The Kansas City Royals are headed home on a high note.

Wednesday’s 6-3 win over the Cleveland Indians was significant on several fronts for the Royals. The victory gave Kansas City a 5-4 road trip in which it won four of its last six games. The Royals, who are off Thursday, finished May with a 15-13 record, their first winning mark in the month since 2000.

Kansas City, which took two of three in both Baltimore and Cleveland after losing two of three in New York to open the trip, is 16-11 on the road. The Royals are 18-14 since losing 12 straight from April 11-24.

“It’s time to forget about the streak,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “We’ve played really good baseball from that point on and we’re going to continue to get better.”

“We played three good teams,” said left fielder Alex Gordon, who had two hits and drove in a run. “Baltimore and Cleveland are at the top of their divisions. We’re starting to play a little better. This road trip is definitely a positive.”

Bruce Chen overcame a rocky second inning and the Royals scored their first five runs with two outs. Chen (4-5) held Cleveland scoreless after giving up three runs in the second. Gordon, Johnny Giavotella, Mike Moustakas, Jeff Francoeur and Brayan Pena each had run-scoring hits to help Kansas City rally from a 3-0 deficit.

Chen worked the first five innings before relievers Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, Jose Mijares and Jonathan Broxton pitched scoreless ball over the final four innings. Broxton worked a shaky ninth for his 11th save.

Broxton retired the first batter, but Shin-Soo Choo walked and Jason Kipnis singled. Asdrubal Cabrera walked to load the bases, but Jose Lopez hit into a game-ending double play.

Cleveland, which has lost five of six, fell to 4-11 against left-handed starters.

The Indians announced before the game that designated hitter Travis Hafner will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Thursday and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Catchers Carlos Santana and Lou Marson and third baseman Jack Hannahan are also out with injuries.

Cleveland has an off-day Thursday, which is about the only good news manager Manny Acta has had in the last week.

“This was not a good series,” he said. “The week continues to be rough for us. Pitching sets the tone, and we aren’t setting the right one. The day off comes at a perfect time. We all need to go home and relax, and come back and play better baseball on Friday.”

Chen, who improved to 6-3 against Cleveland, chuckled when asked if he had to grind out the victory.

“It was a battle,” he said. “The bullpen did a great job. Once we got the lead, I couldn’t let my teammates down. It was a total team win.”

Jeanmar Gomez (3-4) gave up five runs in five innings. The Indians, who swept a three-game series from Detroit last week, lost all three games in Chicago over the weekend and dropped two of three against the Royals. Cleveland, which is off Thursday, fell out of first place in the AL Central for the first time since April 24 with Tuesday’s loss.

Kansas City scored twice in the third on an RBI double by Moustakas and a run-scoring single by Francoeur. Gordon’s run-scoring double and an RBI single by Giavotella put the Royals ahead in the fourth. Pena, who had three hits, added an RBI single in the fifth. The rallies in the fourth and fifth began with two outs and nobody on.

“That just shows you our offense right now,” said Yost. “They keep getting after it even with nobody on and two outs. That’s a good sign.”

The Indians scored three times in the second on run-scoring singles by Casey Kotchman and Choo and an RBI fielder’s choice by Luke Carlin.

Moustakas hit an RBI double in the third before Francoeur’s single to left made it 3-2.

The Royals scored two more with two outs in the fourth, when Gordon doubled off the wall in left and Giavotella hit a single through the right side .

Billy Butler, the only starter without a hit, added an RBI groundout in the eighth.

The Royals, who lost their first 10 home games of the season, return to Kauffman Stadium for a series against Oakland on Friday. Kansas City is major-league worst 5-17 at home.

“We’ve got to figure that out,” Gordon said. “We’ve been playing better on the road. It’s just one of those things that will come over time. We’re due for a good stretch at home.”

Gomez gave up 10 hits.

Left-hander Scott Barnes, called up from Triple-A Columbus before the game, made his major league debut in the sixth. He walked two and hit a batter, but didn’t allow a run.

Johnny Damon singled in the sixth for his 2,736th career hit, which moves him past Goose Goslin and into 54th place on the career list.

