KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam, Marco Estrada pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Wednesday night.

Jorge Lopez (0-2), who was making his Royals debut after being acquired July 27 from Milwaukee as part of the Mike Moustakas trade, threw a 2-0 fastball that Granderson drove over the Royals’ right-field bullpen gate with two outs in the fourth inning.

It was Granderson’s 10th career grand slam and his second this year, both against the Royals. The first was April 18 in Toronto. He has 19 home runs and 50 RBI in 106 games against Kansas City.

Royals pitchers have yielded a major league-leading 10 grand slams.

Kevin Pillar singled home Teoscar Hernandez with the first run of the fourth and contributed an RBI single in the second for the Blue Jays, who have won three of four.

Lopez was removed after 4 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits, two walks and a hit batter.

Estrada (6-9) gave up four runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings to pick up his first career victory at Kauffman Stadium.

Salvador Perez homered twice in the loss, his fifth career multi-homer game.

Perez connected in the first with Whit Merrifield aboard and led off the fourth with his 21st home run. Perez has hit at least 20 homers in four consecutive seasons, joining .John Mayberry, Steve Balboni, Bo Jackson and Mike Sweeney among the Royals to accomplish that feat.

Brett Phillips tripled in the seventh and scored on Alcides Escobar’s two-out single for the other run off Estrada.

Ken Giles allowed a pinch-hit homer to Ryan O’Hearn but still earned his 15th save in as many chances and his third with the Blue Jays.

Rain delayed the start of the game by 15 minutes.

HE’S THAT FAST

Adalberto Mondesi stole three bases, including one when he was picked off first base, on Tuesday. Royals manager Ned Yost compared Mondesi’s acceleration to former Kansas City speedsters Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore. “It’s up there,” Yost said. “It’s very easy, quick, hard speed. It’s just, boom, he’s gone. It’s like the Road Runner. You expect a little pillow of dust following him. He’s that fast.”

ROSTER MOVES

Blue Jays: LHP Tim Mayza was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. LHP Thomas Pannone was optioned to the Bisons.

Royals: RHP Blaine Boyer, who yielded a two-run eighth inning homer on Tuesday in a 6-5 loss to Toronto, was released. Boyer had a 12.05 ERA in 21 relief appearances. … The Royals sent Gore to the Cubs for cash considerations. In parts of four seasons with Kansas City, Gore was primarily used as a pinch runner, stealing 21 of 25 bases and scoring 24 runs, but went 0-for-11 in 49 games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez (bruised right index finger) made a rehab start for Class-A Dunedin in the Class A Florida State League, going 3 2/3 innings and allowing one run on two hits, while walking four and striking out three. He threw 35 strikes in 74 pitches.

Royals: OF Brian Goodwin (left groin strain) will begin a rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Omaha.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: RHP Sam Gaviglio (2-5, 4.86 ERA), who was with the Royals last September and traded to Toronto in spring training, will start the series finale.

Royals: RHP Glenn Sparkman (0-1, 5.06) will make his first career start after eight relief appearances.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kevin Pillar hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays over the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Tuesday night.

Blaine Boyer (2-1) retired his first two batters before walking Aledmys Diaz and backing Pillar into an 0-2 count. Pillar hit the next pitch over the wall down the left field line.

Ken Giles worked a perfect ninth for his 14th save and second with the Blue Jays since being acquired from Houston on July 30.

Salvador Perez and Jorge Bonifacio hit back-to-back doubles in the seventh off Jake Petricka (2-1) to give the Royals a short-lived 5-4 lead.

Adalberto Mondesi had a career-high four hits, including two doubles, stole three bases, drove in a run and scored a run for Kansas City.

The Blue Jays, who had scored four runs in their previous four games total, jumped to a 3-0 advantage. Teoscar Hernandez and Kendrys Morales walked to lead off the second and both scored. Pillar contributed a two-out RBI single, while the other run scored when Diaz grounded into a double play.

Heath Fillmyer walked two more Jays in the third and hit Russell Martin with a pitch with the bases loaded for the third run.

The Royals answered with three runs in third, which included Perez’s run-producing double and Whit Merrifield and Alex Gordon adding RBI singles.

Danny Jansen put the Blue Jays ahead 4-3 in the fourth with his first big league home run in his second game.

The Royals quickly tied it with Mondesi’s two-out single scoring Alcides Escobar, who had doubled.

Fillmyer left after five innings and 93 pitches, allowing four runs, five hits and five walks.

Blue Jays starter Ryan Borucki was pulled after four innings, yielding four runs, six hits and four walks.

