KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez picked a perfect time for his first pickoff of the season.

The star catcher homered, then helped protect the lead by trapping Kyle Seager off first base in the eighth inning to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Seattle Mariners 5-3 Saturday.

Perez hit a solo home run off the foul pole in the seventh that gave the Royals a two-run lead. Moments later, the World Series MVP made the defensive play of the game.

With runners at the corners and one out, Perez threw down to first baseman Eric Hosmer for his 18th career pickoff.

“That was Hosmer,” Perez said “He gives me a sign and I throw the ball right to him. I think he knows more than me.”

In turn, Hosmer credited the catcher.

“That’s all him,” Hosmer said. “Just knowing he’s behind the plate you’ve got to stay close to the bag at all times because he’s so quick back there.”

“The pitch takes him that way and he just throws it right back over there, just an unbelievable play and that’s why Salvy’s the best. He changes the game, just completely took all the momentum away from them right there. First and third with one of their big hitters up, it was a huge play.”

Even Seager had to compliment Perez.

“You can’t get picked off in that situation, but he’s pretty special back there. But, I obviously got off too far.”

Edinson Volquez (8-8) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings.

Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect ninth for his first save since April 10, 2013.

Wade Miley (6-6) gave up 10 hits. He left after Cheslor Cuthbert’s RBI single made it 4-3 in the sixth.

Cuthbert also doubled and finished with two RBI.

Seager hit his 18th homer, tying it at 3 in the fourth. Nelson Cruz added two hits for Seattle.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas threw a simulated game and manager Ned Yost was encouraged by the progress he showed. “Looked good, really good,” he said. “Three pitches, good changeup, fastball with life. Good breaking ball, good first step.” Yost anticipates Vargas could make a return in September.

ROSTER MOVE

The Cleveland Indians claimed LHP Tyler Olson off waivers from the Royals and will be sent to Triple-A Columbus. Olson was designated for assignment by the Royals on July 5.

UP NEXT

In Sunday’s finale, former Royals draftee LHP Mike Montgomery (2-3) will get the start for the Mariners against RHP Dillion Gee (3-2). Montgomery was selected in the first round in 2008 and was part of the December 2012 trade with Tampa Bay that brought pitchers Wade Davis and James Shields to Kansas City. “Probably cool for Mike,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I know he was drafted by the Royals, was a high prospect there. The anxiety of going back and pitching against your friends, your teammates, your former teammates, but he’s been away long enough now, I hope that it’s kind of gone away and I’m sure he’ll give us a good effort.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Seattle has struggled to win on the road over the last month, losing 10 straight capped by a ninth-inning meltdown in the Mariners’ series-opener against the Kansas City Royals.

Some strong pitching and a bit of fortune helped them break their long road skid Friday night.

Hisashi Iwakuma pitched into the seventh inning, Seattle scored the go-ahead runs on Yordano Ventura’s wild pitch and the Mariners held on to beat the World Series champions 3-1 to even the four-game set.

Iwakuma (9-6) allowed one run, five hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings, striking out six. He kept the Royals off balance with his usual herky-jerky delivery, the only run he allowed coming on Cheslor Cuthbert’s base hit in the fourth inning.

“Overall I was able to make good pitches, location-wise, and execute when I needed to, change speeds, go back and forth,” Iwakuma said through an interpreter. “Especially with the breaking ball I was able to go from strike to ball and they were chasing those pitches and it made it very helpful from my end.”

Steve Cishek, who blew the save the previous night, allowed Salvador Perez’s homer in the ninth before finishing off the inning. It was his 21st save of the season.

“Yesterday was tough. I felt really good yesterday. It’s just baseball,” he said. “I wanted a chance to go back out there and, if I had the chance, give the team the win to make up for it. It got a little sketchy there. I didn’t think he hit that that well, but, you know, I was able to finish it off.”