Cabrera played shortstop Wednesday and was 1 for 4 with a walk. He was the DH on Tuesday after missing four games with a strained hamstring.

— Associated Press —

Will Smith celebrated his first major league win by taking four showers.

Two by teammates dousing him with beer and two more to rinse off the suds.

“I’m very clean,” he said, “and very happy.”

Smith survived a shaky start and pitched six innings for his first win and Mike Moustakas had a career-best four RBIs, leading the Kansas City Royals to an 8-2 win over Cleveland on Tuesday night, bouncing the Indians out of first place in the AL Central for the first time in 28 days.

Moustakas hit a two-run homer off Justin Masterson (2-4) in the first inning and singled in two runs in the second as the Royals built a 7-2 lead for Smith (1-1).

That was more than enough support for the left-hander, who allowed two runs and four hits and rebounded nicely after being thumped by the New York Yankees in his big-league debut last week. Afterward, the humble 22-year-old was stunned by the moment.

“It’s just awesome,” said Smith, who was in the clubhouse for the final three innings. “An amazing feeling. You think of what it will be like your whole life. Just getting to the big leagues, and then to win? It’s a dream come true.”

Humberto Quintero added two RBIs as the Royals, despite three errors and 12 strikeouts, improved to 15-11 on the road.

Masterson, who beat Detroit ace Justin Verlander in his previous start, allowed seven earned runs in six innings.

The Indians have dropped four of five since sweeping the Tigers last week. Following the game, Indians manager Manny Acta opened his remarks by commenting on his team’s flat performance.

“I must confess, that had to be the most boring game I have ever been part of,” he said. “That second inning just sucked all the energy out of us.”

Smith took the mound with a 2-0 lead but quickly found trouble, walking the first two hitters he faced before giving up a single to load the bases. Smith limited the damage to two runs and gained strength as he went along. After he allowed two singles in the third, the only Cleveland player to reach — on a throwing error by third baseman Moustakas — was erased on a double play.

Smith walked two and struck out five.

“I just got mad and went after them,” he said. “It sure helps when your offense puts up some runs. I can’t thank them enough.”

Royals manager Ned Yost said he nearly pulled Smith in the first.

“It was real shaky, so much so that I had (Vin) Mazzaro warming up,” Yost said. “If it gets to four (runs), I’m getting him. I didn’t want to do it. Then he got after it. Getting the lead helped him regain composure and he pretty much said, ‘Enough of this.’ And he went right after people.”

Masterson trailed 7-2 after two innings but, like Smith, the right-hander found his groove and finished with no walks and eight strikeouts, his most since fanning 10 on Opening Day.

“It’s always one inning,” Masterson said.

Most of the pregame discussion centered around Cleveland closer Chris Perez’s gesture toward Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson in the ninth inning of Monday’s series opener.

Perez, who irked the Royals with comments earlier this season, celebrated a strikeout of Dyson by waving his hand — “You can’t see me” — in front of his face. Dyson was annoyed by Perez’s antics and was looking forward to getting even with the right-hander. That matchup never materialized as the Royals built a large lead and rolled.

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera went 1 for 4 as the DH after missing three consecutive games with a tight hamstring.

By the end of the second inning, Moustakas already had his four RBIs and was looking for more. After connecting for his eighth homer in the first, his two-run single capped a five-run outburst in the second off Masterson as the Royals opened a five-run lead.

Kansas City used small-ball tactics — a single, hit batter and sacrifice — to set things up before Quintero, Alex Gordon and Johnny Giavotella delivered RBI singles. Moustakas just missed hitting a three-run homer — the umpires left the field to review his shot to right — before his base hit made it 7-2.

Moustakas was batting just .115 (3 of 26) on the road trip before his homer in the first. With Giavotella on with a fielder’s choice, Moustakas drove Masterson’s 3-1 pitch over the wall in right-center to make it 2-0.

Moustakas could have accepted some of the credit for getting Smith his first win, but he passed the praise off to his young teammate.

“It’s a big night for Will,” he said. “That’s what today is all about. It was a lot of fun watching him get his first major league victory.”