The Royals have lost 10 of 12.

Rain delayed the start of the game 31 minutes.

DOUBLES FOR ESCOBAR

Escobar’s sixth-inning double was the 200th of his career. He is the 11th Royal to reach that milestone.

JAYS ACQUIRE BAKER

The Blue Jays acquired minor league RHP Bryan Baker from the Rockies as the player to be named in a July 26 trade that sent RHP Seunghawan Oh to Colorado. Baker posted a 3.80 ERA in 43 relief appearances with Class A Lancaster.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: Boyer was making his first appearance since April 29 and missing 61 games with a back strain. … RHP Aaron Sanchez (bruised right index finger) will make a rehab start Wednesday for Class A Dunedin in the Florida State League.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (5-9, 4.84 ERA) will start the third game of the series.

Royals: RHP Burch Smith (1-4, 6.97) will make his seventh start after beginning the season in the bullpen.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ryan O’Hearn homered and drove in a career-high three runs, Brad Keller threw seven strong innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Monday night to spoil Sean Reid-Foley’s major league debut.

Reid-Foley (0-1) was removed after 97 pitches and five innings, allowing three runs, six hits and three walks while striking out three. Reid-Foley is only the second player in major league history to be born in Guam. He was 12-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 23 minor league starts this season.

O’Hearn, a rookie who entered hitting .130 with three RBI, hit an opposite-field homer on Reid-Foley’s first pitch with Brett Phillips aboard with two outs in the second.

O’Hearn walked with the bases loaded in the fourth to bring home Lucas Duda, who led off the inning with a single.

Brad Keller (5-5) yielded one run and four hits to pick up his third victory in his past four decisions.

Wily Peralta worked around Justin Smoak’s walk leading off the ninth for his seventh save.

Devon Travis homered in the first for Toronto. It was his fourth home run in 26 at-bats at Kauffman Stadium.

Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen singled to left in the second in his first big league at-bat, but Alex Gordon threw out Russell Martin trying to score from second to end the inning. Gordon picked up his ninth assist and leads the majors with 91 outfield assists since 2010 when he was moved from third base to left field.

Whit Merrifield had three of Kansas City’s seven hits. The Royals got their second victory in 11 games.

The Blue Jays dropped 31 games behind AL East leader Boston, the furthest they have been out of first since ending 2004 33 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees.

RARE DUO DEBUTING

Reid-Foley and Jansen became the first batterymates to make their major league debuts at the same time in the American League since LHP Billy Rohr and C Russ Gibson on April 14, 1967 for Boston at Yankee Stadium. It has occurred five times in the past 25 years in the National League.

ROYALS DEFENSE SHINES

The Royals played their 13th straight errorless game, extending their club record. They have not committed an error in 120 innings.

“One thing we’ve consistently done this year is play defense,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “The same tune we were playing in the championship years. I’m pleased with the way we’ve played defensively. It’s a real struggle when you’re not winning games and playing sloppy defense. At least defensively, we’re giving ourselves a chance.”

Their last error was July 29 in the first inning at Yankee Stadium.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: 3B Josh Donaldson (left calf tightness) will begin running the bases this week. Manager John Gibbons is hopeful that Donaldson will play again this season. … An MRI revealed IF Yangervis Solarte (oblique) has a Grade 2 strain. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (shoulder impingement) was placed on the disabled list. RHP Glenn Sparkman was recalled from Triple-A Omaha and will start on Thursday in Duffy’s place.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: LHP Ryan Borucki is 2-2 with 2.81 ERA in his first eight starts.

Royals: RHP Heath Fillmyer pitched seven scoreless innings against the Cubs to win his previous start.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Heath Fillmyer allowed three singles over seven innings for his first major league win, Adalberto Mondesi and Drew Butera each drove in three, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago Cubs 9-0 Wednesday night.

Anthony Rizzo drilled Fillmyer (1-1) with a line drive on the left foot on his third pitch, but Fillmyer stuck around and didn’t allow another hit until David Bote and Tommy La Stella singled with one out in the seventh inning.

Mondesi belted a 2-0 pitch from Jose Quintana for a three-run homer in the seventh. It was Mondesi’s fourth home run and his first since July 15, a span of 42 at-bats.

Butera hit a two-run, two-out double with the bases loaded in the second inning and added a sacrifice fly during a four-run eighth.

Jorge Bonifacio, who entered hitting .103 in his past 16 games, Brett Phillips and Hunter Dozier each had two hits and a walk and combined to score seven runs. Bonifacio had an RBI double in the eighth, while Phillips contributed an RBI triple.

