Major League Baseball announced Saturday that Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon and catcher Salvador Perez have been named American League All-Stars.  Both Royals will be making their first All-Star appearances at the 79th annual Midsummer Classic at Citi Field in New York on Tuesday, July 16.  Both Gordon and Perez were elected to the team via the player vote.

This marks the first time since the 2003 All-Star Game that the Royals have had more than one player representative.  Gordon is the first KC outfielder to be selected to the team since Jermaine Dye in 2000, while Perez is the first Royals’ catcher to be named an All-Star since Darrell Porter in 1980.  Porter was also selected in 1978, but did not play, while the only other catcher in franchise history to attend the All-Star festivities was the first Royal All-Star, Ellie Rodriguez in 1969.

Gordon, a six-year veteran with Kansas City, is batting .290 with 15 doubles, 8 homers and 46 RBI in 81 games.  He came into play Saturday leading the American League in 2-out hitting (.374), tied with Alex Rios for the league-lead in outfield assists (8) and was 10th in the league with 29 multi-hit games.  He had a 12-game hitting streak earlier this season and had walk-off hits against Toronto (April 14), the Chicago White Sox (May 5) and Atlanta (June 26).

Perez is in his second full year in the Major Leagues and is hitting .302 with 15 doubles, 4 homers, 36 RBI in 71 games.  He ranks second among A.L. catchers in batting average (.302) and is third in the league with a .403 average with runners in scoring position.  He has thrown out 10 would-be base stealers, which is tied for third-most in the American League.  He had an 11-game hitting streak from June 5-15 and has 21 RBI since June 1.

— Royals Media Relations —

The Kansas City Royals are starting to embrace quite the never-say-quit mentality.

Trailing in the seventh inning? No need to worry.

Game tied in the eight? Perfect position.

Jarrod Dyson delivered an infield single with the bases loaded and two outs on Saturday, and stingy closer Greg Holland preserved the Royals’ scrappy 4-3 victory over Oakland with a perfect ninth inning that gave Kansas City its first win over the Athletics this season.

”Sometimes games aren’t going to go our way, but we aren’t going to hang our heads,” said Dyson, who snapped an 0-for-11 skid with three hits. ”We’re going to keep battling. You can see it in here, see it out there. Everybody is working hard every day.”

The Royals had rallied to tie the game on a sacrifice fly by Eric Hosmer in the seventh, and then loaded the bases on an error and a pair of walks by reliever Ryan Cook in the eighth.

Dyson, hardly known for his power, showed bunt on his first pitch from Cook (1-2) before hitting a grounder deep behind second base. Shortstop Adam Rosales fielded it cleanly but didn’t even bother with a throw as pinch runner Alcides Escobar scored the go-ahead run.

It was an error on Rosales that kept the inning alive.

”It’s going to stick with me for a little while,” he said.

Aaron Crow (6-3) worked the eighth and Holland handled the ninth for his 20th save, wrapping up Kansas City’s first win in five tries against Oakland this season.

”They’ve been grinder games. Their pitching staff is very, very good. Their starting rotation is very good,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”We just scrapped it. We scrapped it out.”

Mike Moustakas homered and Billy Butler drove in a run for the Royals, while Alex Gordon walked three times and reached on an error in his return to the lineup. He’d missed the last two games after a scary collision with the outfield wall Wednesday night against Cleveland.

”Once I got the Adrenaline going and did some work, it felt pretty good,” Gordon said.

Josh Donaldson homered and drove in two runs to lead the A’s, who struck right away when Josh Reddick sent an RBI single to center field in the first inning.

The Royals tried to get the run back in the bottom half when Miguel Tejada singled and reached second on a groundout. Moments later, Elliot Johnson hit a grounder toward third with two outs and appeared to be safe when the throw pulled first baseman Brandon Moss off the bag.

Umpire Marty Foster ruled him out, though, and never wavered from his decision despite some rather animated objections from Yost and first base coach Rusty Kuntz.

A bright sun and flat sky started to cause problems after that.