Ventura (6-6) was nearly as stingy as Iwakuma, giving up only a sacrifice fly to Ketel Marte in the fifth, before things unraveled for him after Seth Smith’s single and Robinson Cano’s double in the sixth.

Nelson Cruz stepped to the plate and nearly gave Seattle a three-run homer, sending a pitch soaring down the right-field line. First base umpire CB Bucknor initially signaled home run, then signaled foul ball, then decided that he wasn’t quite sure and met with the rest of the umpires.

“I lost it. I think that happened to the umpire, too,” Cruz said. “I had no clue.”

After a review, the ball was declared foul and Nelson dug in again.

This time, Ventura’s pitch got past Perez and bounded away, allowing Smith to score from third base and tie the game 1-all. Perez threw the ball away trying to get him out at the plate, allowing Cano to also score — the star catcher was given an error on the play.

“I was pitching good up to that point, I got two quick outs in that inning,” Ventura said. “I lost concentration and got a little bit behind the count, gave up a couple of hits and then came that play.”

The Mariners used three relievers to get the game to Cishek, who bounced back from Perez’s home run to retire Paulo Orlando and Cuthbert and help snap Seattle’s road losing streak.

“That’s the beauty of baseball,” Cishek said. “You play so many games that if you have a bad outing you have an opportunity to get back out there the next night.”

HOME SWEET HOME

Royals manager Ned Yost has given up trying to explain his club’s bizarre home-road split — they began the day 28-11 at Kauffman Stadium, best in the majors, but are just 16-30 away from the spacious ballpark. They average five runs at home and just over three on the road. “It’s puzzling,” Yost said, “but there’s not anything you can point to other than we’re just not producing.”

TRAINERS ROOM

Felix Hernandez will return July 20 against the White Sox. He is slated for a rehab start with Class-A Everett on Sunday. When asked what directions he would give Hernandez upon his return, manager Scott Servais replied: “Go pitch. Have fun.” Hernandez went on the DL on June 1 with a right calf strain.

UP NEXT

Royals RHP Edinson Volquez tries to continue his dominance of Seattle when the teams continue their four-game set Saturday. Volquez is 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA in six career starts against the Mariners. He’ll face Mariners LHP Wade Miley, who is 0-2 since his return from a left shoulder injury. Miley is 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA against the Royals, throwing a shutout against them on April 30.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez gave Royals reliever Brooks Pounders his first career win, Mariners starter James Paxton a frustrating no-decision and Kansas City a much-needed confidence boost with one mighty swing.

Perez capped a three-hit night with a double off the wall in the ninth inning Thursday night, scoring Whit Merrifield and Jarrod Dyson and giving the Royals a 4-3 victory over Seattle to open a four-game set.

“How many times have we been through it? I mean, we fight. We keep fighting,” said Danny Duffy, who kept the Royals in the game with 6 1/3 strong innings. “You’re never out of the game with these boys.”

Paxton kept them out of it for eight innings, using just 78 pitches to get that far. The only damage he allowed came in the eighth when Paulo Orlando delivered a two-out single to get Kansas City within 3-2.

Steve Cishek (2-5) came on to close the game and Merrifield doubled to lead off the ninth. Kendrys Morales was hit by a pitch moments later, Jarrod Dyson came on to run for him, and Eric Hosmer struck out before Perez dug in at the plate and a crowd of 31,425 reached a fevered pitch.

He lined a shot to center to give Pounders (1-0), who pitched an inning of relief, his stunning win.

“It’s a great moment in my life,” the big reliever said. “To walk away with a win in that game is just unbelievable. It says a lot about the team we have here.”

The victory snapped a four-game skid for Kansas City an extended Seattle’s road losing streak to 10.

“I don’t know if you can be much more in control of the game to being on the wrong side of things in an inning and a half,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Tough game to lose.”

The Mariners built an early 2-0 lead not with a homer — they entered the game tied for second in the majors with 128 of them — but with old-fashioned small ball. Dae-Ho Lee scored from second on Dan Robertson’s single in the second inning, and Robertson scored after a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Nelson Cruz added a homer off Joakim Soria in the eighth.

