Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler homered, Bruce Chen won four consecutive starts for the first time in his career and the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 on Tuesday night.

Jeff Francoeur matched his career high with four hits as the Royals, who had lost six of seven away from home, opened a 10-game, 10-day road trip on a winning note.

Chen (9-5) improved to 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA in five August starts. The left-hander allowed three runs and four hits in 7 2/3 innings. He walked one and tied a career best nine strikeouts.

Chen was perfect through three innings before Yunel Escobar singled to open the fourth, snapping an 0-for-17 slump.

Greg Holland replaced Chen after Mike McCoy drew a two-out walk in the eighth. McCoy stole second but Holland got Escobar to ground out.

Joakim Soria gave up an RBI single to Adam Lind in the ninth but finished for his 23rd save in 30 opportunities.

Kansas City came in having lost seven of nine overall and 21 of its previous 28 in Toronto but jumped on Blue Jays right-hander Brandon Morrow with a three-run, four-hit second.

Hosmer led off with a homer to center, his 11th and first since July 27 at Boston. Francoeur doubled and Johnny Giavotella followed with an RBI single to center, advancing to second on Colby Rasmus’ fielding error. Salvador Perez capped the rally with an RBI single.

The Royals chased Morrow in the fifth, scoring three more runs. Butler hit a one-out homer to left, his 16th. Hosmer singled, stole second and scored on Giavotella’s double. Perez ended Morrow’s night with an RBI triple to right.

Morrow (9-8) lost for the third time in four starts, allowing six runs and a season-high 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.

Escobar had the only big hit of the night against Chen, a three-run homer to center in the sixth, his 11th. Chen responded by setting down the next seven batters in order.

Blue Jays right-hander Joel Carreno made his major league debut in the sixth and worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

— Associated Press —

Jon Lester loves to face the Kansas City Royals.

Lester curbed the Royals on three hits for six-plus innings and Jason Varitek tripled for the first time in more than four years as the Boston Red Sox won 6-1 on Sunday.

“My stuff at times was good and at other times I was trying to do too much, overthrowing the ball a little bit,” Lester said.

Lester (13-7) has allowed two runs and six hits in 13 innings in his past two starts to beat Kansas City and Tampa Bay. He is 5-1 with a 1.30 ERA in seven career starts against the Royals, including a no-hitter on May 19, 2008.

Carl Crawford and Darnell McDonald hit solo home runs for the Red Sox. McDonald replaced Jacoby Ellsbury, who missed his second straight game with a contusion in his back after being hit by a pitch Friday.

The Red Sox took 3 of 4 from the Royals although other starters David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew were also out with injuries.

“It’s nice to know when those guys are out you have other guys to fill in and do a good job,” Lester said. “That’s big for us, a confidence-booster definitely. Guys that filled in those spots did a good job.”

Varitek’s two-out triple rolled to the right-center fence, allowing Jed Lowrie to score in the fifth to break a scoreless deadlock. Lowrie led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a Crawford ground out. Varitek’s triple was his first since June 24, 2007 at San Diego off Jake Peavy.

How did it feel?

“Not so good,” said Varitek, who was icing both knees at his clubhouse stall. “I’m just spacing them out. With two outs, it didn’t look like it’s something I shouldn’t have any problem getting to (third).”

Red Sox manager Terry Francona joked “speed never takes a day off.”

“It’s not like Jacoby and Carl, trust me,” the 39-year-old Varitek said.

“It’s not often you see Tek get a triple,” Lester said.

McDonald, who had three hits, hit his fifth home run of the season in the sixth on an 0-2 pitch from Royals rookie left-hander Danny Duffy (3-7). Aaron Crow gave up a home run to Crawford, his eighth, in the seventh inning.

Ryan Lavarnway, Adrian Gonzalez and Lowrie had RBIs in the eighth as the Red Sox scored three runs off Louis Coleman, one of four rookie pitchers the Royals used.

Duffy gave up two runs on five hits in six innings, while striking out three and walking two. He has lost four August starts since a July 31 victory at Cleveland.

Johnny Giavotella led off the Royals seventh with a triple and scored on Mike Moustakas’ single for the only run off Lester. He was replaced by Daniel Bard after 113 pitches with two runners on base. Bard retired the next three hitters.