The Indians tied it in their half on RBIs by Jose Lopez and Michael Brantley, and Cleveland seemed to have Smith reeling. But the smooth lefty, who lasted just 3 1/3 innings in his debut at Yankee Stadium, retired Aaron Cunningham on a pop out before striking out Lonnie Chisenhall.

— Associated Press —

Jason Kipnis is leading the way for the Cleveland Indians’ injury-ravaged lineup.

Kipnis had three hits and two RBIs, Jose Lopez drove in three runs and Lonnie Chisenhall homered in his first at-bat after being recalled from the minors as reinforcement to help the Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 8-5 Monday.

“We can’t replace the guys we’ve lost, but we’re scoring some runs,” said Kipnis, who is 12 for 24 with six RBIs over his past six games.

Cleveland was without ailing 3-4-5 hitters Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner, but had 14 hits to snap a three-game losing streak.

“You’ve got to give it to these guys,” manager Manny Acta said. “They find a way. I was glad we cut off that streak. Guys like Kipnis do a pretty good job of putting things behind them. They just say, ‘Let’s go get ’em.'”

Josh Tomlin (2-2) gave up four runs and four hits in five innings. The right-hander had not pitched since May 7 due to right wrist tendinitis.

“I felt fine, like I could have kept going,” Tomlin said, adding that he understood the Indians’ cautious approach with him.

Kipnis had a two-run single in a five-run third against Nate Adcock (0-3) as the first-place Indians maintained a half-game lead in the AL Central over the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland had lost three in a row at Chicago over the weekend, allowing 35 runs.

“That series was kind of a train wreck for us,” Tomlin said. “We wanted to get back here and get a win.”

Chris Perez, at odds with booing fans 10 days ago, got a standing ovation as he worked a perfect ninth for his 17th save. His only blown save came on Opening Day.

“I feel great, confident,” Perez said. “I felt that way in spring training, too. That’s why Opening Day was a head-scratcher.”

Kansas City got a two-run homer from Eric Hosmer and a solo drive by Brayan Pena but lost for the eighth time in 12 games.

With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Kipnis sent a hard grounder through the middle for two runs and a 3-2 Indians lead. Lopez followed with a chopper off the plate for an RBI single. Third baseman Mike Moustakas had no play on Lopez, but caught Kipnis advancing too far around second. Second base umpire Dan Bellino ruled that Kipnis ducked under Moustakas’ tag and made it to third.

“He said he never saw him tag him,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Everybody else in the stadium saw it. I don’t know how he managed to miss it.”

Moustakas was certain he tagged Kipnis.

“(Bellino) might have been in a bad spot,” Moustakas said. “He couldn’t see anything. That was something we needed right there. He ends up scoring. We can’t have that.”

Kipnis’ escape act surprised Acta.

“I tell guys to make them throw the ball,” he said. “Chances of getting out of a rundown are small, but Kipnis is so athletic.”

Casey Kotchman’s RBI single made it 5-2 and finished Adcock.

Chisenhall, recalled from Triple-A Columbus when third baseman Jack Hannahan went on the disabled list before the game with a strained left calf, homered to open the third. Chisenhall went 2 for 4 as the designated hitter in place of Hafner, who missed his fifth game in a row with an inflamed right knee.

“Just to be back here is great and to have a pretty good day adds to it,” said Chisenhall, who hit .267 in 66 games as a rookie last year.

Hosmer’s sixth homer put the Royals ahead 2-0 in the second. It was his first homer in 104 at-bats, since connecting April 25 off Cleveland’s Ubaldo Jimenez. Twenty of Hosmer’s 25 career homers have been in road games.

Pena’s first homer, to start the fifth, closed Kansas City to 5-3. Jarrod Dyson followed with a triple into the right-field corner and scored when Kipnis’ relay throw from second bounced into the stands for an error.

Lopez’s RBI single off the left-field wall made it 6-4 in the bottom half before Dyson’s speed helped the Royals again in the seventh. He walked, stole second and scored on Alcides Escobar’s single to make it 6-5.

Michael Brantley and Lopez had RBIs in the bottom half to make it 8-5.