Those three runs seemed insurmountable the way Paxton was cruising along.

He induced inning-ending double plays the first two innings, then another one in the third after back-to-back singles led it off. Ketel Marte then made a nice play ranging out from third base on Alex Gordon’s blooper into shallow left field to leave Brett Eibner on third base and end the inning.

The worst throw Paxton made before the eighth wasn’t to the mound but to first base, when Kendrys Morales chopped a grounder back to him the previous inning. Paxton’s throw slipped and bounced halfway to the bag.

With everything else going for him, it still beat Morales easily for the out.

“They were popping up the cutter, hitting it on the ground. A lot of ground balls,” Paxton said. “Guys were making great plays behind me. So that’s what happens, you saw guys turn double plays.”

STATS AND STREAKS

Morales was 0 for 3 before getting hit by a pitch in the ninth, allowing him to extend his streak of reaching safely to 21 starts. … The Mariners lost for the fourth time when leading after eight innings. … Cruz homered for the seventh time in his last 14 games.

ROTATION REMOVAL

The Royals are sending RHP Chris Young to the bullpen and will start RHP Dillon Gee or LHP Brian Flynn in Sunday’s series finale. Young is 2-8 with a 6.90 ERA in 15 appearances, 13 of them starts. He’s also given up a league-leading 26 home runs despite pitching many of his games at spacious Kauffman Stadium.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals RHP Kris Medlen has been shut down after straining his shoulder during a rehab outing. Medlen was 1/3 with a 7.77 ERA in six starts before going on the disabled list in May with rotator cuff inflammation. “He is going to be no-throw for a couple weeks,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

UP NEXT

RHP Yordano Ventura returns for Kansas City on Friday night after spraining his right ankle running the bases in his last start in Philadelphia. RHP Hisashi Iwakuma will oppose him for Seattle.

— Associated Press —

TORONTO (AP) — Michael Saunders hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and singled home the winning run in the eighth as the Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of Kansas City, beating the Royals 3-2 on Wednesday.

Toronto won its fifth straight, while its 2015 ALCS opponent dropped its fourth in a row.

Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-out double off Kelvin Herrera (1-2) in the eighth and scored when Saunders lined a single to center. Russell Martin followed with an RBI double.

Marcus Stroman (7-4) pitched eight innings to win for the first time in four starts. Roberto Osuna finished for his 17th save.

Saunders, one of five AL candidates for the All-Star Final Vote, opened the scoring with a one-out drive off Ian Kennedy in the fourth, his 16th.

The homer was the 21st allowed by Kennedy this season, tied for second-most in the majors. Kennedy has allowed at least one homer in seven consecutive starts, giving up 13 in that span.

Stroman was perfect through five innings, throwing 44 pitches. Kansas City didn’t hit a ball out of the infield until Paulo Orlando flied to center to end the fifth.

Brett Eibner broke Stroman’s streak when he walked on a 3-2 pitch to begin the sixth. The next batter, Alcides Escobar, broke up the no-hitter and ended Stroman’s shutout bid with an RBI triple.

Toronto led 2-1 on Ezequiel Carrera’s RBI single in the fifth, but Eibner tied it 2-all when he connected off Stroman in the eighth.

Kennedy allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out 10, one shy of his season high.

The retractable roof was open when the game began but started to close during the top of the sixth. It was still sliding shut when a light rain began falling in the bottom of the seventh. Play was not interrupted.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: DH Kendrys Morales (back) was held out of the starting lineup.

Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada was placed on the 15-day DL, one day after being named to the All-Star team for the first time. Estrada will still attend the game in San Diego but won’t be able to pitch. RHP Drew Hutchison will start for Toronto in the opener of a four-game series against Detroit on Thursday. RHP Bo Schultz was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (4-1, 3.11) starts as Kansas City returns home for a four-game series against Seattle. He’s 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five games against the Mariners, including three starts. LHP James Paxton (2-3, 4.24) starts for Seattle.