“It’s nothing unexpected from him,” Lester said of Bard’s performance. “He’s done it since he’s been up here. It’s big to have a guy like that in our bullpen. That’s what he’s done all year. It makes your job a little easier as a starter, knowing you have those guys down there.”

The Royals loaded the bases on two walks and a Lowrie error in the second, but Lester retired Alcides Escobar on a comeback to end the inning.

“Jed makes that play basically 10 out of 10 times,” Lester said. “You have to pick your teammates up sometimes like they pick you up. I was able to minimize the damage.”

Lester did not allow a hit until Perez’s single with two out in the fourth.

“Jon Lester is bona fide,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He’s a premier lefty in this league and he showed why.”

— Associated Press —

Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas had never faced a knuckleball pitcher before Saturday night.

By the sixth inning, both Royals rookies figured out how to hit the floater.

Alex Gordon and Hosmer each drove in two runs in an eight-run sixth inning to help the Royals rally to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-4 on Saturday night, depriving knuckleballer Tim Wakefield of his 200th victory.

Wakefield, who is 0-2 with three no-decisions since a July 24 triumph over Seattle, took a 4-1 lead into the sixth, but failed to get out of the inning. He was pulled after giving up three consecutive hits with one out and the Red Sox holding onto a 4-3 advantage.

“A lot of these kids had never even seen a knuckleball before, so the third time around might have made a difference,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He would leave a couple up, but the majority were really dancing good and really dive bombing once it got into the strike zone.

“The speed of 66-67 miles per hour is difficult to time when the ball is fluttering that much. Finally there in the sixth, we did some damage. His knuckleball was really dancing. It was good to get him out of there. It was good to keep the hits coming.”

Gordon’s two-run double off Matt Albers (4-4) put the Royals up 6-4. Hosmer, who started the rally with a single off Wakefield, capped off scoring with a two-run triple off Franklin Morales.

“It was different,” Hosmer said of facing Wakefield’s knuckleball. “It seems like every pitch is moving some way different. Some are dropping and some are staying up. You’ve got to tell yourself don’t overswing, nice and easy and take it the other way. That’s why he’s been in the game this long cause it’s a great pitch. When he throws it and it’s moving how he wants it to move, it’s pretty effective.

“That first fastball from that left-hander (Morales) seemed like it was 105 miles per hour after seeing knuckleballs all the time.”

The Royals also got run-producing doubles by Jeff Francoeur and Mike Moustakas. Chris Getz’s single scored Moustakas to tie the score at 4-4.

“He’s got an unbelievable knuckleball,” Moustakas said. “You saw what he did the first five innings. He shut us down pretty good. That’s just a tribute to what he does. He’s been in this league a long time and it shows you what he’s capable of.

“Hitting the knuckleball is not an easy thing. It’s tough. It dances all over the plate. You almost have to get lucky a little bit for the ball to float into your zone and you put a good swing on it.”

The eight-run sixth matched a Royals season-high for an inning. Gordon led the Royals’ offense with two doubles and an eighth inning single for his 500th career hit.

The 45-year-old Wakefield gave up four runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Hosmer, Moustakas and Salvador Perez were not even born when Wakefield began his professional career in 1988 as a weak-hitting first baseman for Watertown in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system. He moved to the mound the next year.

“I’m not frustrated,” Wakefield said. “I felt normal just like the last five starts. I take it like a normal start. I’m trying to get outs and give us a quality start.”

Boston built a 3-1 lead in the fourth when they had four singles and a walk. Carl Crawford’s single scored Dustin Pedroia, who led off the inning with a single. Darnell McDonald’s sacrifice fly scored Josh Reddick with the other run.

The Red Sox missed an opportunity for a much bigger inning when former Royal Mike Aviles flied out to deep center, leaving the bases loaded.

Boston added a run in the sixth when Ryan Lavarnway’s single brought home Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who led off the inning with a double, for his first big league RBI.

The Red Sox scored a run in the third, which Lavarnway led off with a walk, took second on a Paulino wild pitch and third on a McDonald bunt single. He scored when Marco Scutaro grounded into a double play.

Billy Butler’s double to right in the bottom of the inning scored Escobar.

— Associated Press —

Jarrod Saltalamacchia pounded out a three-run homer, left-hander Andrew Miller gave Red Sox manager Terry Francona precisely what he was looking for and Boston rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Miller (5-1) allowed one run on three hits and a pair of walks over 5 1/3 innings, rarely finding himself in any trouble against the Royals’ feeble offense. It was his first start since July 31 after a pair of appearances out of the bullpen, and his first victory since July 20 at Baltimore.