The A’s had two aboard with one out in the third when Donaldson hit a high popup down the right-field line. Johnson chased it from second and outfielder David Lough sprinted in from right while Hosmer tried to camp under it from first base – all to no avail.

The ball fell in fair territory, allowing John Jaso to score for a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, Dyson led off with a weak pop foul behind the plate, but Jaso couldn’t locate the ball in the sun after discarding his mask. The A’s catcher comically had to cover his head with his glove while the ball plopped onto the field next to him.

Dyson followed with a single to right, and after a stolen base and errant pickoff throw, he scampered home from third on Butler’s groundout to get the Royals within 2-1.

Moustakas added his two-out homer in the fourth to tie the game, and Donaldson’s solo shot leading off the sixth restored Oakland’s one-run cushion. The Royals knotted the game again when they loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and Hosmer hit a sacrifice fly to center.

Jarrod Parker wound up going 6 1-3 innings for the A’s after leaving his last start with tightness in his right hamstring, but it was the bullpen that let them down.

”That was a very poor game,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. ”The way we started and the way we ended. A very bad game for us.”

— Associated Press —

Tommy Milone shut out the Kansas City Royals for eight innings, and then got in just enough trouble in the ninth to ensure that Grant Balfour would have a nice, easy save chance.

A save that will go down in Oakland history, too.

Balfour gave up a run-scoring single to Billy Butler before retiring the final two batters of the game Friday night, preserving the A’s 6-3 victory and notching his 40th consecutive save to tie Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley’s franchise record.

”You know, it’s an accomplishment. Definitely,” Balfour said. ”I don’t like to look into it too much – I’m superstitious, obviously. But I never knew about this, and it’s not something I set out to do. It just happened. I still have a lot of work to do.”

Balfour has 22 saves this season to match the mark that Eckersley set from Sept. 15, 1991-Aug. 7, 1992, this one helping the A’s (51-36) win for the seventh time in their last nine games.

”That’s pretty remarkable, but when you look at Grant, it’s not surprising what he’s able to do,” Milone said. ”That’s pretty cool for him. I’m happy.”

Happy enough to get into trouble in the ninth for him?

”We can go there if you want,” Milone said, grinning. ”Yeah, I guess.”

Milone (8-7) was in control before Alcides Escobar and Eric Hosmer drove in runs to get the Royals within 6-2 with one out in the ninth. Balfour came on and gave up the single to Butler, but he managed to retire Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas to end the game.

”Like him, I don’t like to talk about it a whole lot, but you’re asking me the question,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of Balfour’s save streak. ”Pretty phenomenal.”

Milone, who had been battered in his last three starts, outpitched Wade Davis (4-7) in another strong night from Oakland’s pitching staff. The A’s had put together 18 1-3 innings without giving up a run before the Royals plated their three in the ninth.

Milone was two outs shy of racking up Oakland’s third shutout in its last eight games.

”A tough eight innings. Tommy Milone was really on top of his game,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”What makes him so tough on nights like tonight, he can command his fastball to both sides of the plate, but when that changeup is on, it’s almost unhittable.”

The recent history for Milone and Davis pointed to runs-a-plenty on Friday night. Milone had been struggling lately, and Davis was yanked after one-plus inning last Saturday.

So naturally, the two of them took turns mowing through hitters.

Milone retired his first 11 batters, and only twice allowed a ball to get out of the infield through the first three innings. The left-hander finally gave up a single to Hosmer with two outs in the fourth, but that was it until David Lough’s two-out single in the sixth.

”We were just trying to take pitches and try to see as many pitches as possible,” said the Royals’ Lorenzo Cain, ”but he was pounding the zone.”

Davis only needed 10 pitches to get through the first inning against Oakland, and the right-hander set down nine straight before Josh Reddick’s double in the third. Eric Sogard came through with a timely single to shallow left field that gave the scrappy A’s a 1-0 lead.

Davis cruised through the fourth, and then issued a leadoff walk to John Jaso in the fifth. Reddick followed with a triple to right, and he scampered home on Coco Crisp’s sacrifice fly.

The A’s added three more in the ninth, two of them when Cain misplayed a line drive in right field that bounced off his glove – ”I just flat-out missed it,” he said.