Adcock gave up four earned runs and six hits over 2 1/3 innings. After the game, he was sent back to Triple-A Omaha for the third time since April 28. Right-hander Vin Mazzaro was called up and will work in long relief.

— Associated Press —

Jeff Francoeur had a terrific weekend, and the notoriously streaky hitter hopes the rest of the Royals will follow his success.

Francoeur had two more hits on Sunday, including a go-ahead home run, and Kansas City beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2.

Francoeur finished 7 for 12 in the three-game series. In his last 14 games, he is batting .379 with all five of his home runs this season, two of them on this trip to Baltimore.

“I think you’re starting to see us all kind of get in a groove, which I think we all thought we’d do this year sooner rather than later,” he said.

Kansas City won two consecutive games for the first time since a four-game winning streak from May 12-15.

“I think we knew it was time to kind of get going here,” Francoeur said.

Billy Butler also homered and Alcides Escobar had two hits. Butler had home runs in successive games for the Royals, but was happiest for Francoeur.

“Frenchie is going through one of the better stretches I’ve seen anybody go through. I hope he can sustain it,” Butler said.

Kansas City had superb relief pitching in the last two games. They limited the Orioles to four singles in 7 2/3 innings.

Tim Collins (2-0) was the winner with 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief of starter Luke Hochevar.

Collins, Kelvin Herrera, Jose Mijares, Aaron Crow and Jonathan Broxton combined to limit the Orioles to one hit in the final 4 1/3 innings. Broxton closed for his 10th save in 12 chances.

With two outs in the ninth, J.J. Hardy hit a short fly. Francoeur came in from right field and converged with second baseman Johnny Giavotella, who dropped the ball for an error that allowed Hardy to reach second. Nick Markakis struck out to end the game.

“We’ve got guys with some pretty electric stuff,” Butler said.

Baltimore’s Adam Jones, whose six-year, $85.5 million contract extension was officially announced before the game, extended his career-long hitting streak to 18 — longest in the majors this season — with a fifth-inning double.

The Orioles have lost five of seven.

Brian Matusz (4-5) had a three-game winning streak broken. He allowed three earned runs and seven hits in six innings.

Francoeur hit a leadoff home run in the sixth that put Kansas City ahead 3-2.

“He’s just hot right now, swinging the bat really well. He’s got a good eye for the plate, battles with two strikes. Fouls a lot of pitches off and makes the pitches work. He’s just hot and was able to connect,” Matusz said.

Butler hit a long, arcing home run to left field in the first off Matusz. The Orioles tied it in the bottom half on a single by Hardy and an RBI double by Markakis.

In the second, Francoeur hit a sinking liner to center field that Jones mishandled. It was ruled a single and an error. With one out, Escobar lined a ball off second baseman Robert Andino’s glove for a single. Mitch Maier bunted to Matusz, and Francoeur scored on the safety squeeze for a 2-1 lead.

Baltimore tied it in fourth when Andino, who reached on a fielder’s choice with one out, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Humberto Quintero’s throwing error. Xavier Avery, who had been in a 2-for-22 rut, hit an RBI single.

The Royals broke the 2-all tie in the sixth when Francoeur led off with a home run to left field that was barely fair. It was his fifth home run of the season, all on the road. With one out, Escobar singled, and he scored on Quintero’s RBI double.

“We didn’t do much after the fifth there. That was the story. They made us pay for whatever mistakes Brian made. We had trouble with Butler and Francoeur and they got us again here,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

Hochevar started and threw 100 pitches in 4 2/3 innings. He allowed one earned run and seven hits. He entered with an 0-3 record and 9.47 ERA at Camden Yards.

— Associated Press —

Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees are still looking to bust out with that big hit. The mood in the clubhouse was much better, though, following a much-needed win.

Robinson Cano homered, Phil Hughes beat Kansas City for the second time this month and New York eked out a 3-2 victory over the Royals on Tuesday night.

Derek Jeter delivered a bases-loaded single that tied the score and New York rallied from an early two-run deficit to snap a three-game skid. Shut out Monday in the series opener, the Yankees (22-21) went 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position — one night after they finished 0 for 13 in those situations for their worst performance with RISP since 1990.