He was pulled after just 83 pitches because Francona knew he’d be short on stamina. Alfredo Aceves followed up with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for his second save.

Adrian Gonzalez added three hits and a sacrifice fly for Boston. Jed Lowrie had a hat trick of singles, and Darnell McDonald had an RBI triple as the Red Sox piled up 13 hits.

Boston (76-48) remained a half-game behind the New York Yankees in the AL East after roughing up Jeff Francis (4-14), who has just one win in his past 11 starts. The lefty was responsible for five runs on 11 hits and two walks in five innings, his second straight miserable start.

Francis gave up six runs in 3 2/3 innings last Sunday against the White Sox.

Jacoby Ellsbury was hit by a pitch from Royals reliever Everett Teaford in the eighth inning. He walked gingerly to first base but remained in the game, and showed no problem rounding the bases on Mike Aviles’ RBI double. Ellsbury was removed in the bottom half of the inning.

Rookie DH Ryan Lavarnway, who went 0-for-4 in his debut Thursday night, grounded out in the first inning and flied out in the third, leaving the bases loaded each time. He finally singled for his first big league hit in the fifth, and the Royals made sure the ball got back to the Boston dugout.

The Royals, with the youngest lineup in the major leagues, are certainly experiencing some growing pains against the beasts from the East. The Yankees won two of three against them earlier in the week, and Boston has taken the first two games of their four-game set. Kansas City (51-75) has lost 10 of 12 overall and fallen a season-worst 24 games below .500.

The Royals struck first for the second straight night when Mike Moustakas doubled into the gap in left field leading off the third inning. He moved up to third on Salvador Perez’s sacrifice bunt and scampered home when Alex Gordon lofted a shallow fly ball to center.

Once again, the lead was short-lived.

Carl Crawford doubled leading off the fourth and scored on McDonald’s triple, and he gave Boston the lead when he came home on Ellsbury’s sacrifice fly.

Boston gave its pitching staff some breathing room in the fifth. Lowrie singled for the third straight time, Lavarnway followed with a base hit, and Saltalamacchia ripped Francis’ 0-2 pitch over the Royals’ bullpen in left field for his 12th homer of the season.

— Associated Press —

Dustin Pedroia drove in three runs with a pair of well-timed singles, Josh Beckett survived a shaky start to go seven innings and the Boston Red Sox got back on the winning track with a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.

Jason Varitek drove in the other run for the Red Sox, who had lost five of their past seven games after getting shut out by the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

Beckett (10-5) and the Royals proved to be the perfect matchup to turn things around. The right-hander allowed all three runs in the first three innings to improve to 7-1 in his career against them — his only loss came July 28 in Boston. Beckett also reached the 10-win plateau after failing in his four previous attempts.

Daniel Bard worked the eighth for Boston, and Jonathan Papelbon made it through a perfect ninth to extend his career-best streak to 24 consecutive saves. It was his 29th of the season.

Luke Hochevar (8-10) labored through 114 pitches in just six innings for the Royals. The former No. 1 overall draft pick allowed all four runs on eight hits and two walks, despite getting some help from his defense.

The Royals threw out three Red Sox baserunners: Varitek was nabbed at second trying to stretch a single in the second inning; Crawford was thrown out by center fielder Melky Cabrera trying to score from third base on a shallow fly ball in the fourth; and Pedroia was thrown out at second base by catcher Salvador Perez, who made an alert play after a late throw to the plate on Pedroia’s RBI single in the fifth.

Alex Gordon hit a tying two-run homer in the third inning for Kansas City, and he also scored on a sacrifice fly by Billy Butler in the first, playing a significant role in all the Royals’ runs.

Boston didn’t waste any time matching Kansas City in the second. Josh Reddick doubled leading off and came home on Varitek’s two-out single. The Red Sox then pulled ahead in the third when Mike Aviles singled against his former team, Ellsbury walked, both advanced on a groundout and then scored on Pedroia’s single.

Alcides Escobar led off the bottom half of the third with a single, and Gordon followed by slapping a pitch from Beckett over the left-field wall to tie the game. His 16th homer matched a career high.