Blue Jays: Hutchison is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two games, one start. He went 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA in 15 starts at Buffalo. RHP Justin Verlander (8-6, 4.11) starts for Detroit.

— Associated Press —

TORONTO (AP) — Josh Donaldson hit two solo home runs, Troy Tulowitzki had a three-run blast and the Toronto Blue Jays connected four times to beat the Kansas City Royals 8-3 on Tuesday night.

Fresh off being named a reserve to the AL All-Star team, Donaldson went 3 for 4 and scored four runs while the Blue Jays won their fourth straight.

Donaldson has scored 77 runs, a franchise record for runs before the All-Star break. Carlos Delgado had 76 in 2003.

All four Toronto homers came off Royals right-hander Chris Young, who matched Runelvys Hernandez’s team record by allowing at least one home run in 13 consecutive starts. Hernandez did it from October 2005 to August 2006.

Young (2-8) has surrendered a major league-worst 26 home runs this season.

Toronto’s R.A. Dickey (6-9) allowed two runs, none earned, and four hits in seven innings to win for the first time in nine home starts this season. The knuckleballer came in 0-6 with a 5.14 ERA at home.

Kansas City lost for the fourth time in five games and dropped to 16-29 on the road.

Donaldson connected in the first inning and went back-to-back with Ezequiel Carrera in the third. It marked the eighth multihomer game of Donaldson’s career and the fifth time this season the Blue Jays have hit consecutive homers.

Three batters later, Tulowitzki chased Young with his seventh homer in 15 games since returning from the disabled list.

Fellow All-Star Edwin Encarnacion had two hits and an RBI, raising his ML-leading total to 77.

Young allowed six runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings. He is winless in nine starts.

Kansas City’s Cheslor Cuthbert hit a two run homer off Dickey and finished with three RBI.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Wade Davis (forearm) was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 1. The Royals selected RHP Brooks Pounders from Triple-A Omaha and designated LHP Tyler Olson for assignment.

Blue Jays: OF Jose Bautista (turf toe) is no longer wearing a walking boot. “That’s progress, as long as he doesn’t stub it,” joked manager John Gibbons. There is no timetable for Bautista’s return. … RHP Marco Estrada (back) is feeling better but could be get one or two extra days of rest before his next start. RHP Drew Hutchison would like start for Toronto if Estrada cannot pitch Thursday against Detroit.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (6-7, 4.04) starts Wednesday’s series finale. Kennedy has allowed 20 home runs, including one in each of his past six starts.

Blue Jays: RHP Marcus Stroman (6-4, 5.08) allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings against Cleveland in his most recent start after allowing 38 earned runs in his previous eight outings.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Royals will be well represented at the upcoming 2016 All-Star game in San Diego.

Catcher Salvador Perez and first baseman Eric Hosmer were voted into the starting lineup, with Perez receiving 4,965,838 votes, the most among all major league players this year. He is now the second Royal to lead the majors in All-Star voting, joining Hall of Famer George Brett (1981).

Relief pitchers Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera were also named to the All-Star team, giving the Royals as many as four selections for the second year in a row as well as multiple starters for the second straight season and third time in franchise history. The four All-Star selections are also tied for the third-most in franchise history.  Kansas City had four players named to the squad in 1972, 1976 and 1978.

Perez will make his third consecutive start behind the plate for the American League, the most by a Royals player since Brett started five seasons in a row (1981-85). The four-time All-Star is tops among AL catchers in hits (74), batting average (.277), slugging percentage (.483) and tied for first in RBI (37).  His 24 two-out RBIs are tied for fifth in the majors, while he’s thrown out an AL-best 17 would-be basestealers.