The Royals tried to rally in the ninth behind back-to-back doubles by Lough and Escobar, and consecutive singles by Hosmer and Butler. But the unflappable Balfour got Cain and Moustakas on harmless groundouts to record his historic save.

”I hope you’re not jinxing him by talking about it,” Reddick said with a smile.

— Associated Press —

Salvador Perez was a bit miffed when he showed up to the park on Thursday.

The Kansas City Royals’ big, affable catcher had worked nine innings the previous night in a game that was delayed nearly three hours by rain and a lighting outage, so manager Ned Yost thought he would give Perez the afternoon off from behind the plate against the Cleveland Indians.

”There was no way he was going to play him today,” Yost explained later, ”but I told him to be ready, because you could have an impact on this game.”

That proved to be quite the prediction.

Perez entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and delivered a bases-loaded double, sending the Royals to a 10-7 victory over the Indians on a sun-splashed afternoon.

”I just felt a little sad coming into the clubhouse and seeing the lineup,” Perez said, ”but I just had to be ready for the sixth inning, the seventh inning, whatever the case.”

Lorenzo Cain hit his first career grand slam and George Kottaras followed with a solo shot in the sixth inning for the Royals, allowing them to rally from an early 5-0 deficit.

The Indians regained the lead on Carlos Santana’s two-run double in the seventh, but the Royals answered again in the bottom half when Eric Hosmer cracked a two-run homer.

Indians reliever Bryan Shaw (0-2) walked Kottaras to lead off the eighth and then hit Johnny Giavotella. Shaw was lifted for Rich Hill, who promptly walked Jarrod Dyson to load the bases.

”We knew Perez was sitting over there ready to hit,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.

He came through with the biggest hit of the day.

”We didn’t get the job done the last two nights,” said Indians reliever Joe Smith, who served up Hosmer’s homer. ”It leaves a sour taste in your mouth.”

Luke Hochevar (2-1) worked a scoreless eighth inning for the Royals, and Greg Holland worked around a single in the ninth for his second straight save and his 19th on the season.

The Royals scored at least 10 runs for only the fourth time this year – despite only six hits – by taking advantage of eight walks and a costly hit batter by the Indians.

”In the sixth, seventh and eighth, we walked the leadoff hitter every inning,” Francona said. ”We just put ourselves in a tough position even though we scored seven runs.”

Drew Stubbs homered and drove in four runs, and Michael Brantley had four hits and also drove in a run for Cleveland, which had won five straight and pulled into first place in the wide open AL Central before losing its last two games to the Royals in wild fashion.

Hosmer’s go-ahead shot in the seventh on Wednesday night gave Kansas City a 6-5 victory.

”The character of this offense is we’re not quitting,” Hosmer said. ”We told ourselves before, if we’re going to make a run at this, these are big games to make up ground, facing the teams ahead of you in the division. We didn’t want to let this opportunity slip away.”

Things looked good for the Indians at the start on Thursday. They took a quick lead on Brantley’s single in the first and then Stubbs made it 3-0 with his homer in the second.

James Shields put the Indians’ leadoff batter on base for the fourth time before Santana singled in the sixth. Aviles added a one-out single and Lonnie Chisenhall walked to load the bases for Stubbs, who delivered a two-run single that made it 5-0 and knocked Shields from the game.

The prize acquisition in a blockbuster trade with Tampa Bay, Shields went 29 consecutive starts of at least six innings before lasting five against the White Sox on June 23. His early ouster on Thursday made it fewer than six in two of his last three starts.

Ubaldo Jimenez had allowed just two hits and kept the Royals in check until the sixth inning, when he led it off by walking his fourth and fifth batters of the game. An error on Jimenez while trying to cover first loaded the bases with nobody out.

Cain came to the plate and hit a 3-2 pitch to center for his first career grand slam, and the second of the series by the Royals. Alex Gordon hit one in Tuesday night’s opener.

Kottaras, getting the start at catcher for Perez, added his tying shot to right moments later. It was only his third of the season but the second time Kottaras has been involved in back-to-back home runs: He did it with Dyson on June 23 against the White Sox.