“It wasn’t that pretty, but that was a good win,” said Rodriguez, who struck out with the bases loaded but combined with Mark Teixeira on a game-saving defensive play. “It felt really good to win a game like this. Sometimes you need a game like this to kind of get you on a roll. Hopefully it’s a good sign of things to come. We haven’t been winning these kinds of games.”

New York, which had lost six of seven to drop into a last-place tie with Boston in the AL East, now has eight hits in its last 79 at-bats (.101) with runners in scoring position.

Hughes (4-5) gave up five hits in six innings while striking out seven, beating Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar (3-5) for the second time in 17 days.

“It seemed like nothing was a walk in the park tonight,” Hughes said.

The Yankees caught a break when Mike Moustakas lined into a double play to end the eighth. Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his third save, retiring Alcides Escobar with a runner on third to end Kansas City’s five-game winning streak away from home.

Rodriguez fielded Escobar’s grounder behind third base and made a high throw across the diamond. Teixeira stretched out his 6-foot-3 frame and kept his toe on the bag as New York got the call on a bang-bang play.

“I don’t think there’s many other first basemen in the league that could stretch like that and make that play,” Hughes said.

“Had ’em all the way,” Jeter said.

Cano put the Yankees on the scoreboard with a long solo homer in the fourth, making him 6 for 12 with three home runs and nine RBIs against Hochevar — including a grand slam May 6 in Kansas City.

New York tagged Hochevar for seven runs and seven hits over 2 1/3 innings in that outing and he entered Tuesday night 0-2 with an 8.83 ERA in four career games against the Yankees.

He hung tough this time, coughing up a 2-0 lead but keeping Kansas City in it when the Yankees appeared poised to finally break loose.

Teixeira, batting seventh for the second consecutive game, singled through the shift to start the fifth and went to second when Jeff Francoeur bobbled the ball in right for an error. Russell Martin was grazed by a pitch and Dewayne Wise reached on a perfectly placed bunt single even though the Royals were expecting a sacrifice.

Once again, the Yankees had the bases loaded and none out with big hitters coming up. They came up empty in that situation during Monday night’s 6-0 defeat, but not this time.

Jeter dumped an RBI single into right and Curtis Granderson drove in a run with a groundout, giving New York a 3-2 lead.

“We scored a lot of runs right after that and piled on,” Jeter said sarcastically.

Cano was intentionally walked to load the bases for Rodriguez, and the Yankees had a chance to really bust it open. But Rodriguez struck out, drawing boos from the crowd of 37,674, and Raul Ibanez went down swinging as well.

New York never managed another baserunner.

“Hoch pitched great. He did a great job in that inning. They didn’t really hit the ball hard,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He limited the damage big-time.”

Kansas City grabbed an early lead when No. 9 batter Humberto Quintero went the other way on Hughes’ hanging curve for an RBI double in the second.

Francoeur added a solo shot in the fourth to make it 2-0, his third homer this season and second in two nights at Yankee Stadium.

Hughes has served up 11 home runs in 47 1/3 innings this year. He has allowed at least one in all nine starts, the longest streak by a Yankees pitcher since Jack McDowell in 1995.

— Associated Press —

With every out the New York Yankees made and every run they gave up, the boos from the sparse crowd got louder.

New York’s 6-0 defeat to the Kansas City Royals on a misty, dreary Monday night was the Yankees’ sixth loss in seven games, dropping them into last place in the AL East this late in the season for the first time since 2008.

“At times, it looks like there’s 20 people out there playing defense,” Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. “It happens every year. It happens to every team. It doesn’t look good when you’re going through it, but you’ve got to have confidence.”

Felipe Paulino blanked New York for the second time in a month, and Mike Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur hit two-run homers.

New York’s bats fizzled once again, going 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position with five strikeouts and a foulout — the Yankees’ most hitless at-bats with RISP since July 1990. Jeered repeatedly by their increasingly impatient fans, the Yankees dropped to 21-21, their worst record at this point in the season since they started 20-25 in 2008 — the only time since 1994 that New York failed to make the playoffs. They’re tied with Boston for the division cellar.