Davis, 30, was tabbed an All-Star for the second straight year, though he will not participate in the game due to injury.  He’s posted a 1-0 record with 19 saves and a 1.23 ERA in 30 appearances this season, his first full year as the team’s closer.  His save total is tied for fifth in the American League, while his ERA is also fifth-best among the league’s relief pitchers.

Herrera, 26, was also selected an American League All-Star for the second-straight season.  He is 1-1 with a 1.40 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 38.2 innings this season.  He leads the league with 21 holds this year, while he’s tied for seventh among AL relievers with 39 appearances.  He hasn’t allowed a hit to a right-handed hitter since June 6, while righties are just 10-for-71 (.141) against him this season.

Hosmer, meanwhile, will be participating in his first All-Star Game. He’s batting .303 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs this season–28 of those RBIs have come since May 25, which ties him for seventh in the American League in that span.  He had a career-best 18-game hitting streak, April 10-29, which is also the third-longest in MLB this season.

Facing these Royals on the NL side will be a different shade of blue: the Chicago Cubs became the first team since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine to have five players voted as All-Star Game starters when their entire infield earned the honor Tuesday along with center fielder Dexter Fowler.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Ben Zobrist, shortstop Addison Russell and third baseman Kris Bryant also were elected. The only other team to start four infielders was the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals.

Rizzo led NL players with 3.2 million votes, and Zobrist won the closest race by finishing 88 votes ahead of Washington’s Daniel Murphy. Seven Cubs were picked in all, with Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester selected for the National League pitching staff. Fowler hopes to recover from a hamstring strain that has sidelined him since June 18.

San Francisco catcher Buster Posey was elected along with New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and Washington outfielder Bryce Harper.

Arrieta is among five first-time All-Stars on the NL pitching staff, joined by New York’s Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and Miami’s A.J. Ramos. Other NL pitchers include Washington’s Stephen Strasburg, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner, the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez and Atlanta’s Julio Teheran. Washington’s Max Scherzer was bypassed.

Back on the AL side, Boston has six All-Stars, including four starters. Designated hitter David Ortiz, who is retiring at the end of the season, became a 10-time All-Star and is joined by a trio of first-timers: shortstop Xander Bogaerts and outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts. Knuckleballer Steven Wright and closer Craig Kimbrel were selected for the pitching staff.

Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances were picked for the AL bullpen from the New York Yankees’ Run BMC trio but Aroldis Chapman was left off after missing the first 29 games of the season while serving a domestic violence suspension.

Miller and Wright are among seven first-time All-Stars on the AL pitching staff, joined by Tampa Bay’s Alex Colome, Toronto’s Marco Estrada, Baltimore’s Brad Brach, Houston’s Marco Estrada and Cleveland’s Danny Salazar. Other AL pitchers include Chicago’s Chris Sale and Texas’ Cole Hamels.

Overall, the July 12 game at San Diego’s Petco Park will feature 11 first-time starters, the most since 2005. In a sign of the sport’s generational change, 12 of the 17 elected starters are 26 or younger.

Petco Park is the second of four straight NL ballparks to host the All-Stars, following Cincinnati last year and ahead of Miami in 2017 and Washington in 2018. Because of that, the AL will be the home team, wear white uniforms and use the Padres clubhouse. Wil Myers was the only Padres player picked.

St. Louis’ 1963 infield included first baseman Bill White, second baseman Julian Javier, third baseman Ken Boyer and shortstop Dick Groat. The 1976 Reds’ starters were catcher Johnny Bench, second baseman Joe Morgan, shortstop Dave Concepcion, third baseman Pete Rose and outfielder George Foster.

— Associated Press —

TORONTO (AP) — Aaron Sanchez wasn’t feeling too good for his start against Kansas City. It was hard to tell from the way he pitched.

Sanchez overcame flu-like symptoms to work eight innings and win his eighth straight decision, Josh Donaldson and Darwin Barney each hit two-run singles in a four-run seventh and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Monday night.