The Red Sox nearly pulled ahead in the fourth when Crawford reached on a single, swiped second base and then stole third — replays showed he should have been called out. Aviles lofted a shallow fly to center moments later, and Cabrera caught it on a jog and unloaded toward home in one motion. Perez fielded the throw, turned and braced himself as Crawford barreled into him at the plate, holding on for the out.

It was the 21st time a Royals outfielder has thrown out someone at the plate, leading the major leagues.

Undaunted, the Red Sox pulled ahead in the fifth. Jed Lowrie doubled with one out and came around to score on a two-out single by Pedroia, who added a double in the eighth inning for a three-hit game.

Beckett and the bullpen made the lead stand up the rest of the way.

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Royals announced Thursday that the club has signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur to a two-year contract extension through 2013.  Consistent with club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The 27-year-old Francoeur is hitting .277 this season for the Royals, his first with the club.  He has recorded 35 doubles, fifth-most in baseball, with three triples, 15 home runs, 66 RBI, 60 runs and a career-high 19 stolen bases.  In addition, the 2007 Rawlings Gold Glove winner is third in the Majors with 12 outfield assists and leads all of baseball with 93 assists since the 2005 season.

Francoeur initially signed a one-year contract with the Royals on December 15, 2010.

It wasn’t Alex Gordon’s three-run home run that had the New York Yankees chewing their nails.

It was Billy Butler’s solo shot one out later — the one they think should have been a double.

After Gordon and Butler both went deep in Kansas City’s four-run third inning Wednesday night, the Royals survived a harrowing ninth and held on for a 5-4 victory over the AL East leaders.

Butler’s ball appeared to strike the upper railing behind left field before bouncing back onto the field. Umpires ruled it a home run but went in to look at a review after talking to New York manager Joe Girardi.

Girardi argued again briefly when they returned and confirmed the designated hitter’s 15th home run. Replays showed the ball hitting the padding below the railing and bouncing up toward the front row of fans before coming back onto the field.

When Butler met reporters after the game, he had not seen a replay.

“I guess from the angle some guy saw, they didn’t think it was good,” he said. “But (umpires) have the final call. That’s why they make the judgment call.”

The Yankees were sure it was a double.

“We all thought it was a double,” said Girardi. “The umpires thought it was a home run. Billy Butler got his helmet on. He was prepared to go back to second. I didn’t think it was a home run. It’s not going to come back into play like that.”

About an hour after the game, Steve Palermo, the major league supervisor of umpires, was seen talkimg to umpires in the outfield, pointing up toward the fence.

“I was just standing over there at the end of the dugout waiting for the review,” said Butler. “I know they were over there a long time, and it took them a long time to review on that. I was just waiting for the call either way. They reviewed ity multiple times, obviously. It was their call. I didn’t see much of it.”

The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the ninth and made it 5-4 on Robinson Cano’s sacrifice fly. After a passed ball, Joakim Soria reloaded the bases by walking Nick Swisher. Then Jorge Posada, on his 40th birthday, took a called third strike to end it. The wobbly Soria got his 22nd save in 29 opportunities.

Bruce Chen (8-5) went six innings and beat the Yankees for just the second time in seven career decisions. The Royals have lost 10 of 13 games and the veteran left-hander owns all three wins.

Curtis Granderson homered in the Yankees’ first, his sixth in eight games. He also doubled, singled and scored twice, raising his majors-leading total to 111 runs scored. Coming into the night, his 33 home runs were two shy of Toronto’s Jose Bautista for the major league lead. Russell Martin hit a solo homer in the sixth for New York.

“They have a very good eye and they don’t swing at bad pitches,” said Chen. “I felt like I was trying to make good pitches every single pitch. It’s very exciting for us to play the Yankees. They’re a very good team.”

Bartolo Colon (8-7) took his first loss in five starts, lasting five innings and allowing five runs on seven hits, with two walks, four strikeouts and the two home runs. He dropped to 15-9 against Kansas City.

Struggling rookie Mike Moustakas had three hits for the Royals, including a leadoff double in the third. After Alcides Escobar singled, Gordon hammered Colon’s 3-2 pitch 418 feet over the fence for a three-run homer, raising his RBI count to a career-high 61.

Derek Jeter was 4 for 5 and 9 for 15 for the three-game series.

Chen went six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits, with three walks and three strikeouts. He also gave up a solo home run in the sixth to Martin.