“You’re going to hear it on the road, and you’re going to hear it at home when you don’t play well,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s because our fans are passionate and they want us to win. And I understand that. So do the guys in that room. If they’re unhappy with us, believe me, we’re probably unhappier.”

New York stranded runners at the corners in the first, then wasted a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third when Robinson Cano took a slider for a called third strike, Alex Rodriguez struck out swinging on a fastball and Raul Ibanez flied out to the left-field warning track. The Yankees stranded runners at third in the fourth and sixth innings, left two on in the seventh and another in the ninth.

New York is 7 for 37 (.189) with the bases loaded this season and hitting .222 with runners in scoring position, including 6 for 72 (.083) in its last nine games. The Yankees are 0-10 when they fail to hit a home run.

“It’s very frustrating,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve talked about it over and over again. You can’t really describe it. It’s not a lot of fun obviously going out and not getting the job done. But at this point, nobody’s going to feel sorry for us.”

Hiroki Kuroda (3-6) allowed three runs, seven hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings, failing to retire the side in order in an inning and raising his ERA to 4.56. After adding Andy Pettitte to the rotation and sending Garcia to the bullpen, pressure may increase on New York to make another move, such as signing free agent Roy Oswalt.

Paulino (2-1) became the first starter to pitch shutout ball against the Yankees in consecutive outings since Boston’s Josh Beckett on April 10 and May 14 last year, according to STATS LLC. Following up on his six innings of four-hit ball on May 5, Paulino allowed six hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out eight and walked two.

“Bases loaded, nobody out against the meat of their order and got through it. A runner on third, one out and got through it. So, he’s pitching really, really well,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Kansas City opened a nine-game trip by beating the Yankees for the third time in five meetings this year, and Yost got his 600th win as a manger — earning a beer shower from his players.

Batting cleanup for the first time in his big league career, Moustakas homered in the first inning with a drive that clanked high off the right-field foul pole.

“It’s really cool,” Moustakas said. “Coming into this park, you know all the history behind old Yankee Stadium and the kind of things they brought. Just to play in this stadium is awesome.”

Eric Hosmer added an RBI double in the third, and Francoeur homered into the visitor’s bullpen in the seventh on Freddy Garcia’s second pitch of the night.

In a sign of the Yankees’ frustration, Garcia threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the eighth, then spiked the ball in disgust. In the sixth, Mark Teixeira put both hands on his head incredulously after throwing late to third on Irving Falu’s grounder instead of taking the sure out at first.

By the time Jeter hit a game-ending lineout, completing a seven-hitter, only a few thousand fans remained.

“We have a lot of baseball to be played,” Rodriguez said.

But as Yogi Berra famously said, it gets late early.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of frustration in here,” Rodriguez said. “We know we’re capable of doing a lot more, and I think we will. Tomorrow would be a great day to start.”

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Royals never had seen Wade Miley pitch before Sunday and are happy they won’t see him again anytime soon.

Miley tossed seven sharp innings, John McDonald drove in the first run with a bunt single, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat Kansas City 2-0.

“That was an easy game to call for me because everything he threw was working,” Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero said. “Miley threw a great game. He worked fast and stayed ahead in the count. I don’t think those guys were too comfortable in the box.”

Miley (5-1) limited the Royals to five hits, throwing 99 pitches and lowering his ERA to 2.14. The rookie walked two and struck out three, sending Kansas City to its 17th loss in 22 home games this season.

“Miley was that good,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We’ve watched video on him. He was exactly what we thought he’d be. He’s got really good stuff, commands the ball down and kind of throws across his body, has a very quick arm and is tough to pick up. He’s got a real good changeup, a nice cutter. He was tough on us.”

David Hernandez and J.J. Putz each pitched an inning to finish off the shutout. Putz earned his ninth save in 11 opportunities.

Jeff Francoeur had four of Kansas City’s seven hits to match his career high. It was Francoeur’s 10th four-hit game and first since Aug. 23, 2011, in Toronto.