Troy Tulowitzki had two hits, his third multi-hit game in the past four, as the Blue Jays won a rematch of last year’s ALCS, which Kansas City won in six games.

Sanchez (9-1) has not lost since April 22, against Oakland. He allowed one run and three hits and matched the longest start of his career.

“It’s just starting to come together for him,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “I think he’s going to get even better and better.”

Sanchez also gave up one run in eight innings at Colorado in his previous start.

“He threw the ball extremely well,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Good downhill action on a 95 mile per hour fastball, good curveball. He just threw a great game.”

Sanchez retired the first seven batters he faced and held the Royals hitless until Cheslor Cuthbert’s two-out single to center in the fifth. The next hitter, Alcides Escobar, grounded out.

“That’s the name of the game, trying to get these guys back into the dugout as fast as I can,” Sanchez said. “When you can do that you kind of keep a flow of things.”

Michael Saunders gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead with an RBI groundout off Edinson Volquez in the first.

Toronto nearly doubled its lead in the fourth but Alex Gordon threw out Edwin Encarnacion trying to score from second on Kevin Pillar’s two-out single to left.

“When (Gordon) first got that ball I thought he’s got no shot at throwing (Encarnacion) out,” Yost said. “All of a sudden, boom, here we go. He came up firing. It was a fantastic throw.”

Kansas City tied it when Kendrys Morales homered off Sanchez to begin the seventh, his 15th. Morales has hit five home runs in his past five games.

Volquez (7-8) left after the first three batters reached to load the bases in the bottom half. Luke Hochevar came on and walked Devon Travis to bring in the go ahead run. Barney followed with a two-run single.

“That was the whole game,” Volquez said. “I got myself in trouble in that inning.”

Volquez allowed four runs and four hits in six-plus innings. He is winless in three starts, allowing 15 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings.

After Ezequiel Carrera advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt, Donaldson lined a two-run single to right, making it 6-1.

Eric Hosmer hit a two-out homer off Brett Cecil in the ninth, his 13th.

EARLY RETURNS

The Blue Jays have scored in the first inning in each of their past three games.

TOUGH TIME WITH TORONTO

Volquez is 0-5 with a 6.38 ERA in seven career starts against the Blue Jays.

END OF THE LINE

Donaldson had reached safely in nine straight plate appearances before grounding out in the third.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura has a Grade 1 sprain of his right ankle but hopes to make his next start, Friday against Seattle, Yost said. Ventura left Sunday’s start after he was injured running the bases.

Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada received multiple cortisone injections in his sore lower back and expects to make his next start, Thursday against Detroit.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Chris Young (2-7, 6.24) is 0-5 with a 8.53 ERA in six road starts. Young is winless on the road since a victory at Chicago on July 17, 2015.

Blue Jays: RHP R.A. Dickey (5-9, 4.21) is 0-6 with a 5.14 ERA in eight home starts. The knuckleballer has lost three of his past four decisions.

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Vince Velasquez just needed a few pitches to get going.

Cameron Rupp hit a three-run homer, Velasquez threw six effective innings and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals 7-2 Sunday.

Cody Asche and Maikel Franco also went deep to help the Phillies win two of three against the defending World Series champions.

Velasquez (7-2) allowed two runs and five hits, striking out seven in his second start since returning from the disabled list. It appeared Velasquez was hurt in the first inning when manager Pete Mackanin and a trainer visited the mound after he threw just five pitches. But Velasquez stayed in, his velocity increased and he threw 96 pitches.

“It took me a little bit longer to warm up,” Velasquez said. “Just dragging a little bit. Everyone has dead arm at some point. You have to pitch through it and utilize all your pitches.”

Mackanin went out to see Velasquez because his hardest pitch was only 90 mph among the first five. Velasquez was removed from the game after throwing only two pitches on June 8 and missed almost three weeks because of a strained right biceps.