Quintana (10-8) dropped to 3-10 in 25 starts against the Royals. He was removed after Mondesi’s homer, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks.

The Royals snapped a six-game losing streak.

DARVISH UPDATE

Cubs RHP Yu Darvish threw a 33-pitch bullpen with his velocity reaching 93 mph.

“He looked loose and free to me,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I thought it was a really good day, no negatives.”

Darvish, who the Cubs signed to a six-year $126 million contract in February, has missed 69 games. He last pitched on May 20. Maddon said he anticipates Darvish will throw one more bullpen, and if he has no setback, would go on a minor league rehab assignment.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: IF-OF Ben Zobrist (sore hip) was out of the lineup after leaving Tuesday’s game in fifth inning. “Just a little bit sore, just precautionary,” Zobrist. “Let’s rest it and get back to it. It should be no problem at all Friday.”

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (left oblique strain) said he felt no discomfort the day after throwing a 25-pitch bullpen. He is scheduled to throw a 30-35 pitch bullpen Friday while mixing in more offspeed pitches.

UP NEXT

Cubs: After a day off, RHP Kyle Hendricks will start Friday against the Nationals at Wrigley Field.

Royals: Continue interleague play with a series beginning Friday against St. Louis. RHP Burch Smith will start the opener.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Montgomery allowed five hits over six-plus innings, David Bote drove in a career-high three runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 Tuesday night.

Montgomery (4-4), who the Royals drafted in the first round in 2008, picked up his first win since June 29. Montgomery is 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA in four appearances against the Royals.

Bote’s first career triple with two out in the first scored Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward. His fifth inning single scored Javier Baez.

Victor Caratini, who led off the inning with a single, scored on Zobrist’s sacrifice fly. Zobrist left in the bottom of the inning with left hip tightness.

Ian Happ’s sacrifice fly in the eighth scored Bote with the final run.

Royals rookie Brad Keller (4-5) was removed after six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks.

The Royals had only one runner past second base, when Adalberto Mondesi swiped third in the seventh.

The Royals have lost six straight and are 14-43 since May 30. They are tied with Baltimore for the worst record, 34-79, in the majors.

BRYANT UPDATE

Cubs 3B Kris Bryant took grounders and played catch, but has not picked up a bat since going on the disabled list on July 24 for the second time with left shoulder inflammation. “I’m really bored, not fun at all,” Bryant said. “But you gotta do what you gotta do to get healthy and hopefully it never happens again. It’s frustrating. It’s not fun to go in the trainer’s room every day. I feel like I’m normal but it’s only when I’m swinging the bat.” No timetable has been set on when the 2016 NL MVP player will return. “I’m not going to get ahead of myself,” he said.

HEYWARD BATS FOURTH

RF Jason Heyward batted cleanup for the first time this season for the Cubs.

ROYALS MAKE TRADE

The Royals acquired RHP Jon Perrin from the Brewers in a minor league trade. Perrin, 25, went to Olathe East, a suburban Kansas City high school, and Oklahoma State. He was assigned to their Double-A Northwest Arkansas club. The Royals sent Lexington RHP Sal Biasi to the Brewers.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: RHP Anthony Bass (right mid-thoracic strain) tossed a flawless inning Tuesday for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs against Las Vegas. Bass threw eight pitches, all strikes, in his second rehab appearance since going on the DL on July 21.

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (left oblique strain) threw a bullpen session for the first time since going on the DL on July 11. . OF Brian Goodwin (left groin strain) is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday, but manager Ned Yost said he would not. “I’m not sure what their timeline is,” Goodwin said. “I just keep getting better every day.”

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Jose Quintana, who is 3-9 versus the Royals, will start the series finale.

Royals: RHP Heath Fillmyer is looking for his first big league victory.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Javier Baez went deep, Cole Hamels pitched six strong innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Monday night.

Baez hit the first pitch from reliever Kevin McCarthy (4-4) in the sixth inning to center for his 25th home run, putting the Cubs ahead 2-1.

Baez doubled in the eighth to score Jason Heyward, upping his RBI total to an NL-leading 88.

Hamels (7-9) is 2-0 since the Cubs acquired him in a July 27 trade with the Texas Rangers. He allowed one run and seven hits.

Alcides Escobar’s two-out second-inning single scored Rosell Herrera for the first earned run Hamels allowed at Kauffman Stadium in four career starts, covering 21 2/3 innings.

Royals starter Jakob Junis worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth. Ben Zobrist and Heyward hit ground ball outs to end the inning.