“Miley’s good,” Francoeur said. “He’s really good. He’s good as advertised. He pounds the strike zone, throws three good pitches. You can see why he made their starting rotation lately — 5-1 is pretty darn good.”

Paul Goldschmidt led off the Diamondbacks fifth with a double, stopped at third on Aaron Hill’s single and scored on McDonald’s bunt single that first baseman Eric Hosmer failed to field cleanly.

Right-hander Nate Adcock (0-2), just recalled from Triple-A Omaha and making his first start of the season, held Arizona to five hits and one run over five innings.

The Royals got four runners to third base — Francoeur in the second and fifth, and Billy Butler in the fourth and eighth — but failed to get them home. They went 0 for 5 with runners at third and 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

“Miley’s makeup is what makes him good,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “He believes in himself, he believes in his catcher and he believes the scouting reports.”

Francoeur tripled off the right-field wall with two outs in the sixth for Kansas City’s only extra-base hit. Alex Gordon grounded out to end the inning.

“Everything I threw Francoeur hit,” Miley said “When I threw him a fastball early in the count, he hit it. I tried to go soft on him early and then come back with the heater and he hit it. He was locked in on everything I threw.”

The Royals’ best chance to score came in the fourth. Butler led off with a walk and advanced to second on Francoeur’s single before Gordon moved up both runners with a groundout. Miley, however, pitched out of danger by retiring Hosmer on an infield popup and Brayan Pena on a grounder.

“That’s a big win for us,” Miley said. “We win the series and the win puts us over .500 on the road trip. I was happy to keep us in the game.”

The Diamondbacks manufactured a run without a hit in the eighth. Gerardo Parra led off with a walk and Ryan Roberts sacrificed. Greg Holland’s wild pitch allowed Parra to reach third and Justin Upton hit a sacrifice fly to right.

The Royals were shut out for the fourth time. They are 2-8 when the opponent starts a left-hander.

— Associated Press —

The Diamondbacks are finally getting things to fall in their favor.

Chris Young came off the disabled list Friday night and provided a pair of RBIs. Joe Saunders kept Arizona in the game after a shaky start, and Miguel Montero drove in three runs against the Kansas City Royals, including the deciding two in the eighth inning for a 6-4 win.

“Bringing CY back today was certainly uplifting to the team,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “It was a big win for us, two in a row.”

Modest for a winning streak, but something that hasn’t happened since April 29-May 1.

The Royals had pulled into a tie in the seventh before Kelvin Herrera (0-1) gave up back-to-back singles to Willie Bloomquist and Justin Upton to start the eighth. Montero’s second double of the game off reliever Tim Collins gave the Diamondbacks the lead.

Relievers Brad Ziegler (3-1) and Craig Breslow got the game to J.J. Putz, who worked around a two-out walk to Billy Butler in the ninth for his eighth save of the season.

Young had been out since hurting his right shoulder running into a wall during a game against Pittsburgh on April 17. Gibson put him at designated hitter Friday night, allowing him to get some at-bats without having to test his shoulder in the outfield.

It was the first time he’d played DH in 776 career games. The option isn’t available unless the Diamondbacks are playing in an American League ballpark.

“It’s a way different lineup with him in it,” said Saunders, who allowed three runs in the first three innings before shutting down Kansas City over the next three. “It gives us more balance, more power. It gives us more opportunities to do different things.”

Humberto Quintero drove in a pair of runs and Butler went deep for Kansas City, which has lost three straight by a combined five runs after leading in each of them.

The Royals dropped to 4-16 at home this season.

“We’ve got to play better,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We can come up with all the excuses, all the reasons why, but the bottom line is we just need to play better, and put our game together at little better. We need to pitcher better and hit better at home.

“We’ve been really good on the road,” he said. “We need to find a way to do it at home.”

Arizona struck early on Montero’s run-scoring double in the first, but that’s all they could manage until the sixth. Luis Mendoza retired the next 12 batters he faced for Kansas City.

The Royals jumped on Saunders in the second inning with back-to-back singles by Johnny Giavotella and Mike Moustakas. Mitch Maier grounded back to Saunders, but his throw to second base was high, preventing Arizona from turning a double play and putting runners on the corners.

