and tried to be more aggressive,” Chen said. ”I wanted to make sure I pound the strike zone.”

Kelvin Herrera and Will Smith combined for 2 1-3 innings of scoreless relief. Greg Holland pitched a scoreless ninth for his 36th save in 38 chances.

”It was a total team effort,” Chen said. ”We won collectively.”

The Twins hit just 15 for 91 (.165) in the series. Brian Dozier homered for Minnesota, which has totaled just six runs during its skid.

Minnesota is one game ahead of last-place Chicago in the division.

”It’s a tough time of the year,” said bench coach Terry Steinbach, who filled in when manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected in the second inning. ”They don’t call it the ‘Dog Days of August’ for nothing, and whether you’re in first place or last place or somewhere in the middle, as players and as organizations and teams you’ve got to figure out a way to get through this stuff.”

Justin Maxwell was hit by a pitch – the ninth batter plunked this season by Twins starter Samuel Deduno – and both benches were warned by plate umpire Alan Porter. Gardenhire came out to protest and was tossed for the fourth time this year.

Maxwell was hit by a pitch in Wednesday night. Salvador Perez homered twice in that game for the Royals and had a fastball come in high and tight.

”I don’t think they were trying to hit me on purpose,” Maxwell said. ”I’m just glad it helped lead to a big inning.”

Getz, Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon singled home runs in the second.

Deduno (8-8) allowed three runs in three innings before leaving because of soreness in his right shoulder. An MRI is scheduled for Friday.

He said he felt a little pain when trying to throw his fastball hard.

”I wanted to be aggressive. That’s when I felt it,” he said. ”I wanted to keep pitching, but they told me they want to see what’s wrong with my shoulder.”

Deduno had been bothered by biceps tendinitis in his throwing arm earlier this month but told the team he was feeling fine.

Dozier homered in the sixth to make it 3-1. His 14th homer tied him with Tim Teufel (1984) for most homers in a season by a Minnesota second baseman.

Already playing short-handed because outfielder Oswaldo Arcia was unavailable with a sore wrist, Minnesota lost right fielder Wilkin Ramirez in the fifth inning after he fouled a ball off his left shin. He was scheduled for an MRI later Thursday.

— Associated Press —

Salvador Perez homered twice, got four hits and sent a message to Minnesota pitcher Andrew Albers after a high-and-inside fastball, leading the Kansas City Royals over the Twins 8-1 Wednesday night.

Danny Duffy (2-0) pitched 6 2-3 shutout innings hours after being promoted from Triple-A. Minnesota lost its fourth in a row.

Perez hit a two-run homer in the fourth, a 415-foot drive into the upper deck in left field off Albers (2-2) that made it 3-0.

When Perez came up again in the sixth, Albers threw an up-and-in pitch that sent Perez tumbling to the ground.

The 23-year-old catcher, who missed a week with a concussion earlier this month, took his helmet off and pointed at his side, apparently telling Albers to aim lower if he’s going to throw inside. Albers held both of his arms out and had a few words of his own for Perez.

Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt warned both benches. Perez then struck back by lining a single that whizzed over Albers’ head.

Perez hit another two-run homer in the eighth, connecting off reliever Casey Fien in the eighth.

Perez had his first career multihomer game. In 15 games against the Twins this season, Perez is hitting .410 with four doubles, three homers and nine RBIs.

Duffy was called up from the minors and replaced the struggling Wade Davis in the rotation. Duffy allowed five hits and struck out seven in his third start with the Royals since having elbow surgery last June.

Duffy has shuffled among Kansas City, Triple-A Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas as he comes back from surgery.

In three August starts with the Royals, Duffy has a 1.10 ERA and has struck out 17. The tall and thin lefty hasn’t given up a run in his last 12 2-3 innings.

The Twins struck out 10 times and set the club record for strikeouts in a season with 31 games to go. Minnesota batters have fanned 1,127 times, breaking the previous mark of 1,121 set in 1997.

Chris Colabello whiffed on a changeup from Duffy in the fifth inning to set the record.

Justin Morneau hit his 16th home run in the ninth to prevent the Twins from being shut out.

Alex Gordon hit a solo homer as the Royals beat Minnesota for the eighth time in their last nine games.

— Associated Press —

James Shields was sharp for 7 1-3 innings, Alex Gordon had three RBIs, and the Kansas City Royals scored five runs in the eighth inning to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Tuesday.

Shields – the key part in the deal that sent top prospect Wil Myers to Tampa Bay in the offseason – struck out seven and notched his American-League best 22nd quality start.

Shields (9-8) only allowed one hit through seven innings before running into trouble and leaving in the eighth inning.

Kevin Correia struck out a season-high seven over seven shutout innings, but ended up with a no-decision. Brian Dozier had the Twins’ RBI.

The first seven Royals hitters reached base in a five-run eighth that broke open a scoreless game and handed reliever Jared Burton (2-8) his third loss to Kansas City this season.

The first two runs scored on a bloop single from Chris Getz and a Jarrod Dyson suicide squeeze.

Gordon followed with a bases-clearing double down the right-field line that made it 5-0 and sent most of the fans at a steamy Target Field heading for the exits.

Billy Butler hit his 14th home run in the ninth.

After losing seven straight and damaging their playoff chances, the Royals have won three in a row.

While his record isn’t impressive, Shields has pitched pretty well for the Royals.

After walking Ryan Doumit in the second, Shields retired 14 of the next 15 batters and held the Twins until the offense got him some support.

Wade Davis, the other pitcher Kansas City acquired in the Myers’ deal, hasn’t been nearly as effective and was demoted to the bullpen on Tuesday.

Danny Duffy will be called up on Wednesday from Triple-A Omaha and take Davis’ slot in the rotation.

The Twins have struggled to score since All-Star Joe Mauer went on the disabled list a week ago with a concussion.

Minnesota had a chance to cut into the lead after Dozier’s double chased Shields and made it 5-1 in the eighth. But Will Smith struck out Chris Herrmann and Justin Morneau to end the threat.

The Twins struck out 11 times and were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

— Associated Press —