The Royals loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but Hamels retired Hunter Dozier on a grounder to first baseman Anthony Rizzo on a full-count pitch.

Junis was removed after five innings and 87 pitches, allowing one run and five hits while striking out eight, one shy of his career high.

Zobrist led off the fourth with a triple and scored on Junis’ wild pitch.

Cubs relievers Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler and Pedro Strop limited the Royals to one single over the final three innings. Strop earned his eighth save in 11 chances, working a spotless ninth.

The Royals have lost five straight and are tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the worst record in the majors at 34-78.

Rain delayed the game 22 minutes in the fourth.

ZOBRIST RETURNS

Zobrist, who hit .303 with two home runs in 16 postseason games for the Royals in 2015, was back in Kansas City for the first time since the club won the World Series. He received a standing ovation before his first at-bat.

ROYALS LONG TRIP

The Royals were home for the first time since July 25, after a 3-7, three-city, 11-day trip to New York, Chicago and Minnesota. It included a rainout in New York, which was made up with a day-night doubleheader, plus two rain delays in Minnesota. “It seemed like it was a year,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: 3B Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation) threw before the game for the first since going on the disabled list on July 24. “It was good to get him out there doing some baseball stuff. It was good for him and for his head, too,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “There’s no regress, but there’s no finish lines attached.” … RHPs Brandon Morrow (right biceps inflammation) and Yu Darvish (right triceps tendinitis) played catch before the game. Darvish is scheduled to throw another bullpen session Wednesday.

Royals: OF Brian Goodwin (left groin strain) took batting practice. He is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Cubs: LHP Mike Montgomery, who was a 2008 Royals’ first-round pick, starts the middle game of the series.

Royals: Rookie RHP Brad Keller is 3-3 with a 3.90 ERA in 11 starts since moving into the rotation on May 30.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins’ blueprint for 2018 included a dynamic young center fielder making great plays on defense and coming up with big hits. Of course, that role was supposed to be filled by Byron Buxton, once considered the top prospect in baseball.

Instead, the Twins are rallying around Jake Cave.

Cave hit his first career grand slam and closer Fernando Rodney survived a chaotic ninth inning as the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Sunday.

Buxton’s 2018 has been mostly a washout due to injuries. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft was optioned to Triple-A Rochester and is currently on the minor league disabled list with an injured wrist. That opened the door for Cave, a 25-year-old rookie the Twins acquired in a minor league trade with the Yankees this spring.

“This is my dream,” said Cave, who’s more or less been the Twins’ everyday center fielder since late June. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Cave homered in his major league debut on May 19, and he established himself with a number of highlight-reel catches along the way, earning him the trust of manager Paul Molitor. The latest step in that process is came Sunday as Molitor started the left-handed hitting Cave against a hard-throwing lefty in Kansas City’s Danny Duffy (7-10), who had been tough on the Twins in three prior starts this season.

That trust was rewarded with two outs in the second inning when Cave jumped on a full-count fastball for his first career grand slam and fourth homer of the season to put the Twins on top 4-2.

“I know Duffy’s got good stuff, I know he’s a competitor, and I know he’s going to come right at me at some point with the heater,” Cave said. “I got it, just stayed short, didn’t try to do too much, and I was rewarded.”

Cave fell behind 1-2 in the at-bat and then laid off some tough pitches, including a curveball that just missed inside at 1-2 and a fastball just below the knees one pitch before the grand slam.

“I had him punched out twice, and it’s tough to see the ball go out of the yard,” Duffy said. “But you still have to keep pitching.”

Molitor likes what he’s seen so far from the Twins’ second choice in center field.

“He’s got a little moxie to his game. He’s not afraid to take some chances on the bases and defensively, which is good because when he got up here we said, `Don’t play tentative.’ If you play timid, the game will bite you,” Molitor said. “I think he’s taking advantage so far. Hopefully it’s a good step for him as he tries to get himself established up here.”

RODNEY WALKS THE TIGHTROPE

Rodney came on to protect a one-run lead and promptly gave up Whit Merrifield’s fourth hit of the game leading off the ninth. But catcher Mitch Garver threw out Merrifield trying to steal second. Alex Gordon then struck out. Big sigh of relief, right?

Hold that thought. Salvador Perez lined a single to center. Pinch runner Adalberto Mondesi stole second, then took third as Lucas Duda walked on a full-count pitch. Duda even stole second, his first stolen base since 2014.

But with the tying run 90 feet away, Rodney retired Rosell Herrera on a ground ball to earn his 24th save in 30 chances.