“We thought: `Oh-no, not again.’ But He assured us he was fine,” Mackanin said. “He didn’t have his above-average velocity, but he made his secondary pitches.”

Royals starter Yordano Ventura (6-6) exited in the third inning after spraining his right ankle running the bases following his second career hit. Ventura lined a single to right but got hurt running to second on Alex Gordon’s double-play grounder.

Ventura went out to the mound in the bottom half and left after Asche hit a shot into the second deck in right field with two outs.

“It feels better now,” Ventura said through an interpreter. “It’ll be a couple days before we know.”

Rupp gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the first when he hit a 1-2 pitch the opposite way into the right-field seats for his eighth homer.

“It was 98 mph so he supplied the power,” Rupp said. “He left the pitch up and over the plate.”

Gordon’s two-run homer off Velasquez cut it to 4-2 in the fifth. Maikel Franco’s infield single drove in a run in the bottom half. He hit a solo homer off Brian Flynn in the eighth.

“Nice to see homers from the middle of the lineup,” Mackanin said. “All of our runs came with two outs and that’s encouraging.”

STANDINGS

The Royals fell to 43-38 with their 13th loss in their last 18 road games. The Phillies (37-46) have won five of six.

EVERYBODY HITS

Each of Philadelphia’s starters except Velasquez had a hit. “It only takes one or two guys to get going,” Mackanin said. “I always thought we’re a better hitting team than we showed.”

HOME COOKING

The Phillies won their first series in Philadelphia since May 16-18.

STREAKING

Royals SS Alcides Escobar hit a single in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. … Phillies OF Peter Bourjos extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He’s 21 for 47 in those games, raising his average to .268 from .217. … Kansas City’s Kendrys Morales was 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts, ending his eight-game hitting streak.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez (7-7, 4.60 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game series at Toronto. RHP Aaron Sanchez (8-1, 3.08) goes for the Blue Jays.

Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (5-9, 3.38) starts the opener of a three-game series against Atlanta. RHP Joel De La Cruz (0-1, 4.50) pitches for the Braves.

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Danny Duffy pitched deeper than he ever had in a game while Kendrys Morales continued to hit like he has in the last two weeks.

The red-hot Morales had two home runs and four RBI, Duffy pitched 8 2/3 strong innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Saturday.

It was the third straight game with a homer for Morales, who extended his hitting streak to eight games by going deep in the second inning. He is batting .565 with seven homers and 21 RBI in his last 13 games.

“I feel really good right now at the plate and the key is I’m making hard contact when I’m swinging the bat,” Morales said through an interpreter.

Duffy (4-1) allowed two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and no walks while setting a career high for innings. The left-hander’s previous best was eight innings, which he tied in Monday’s win over St. Louis.

The 27-year-old Duffy recorded the first two outs of the ninth but was lifted for Joakim Soria after Cesar Hernandez’s RBI single.

He said that prior to Saturday he’d never gotten an out in the ninth inning at any level of baseball. Duffy lobbied manager Ned Yost after the eighth inning to stay in the contest.

“It’s cool to finish a game,” Duffy said. “(Yost) gave me the opportunity and I’m grateful for it.”

Whit Merrifield and Cheslor Cuthbert added a pair of hits for the defending World Series-champion Royals, who finally gained some ground on Cleveland in the AL Central after the Indians had their 14-game winning streak snapped in Toronto. Kansas City trails the Indians by six games.

Hernandez and Maikel Franco had two hits and an RBI each for Philadelphia, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Aaron Nola (5-8) lost his fourth straight game after giving up five runs on six hits in five innings. Nola hadn’t gotten past 3 2/3 innings his three previous losses, and the 23-year-old right-hander has a 13.50 ERA during his skid. There were signs of encouragement, though, as Nola finished by retiring 10 straight batters.

“The last three innings, he looked like his old self,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.

The Royals scored all five of their runs off Nola in the second inning.