After hitting a home run in the first and doubling and scoring in the fourth, Granderson was stopped in his third at-bat by second baseman Johnny Giavotella’s outstanding defensive play. The rookie dived to his left to snare Granderson’s hard-hit grounder and threw to Chen covering the bag, ending the inning and possibly saving a run because Jeter was on second with a two-out double.

Melky Cabrera tripled leading off the fifth and made it 5-2 when he scored on Eric Hosmer’s infield out.

— Associated Press —

Robinson Cano hit a three-run homer into the Kauffman Stadium fountains, Russell Martin and Derek Jeter each drove in a pair and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 9-7 on Tuesday night to give Ivan Nova his eighth consecutive victory.

Nova (12-4) struggled almost as much as Royals starter Danny Duffy (3-7), allowing five runs and seven hits through three innings. But he settled down to retire the side in order the next two frames, and survived long enough to move past Alfredo Aceves for the longest winning streak by a Yankees rookie since 1980.

The right-hander also tied Orlando Hernandez and Andy Pettitte for the most wins by a Yankees rookie in the past three decades. Nova hasn’t lost since a 3-2 defeat to the Los Angeles Angels on June 3.

Boone Logan, Rafael Soriano and David Robertson shepherded the game to Mariano Rivera, who pitched another perfect ninth for his 32nd save. It was also his 27th in a row against Kansas City dating to May 2, 1999.

Melky Cabrera hit a solo homer against his former team, and Jeff Francoeur drove in a pair of runs as the Royals took a 5-3 lead through three innings. But the Yankees blew the game open with a five-run fourth, which included a stretch of five consecutive hits to start the inning. Cano delivered the biggest blow, a rocket shot into the fountains in right field to finish off a marathon 12-pitch at-bat and knock Duffy from the game.

The 22-year-old Royals left-hander allowed eight runs and eight hits, walked two and hit two after mowing through the first three batters he faced in just 11 pitches. Duffy ended up throwing 90 before he was done.

Nova was just as shaky early on.

Billy Butler hit a two-out single in the first, Eric Hosmer followed with an RBI double and Francoeur gave the Royals a 2-0 lead with his base hit. He was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.

New York pulled ahead in the third when Duffy’s command failed him.

He plunked Curtis Granderson with one out, walked Mark Teixeira, allowed an RBI single to Cano and walked Nick Swisher to load the bases. Royals manager Ned Yost came out to the mound, but the brief visit didn’t seem to do much good. Martin’s two-run double moments later gave New York the lead.

Kansas City answered the three-spot with three runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. Alcides Escobar started the rally with a triple to left, and Alex Gordon’s chopper to third base brought him home. Cabrera followed with his 16th homer, and Butler singled and Francoeur doubled to give the Royals a 5-3 lead.

Then came the Yankees’ eventful fourth inning, which included: a leadoff bunt single by Brett Gardner; an RBI double by Jeter; back-to-back singles by Granderson and Teixeira; Yost getting tossed for arguing balls and strikes, his third ejection of the year; and Cano’s 21st homer of the season, estimated at 421 feet.

The Royals finally knocked Nova out of the game when Salvador Perez’s two-run double in the sixth pulled them within 8-7, but New York added to its cushion with its final run in the seventh.

Nova was ultimately charged with seven runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. It was his worst start since he gave up eight runs on 10 hits in three innings against the Royals on May 12 at Yankee Stadium.

This time, though, he at least earned the win.

— Asscoiated Press —

The Kansas City Royals signed their first-round draft pick Bubba Starling late Monday night, just moments before the Major League Baseball signing deadline.

Starling, the No. 5 overall pick and a multisport athlete at Gardner-Edgerton, signed a minor league contract with a signing bonus reportedly worth $7.5 million. His agent, Scott Boras, reportedly was seeking a signing bonus in the area of $10 million.

The signing bonus is payable during three years because Starling is a two-sport athlete. There was some question whether he would sign with the Royals before the deadline or play quarterback for Nebraska, where he had received a scholarship offer.

“We are ecstatic and relieved to have this process behind us and have Bubba in the fold,” said Royals general manager Dayton Moore. “I am extremely proud of J.J. Picollo, Lonnie Goldberg and the entire staff for the work they’ve done during these negotiations, not just in the Bubba Starling case, but all of the athletes we were able to sign on this very busy day.