“I thought that we were going to find a way to score a run there,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We just couldn’t muster it.”

QUOTABLE

“It’s easy to get frustrated, which I did. I came back to the dugout and I had my little 30 seconds of being upset. But I know we’re winning this game, we’re up by one and we’ve got our big man (Rodney) coming in in the ninth. I’ve got no choice but to give my best for him.” — Garver, on refocusing after he grounded into a rally-killing double play in the eighth inning

SHORT START

Twins starter Ervin Santana lasted just 4 1/3 innings in his third start since spending half of the season on the disabled list. Santana gave up three runs on seven hits and left after throwing 78 pitches.

Lefty Gabriel Moya (2-0) got out of the two-on, one-out jam and earned his second career victory. He picked up career win No. 1 in Friday’s series opener.

“I just kind of felt we were at a little bit of a crossroad there,” Molitor said about pulling Santana in the fifth inning. “My gut told me we wanted to go ahead and try to get those last two outs with Moya, and thankfully he got it done.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Mondesi got a second day off to rest his right shoulder, which he strained while diving for a ball on Friday.

Twins: Grossman was replaced by a pinch runner after hitting a one-out single in the seventh. After initially listing him as day-to-day with a mild right hamstring strain, the team announced after the game that Grossman would be placed on the 10-day disabled list.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jakob Junis (6-11, 5.12 ERA) takes the mound on Monday to open a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs in Kansas City. In his last start, Junis pitched into the sixth inning and struck out five White Sox to pick up his first victory since May 18.

Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson (5-8, 3.47) will face the Indians for the second straight outing as the Twins open a three-game series in Cleveland on Monday. Gibson pitched six innings and allowed three earned runs while fanning six in a 6-2 loss to the Indians last Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Max Kepler had three hits, including a two-run homer that put Minnesota ahead to stay, and Jose Berrios threw seven sharp innings to help the Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2 on Saturday night.

Eddie Rosario and Logan Morrison also homered as the Twins won their second straight against the Royals. Kepler went 3 for 3 with a walk and scored two runs.

Berrios (11-8) had trouble throwing strikes in his middle innings and allowed the Royals to take a 2-1 lead after walking the bases loaded in the third. But the All-Star right-hander settled down and remained unbeaten against AL Central opponents this season.

The Twins regained the lead on Kepler’s homer off Burch Smith (1-3) in the fourth. Rosario added a sacrifice fly in the fifth, and Logan Forsythe and Bobby Wilson each drove in a run in the sixth.

Morrison added his 15th homer in seventh, a towering two-run shot off Glenn Sparkman that traveled an estimated 442 feet before landing in the right-field concourse.

Smith was charged with a season-high six runs in five-plus innings in his fifth start of the year.

Addison Reed and Oliver Drake combined for two innings of scoreless relief. Drake, claimed off waivers from Toronto on Friday, set a major league record by pitching for his fifth team this season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: Manager Paul Molitor said RHP Aaron Slegers (shoulder) would begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester on Saturday night. … RHP Michael Pineda is scheduled to begin his recovery from Tommy John surgery when he starts his rehab assignment with the Florida Gulf Coast on Monday.

JOHAN’S CALL

The Twins inducted former ace Johan Santana into the franchise’s hall of fame in a pregame ceremony. Santana, who won two AL Cy Young Awards during his eight seasons in Minnesota, became the 31st member of the Twins Hall of Fame. For five seasons, from 2003-07, he led the AL in wins (82), strikeouts (1,152), ERA (2.92) and opponent batting average (.212).

Surrounded by family and former teammates, Santana was introduced by former teammate Torii Hunter before being presented with a Twins blazer by Rod Carew.

“Go chase your dreams, work hard, be passionate about what you do. Have fun and never give up, and good things will happen to you,” Santana told the crowd.

Before the game, Twins manager Paul Molitor said he thought it was good for his current young crop of players to see former Twins players return to see Santana’s induction.

“It’s meaningful and I think it’s a good way for our organization to kind of bridge generation to generation through the hall of fame,” Molitor said.

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (7-9) will make his 24th start of the season Sunday. After posting a 6.88 ERA in his first 10 starts, he has a 3.00 ERA since May 24, the fourth-lowest in the AL in that stretch.

Twins: RHP Ervin Santana (0-0) looks to return to his ace form when makes his third start since returning from the 60-day DL after being sidelined by an injured finger. He has allowed a combined eight earned runs in 10 1/3 innings with six strikeouts this season.

— Associated Press —