Quintero followed with a two-run double, his third straight two-RBI game.

Butler pushed the Royals’ lead to 3-1 with his homer to center leading off the third. It was his seventh of the year, a total he didn’t reach last season until July 22.

Arizona finally solved Mendoza in the sixth inning.

Gerardo Parra, Bloomquist and Upton all singled in the span of four pitches, bringing the Diamondbacks within 3-2. Montero struck out to bring up Young, who picked up the hot hitting he was doing before getting hurt by lacing a two-run double into the left-field corner.

Kansas City answered in the bottom half of the inning.

Irving Falu doubled to right and advanced to third on Butler’s groundout. Gibson drew in the infield to protect the plate, but the move backfired when Alex Gordon slapped a tying single past first baseman Paul Goldschmidt — a ground ball that he normally could have fielded.

Montero made that a moot point with his go-ahead double in the eighth.

“He understands what he needs to do,” Gibson said. “He got ahead in the count and waited for a pitch to hit and came through with a big one.”

— Associated Press —

On the road against the American League’s best offense isn’t the most ideal way to make your season debut. Vin Mazzaro made the most of it.

Mazzaro kept Texas’ potent lineup in check for five innings, and Billy Butler and Brayan Pena each drove in a pair of runs to lead the Kansas City Royals to their second straight win over the Rangers, 7-4 on Tuesday night.

The Royals, losers of 12 straight last month, have now won five of six games and pulled off a rare two-game sweep of the Rangers — Kansas City’s first since 1977.

“To come in here and win two games is big for us,” said Royals manager Ned Yost. “Our pitching has been pretty good. That shows you how good.”

Mazzaro, making the start in place of left-hander Danny Duffy, who is out for the season with a torn elbow ligament, gave up three runs on seven hits. He had two strikeouts.

“It’s a tough situation,” Mazzaro said of the injury to Duffy. “But any situation you get thrown in you have to give it your best. You never know when you’ll get another one. I just went out there and stayed focused on every pitch.”

Mazzaro and the Royals got a little help from two throwing errors by Rangers starter Colby Lewis (3-3), which led to five unearned runs in the first two innings.

Mike Moustakas, who reached base for a 22nd consecutive game, homed in the third for Kansas City.

Major league home run leader Josh Hamilton, who is only the fourth player in 40 years to lead the majors’ triple crown categories 35 games into a season, according to information provided by the Rangers from the Elias Sports Bureau, extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single and added a sacrifice fly.

Reliever Tim Collins struck out five of the six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings for the Royals, who handed Lewis his third loss in May.

“Collins was dynamite tonight,” said manager Ned Yost. “The bullpen has been doing it all year long.”

Lewis’ throwing error on a comebacker to the mound by Eric Hosmer put runners on second and third with no outs in the first. Jarrod Dyson scored on Butler’s fielder’s choice and Lewis retired Alex Gordon on a flyout to left field before Jeff Francoeur doubled and Moustakas was hit by a pitch. Pena followed with a two-run single to put the Royals up 3-0.

Moustakas came around to score on Chris Getz’s run-scoring base hit.

Kansas City sent nine hitters to the plate in the inning.

“The only thing we can look back at is that Colby should have made that play,” said Texas manager Ron Washington. “If he makes that play, it’s a zero on the scoreboard.

“They swung the bat, but those at-bats wouldn’t have happened if we execute some plays.”

Dyson led off the second with a single and advanced to second when Lewis bounced a pickoff attempt short and wide of the bag. Butler hit a double to score Dyson and put Kansas City ahead 5-0.

The run support was plenty for Mazzaro and the bullpen, which held the majors’ top-scoring team to one run in four innings. Mazzaro had made six starts with Triple-A Omaha this season, going 1-0 with a 4.37 ERA. Before his promotion May 8, Mazzaro had allowed just two runs on eight hits in 13 innings in his last two starts.

David Murphy and Mitch Moreland had RBIs for the Rangers, and Brandon Snyder homered in the ninth.

Dyson reached base three times for Kansas City, including a double to lead off the game.

— Associated Press —