Jason Kipnis, who earlier extended his hitting streak to 15 games, drew a leadoff walk and Brantley singled off Gutierrez in the seventh before Santana’s double made it 7-5.

Hosmer matched both runs in the bottom half with his seventh homer in his last 12 games.

That’s how the game remained until Perez cleared the bases with his double in the eighth, the three RBI boosting the Royals to their seventh straight win in a game Shields has started.

”We’ve been doing a good job of coming back all year. We’re real resilient,” Shields said. ”I’m proud of these guys. Hopefully we can get a little string of wins together.”

— Associated Press —

Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera each drove in a pair of runs, and the Cleveland Indians took advantage of some wild pitching by the Kansas City Royals in a 6-5 victory Tuesday night.

Mark Reynolds and Jason Giambi also drove in runs for the Indians, who capitalized on eight walks by Royals starter Luis Mendoza and his bullpen to win their fifth straight game.

Cody Allen (3-0) earned the win in relief for Cleveland, while Chris Perez survived putting two aboard in the ninth for his eighth save of the season.

The AL Central-leading Indians led 4-0 before Alex Gordon’s grand slam in the fifth. But Royals reliever Tim Collins (2-3) walked the only two batters he faced in the seventh, Aaron Crow walked another to load the bases and Santana came through with a go-ahead sacrifice fly.

Giambi added a run-scoring double later in the seventh that proved invaluable when the Royals’ Billy Butler hit an RBI double off Vinnie Pestano to make it 6-5. David Lough came to the plate with runners on the corners, but grounded into an inning-ending double play.

It was Cleveland’s fifth win in its past six games against the Royals.

After going on a 14-5 run to close out June, the Indians (45-38) built on a four-game sweep of the White Sox by taking the opener of a three-game series from another division rival. It was their ninth win in 11 road games and put them seven games over .500 for the first time since May 24.

The Indians wasted little time getting on the board.

They loaded the bases with one out against Mendoza in the first before Santana recovered from a 0-2 count to walk in a run. Mendoza then uncorked a pitch that nicked Reynolds in the shoulder – and just barely missed his head – to force in another run.

Mendoza got out of the inning with a bases-loaded double play, but his erratic ways resulted in more trouble when the fourth inning rolled around.

This time, Mendoza gave up consecutive singles to Giambi and Lonnie Chisenhall and a one-out walk to Michael Brantley to load the bases. Cabrera slipped a single through the right side of the infield to make it 4-0 before Jason Kipnis grounded into another inning-ending double play.

Corey Kluber, who gave up seven runs without making it through the fifth his last time out, was having his way with the Royals’ still-scuffling lineup the first couple times through it.

The right-hander ran into trouble in the fifth inning.

Mike Moustakas and Lough singled and Johnny Giavotella walked to load the bases with nobody out. Jarrod Dyson flied to left field, and Moustakas thought about tagging up, but he ultimately thought better of it and scampered back to third base.

No matter: Gordon was waiting in the on-deck circle.

The Royals’ leadoff hitter was swinging on a 3-0 pitch and drilled the ball to right field, clearing the fence with ease and pulling the Royals into a 4-4 tie. It was Gordon’s second grand slam of the season and the third for Kansas City.

It was also the Royals’ biggest highlight once their bullpen started to falter.

— Associated Press —

Kansas City Royals minor league pitcher Danny Duffy was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher the Week for June 24-30, as announced by the league office Monday.

Duffy, 24, compiled a 2-0 mark over 10.2 scoreless innings for the Omaha Storm Chasers, Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate.

The left-hander started and tossed 5.0 innings in a 2-0 win at Oklahoma City on June 25, then struck out seven over 5.2 innings of relief in Omaha’s 3-0 victory over Iowa yesterday.

Kansas City’s third-round pick in the 2007 June Free Agent Draft, Duffy is returning from “Tommy John” surgery on June 13, 2012.  He made a combined 26 starts with the Royals in 2011 and 2012.

— Royals Media Relations —