“I’m also thrilled that we were able to come to an agreement with a fine young man from this area who put being a Royal among his priorities in this process. It’s now time to get his professional playing career underway.”

The Royals also announced late Monday the signing of third-round pick, right-handed pitcher Bryan Brickhouse. With Brickhouse’s signing, the Royals managed to sign each of their first five selections.

— Associated Press —

A.J. Burnett hadn’t won a game in weeks. He hadn’t felt good about a start in months. And he had never experienced victory as a member of the New York Yankees when the calendar flipped to August.

The Kansas City Royals were the perfect opponent to change all that.

Burnett managed to scatter 10 singles over a shaky 5 2/3 innings Monday night, and Derek Jeter drove in three runs to help the Yankees beat Kansas City 7-4 and finally give the right-hander something to feel good about.

“It makes you feel a part of it,” Burnett said after his first victory since June 29, a stretch of seven mostly miserable starts. “There are a lot of things to keep you not too content, but yeah, it feels good.”

Burnett (9-9) had been winless in 13 starts in August since signing a five-year, $82.5 million deal with New York, going 0-8 with a 7.18 ERA. His late season struggles, combined with his poor recent performances, are a big reason that manager Joe Girardi has considered dropping him from the starting rotation.

But the right-hander had allowed only four runs over 26 1/3 innings against the Royals since joining the Yankees, so it figured that Burnett would have a good chance to get back on the right side of the ledger.

“It probably feels really good,” Girardi said. “He’s thrown some games I thought we could have got him wins and we didn’t, and that’s frustrating because I think you always ask yourself as a player, ‘Could I have done a little more and maybe kept them off the scoreboard?'”

Brett Gardner added a pair of RBIs, and Mark Teixeira and pinch-hitter Andruw Jones also drove in runs for the Yankees (73-46), who moved back into a tie with idle Boston for the AL East lead.

Mariano Rivera wrapped up the victory, pitching a perfect ninth for his 31st save.

Melky Cabrera and Billy Butler each drove in a pair of runs for the Royals, who lost for the eighth time in nine games. Felipe Paulino (1-5) didn’t provide much help from the mound, allowing five runs on five walks and eight hits in just 5 1/3 innings, the erratic performance running his winless streak to six consecutive games.

“Their hitters over there make a lot of money,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “The reason they make a lot of money is they don’t miss mistakes. Paulino, every ball he got hurt on was pitches up.”

Things began ominously for Paulino, who was pulled early from his last start against Tampa Bay when his back stiffened up. He plunked Gardner leading off the game and walked Teixeira before he escaped the inning.

Paulino wasn’t as fortunate in the second, when Gardner and Jeter delivered two-out RBI singles.

The Royals squandered two decent scoring chances early, stringing together three singles in the second without a run, then putting runners on first and second with one out before a double play ended the fourth.

Kansas City finally broke through in the fifth.

Mike Moustakas snapped a 0-for-13 skid with a one-out single, and Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon followed with consecutive singles to load the bases. Cabrera walked on a full count to bring in the first run, and Butler lined a two-run single down the right-field line to give Kansas City the lead.

Robinson Cano ended the inning when the All-Star second baseman ranged to his left to gobble up Eric Hosmer’s ground ball, spun toward second base and threw to Jeter to begin a 5-4-3 double play.

New York promptly answered the Royals’ three-run inning with three of their own.

Jorge Posada, back in the lineup after a six-RBI game Saturday at Tampa Bay, singled with one out to start the sixth. Russell Martin’s single put runners on the corners, and Gardner’s RBI single tied the game.

“It seems like every time we got something going,” Moustakas said, “they answered right back.”

Jeter came to the plate to a round of applause from a crowd split between Royals and Yankees fans, and he roped a two-run triple into the gap in right. Jeter slid headfirst into third base in dramatic fashion, even though strong-armed right fielder Jeff Francoeur didn’t have much chance of throwing him out.

The Yankees added an insurance run on Jones’ RBI single in the seventh. Kansas City matched it in the bottom half on Cabrera’s RBI double, but Teixeira restored the three-run cushion with an RBI in the eighth.

“They put up some runs. We put up a run. They put some more runs up. It’s just a good battle,” Moustakas said. “I felt we were in that ball game the entire way. Again, things didn’t fall our way.”

— Associated Press —