Morales did the greatest damage, putting the Royals up 5-1 with a three-run home run to right field. Normally Kansas City’s designated hitter, Morales has played right field the last two games because Yost wanted to keep his hot bat in the lineup.

“He’s carrying us a little bit right now,” Yost said.

The Royals tied the game at 1 on Duffy’s first major league hit and RBI, a bunt single that was popped up into a perfect spot between the pitcher’s mound and shortstop. Duffy had been 0 for 10 with five strikeouts this season.

“I’ll take it,” Duffy said. “It just worked.”

Merrifield’s RBI single to right with two outs put Kansas City ahead 2-1 before Morales’ drive.

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the first on Franco’s single that bounded off Duffy’s outstretched glove to score Peter Bourjos, who reached with a triple to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

Philadelphia looked poised to score again in the fourth, but Alcides Escobar’s stellar defense saved a run. Escobar sprinted deep in the hole at shortstop to field Hernandez’s ground ball and threw to second for a force play on Carlos Ruiz for the final out.

Kansas City capped its scoring in the eighth when Morales led off with his 14th homer of the season.

“I hit it good but I hit it straight up in the air. Luckily I’m playing in a park that is conducive to home runs.”

STREAKING ROYAL

Escobar singled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.

SLUMPING PHILLIE

Philadelphia’s Tommy Joseph went 0 for 3 with a strikeout, extending his slump to 0 for 17 with seven strikeouts.

POWER OUTAGE

The Royals pitchers had allowed a home run in a club record-tying 18 straight games before not surrendering one on Saturday. They gave up 31 homers from June 21 through Saturday.

UP NEXT

Royals RHP Yordano Ventura (6-5, 5.00) opposes Philadelphia RHP Vince Velasquez (6-2, 3.38) on Sunday afternoon in the conclusion of the three-game series.

— Associated Press —

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Odubel Herrera put the finishing touches on his All-Star bid.

Herrera hit a leadoff homer and drove in two runs, Jeremy Hellickson threw six sharp innings and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 Friday night for their fourth straight win.

Herrera is batting .306 with nine homers and an .835 OPS. He’s a strong candidate to represent the Phillies at the Midsummer Classic in San Diego.

“If that happens, great,” Herrera said through an interpreter. “If it doesn’t, I just want to help my team win.”

Asked if he feels he deserves to go, Herrera answered himself: “For sure.”

Hellickson (6-6) allowed one run and five hits in six innings, striking out six. He was 0-9 in his previous 15 starts against AL opponents.

“The biggest key was just quality strike one,” Hellickson said. “They’re aggressive, but they don’t strike out a lot, so just making that first pitch down and just trying to keep them off-balance as much as I could.”

Royals starter Ian Kennedy (6-7) gave up three runs in five innings.

Kendrys Morales hit a two-run homer off David Hernandez in the eighth before the right-hander settled down to retire the next three batters. Jeanmar Gomez finished for his 22nd save in 24 tries.

“He’s swinging the bat really well right now,” Royals manager Ned Yost said of Morales, who is 13 for his last 20. “He gave us an opportunity to try to tie the game.”

Back home after sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phillies snapped a seven-game home losing streak.

A video review helped Philadelphia take a 2-1 lead in the third.

Herrera walked with one out, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Salvador Perez. After Peter Bourjos struck out looking, Cody Asche walked. Perez then picked Asche off first, but the Phillies challenged and the call was overturned. Maikel Franco followed with an RBI single.

Asche ripped an RBI double to right in the fifth to put the Phillies ahead 3-1. Herrera’s RBI single in the sixth made it 4-1.

Herrera gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead on his ninth homer and first leading off.

Alcides Escobar hit a double and scored on Cheslor Cuthbert’s single to tie it at 1 in the second.

STANDINGS

The defending World Series champion Royals fell seven games behind Cleveland in the AL Central. The Phillies finished the first half 36-45. They were 24-17 at one point.

STREAKING

Escobar has a 12-game hitting streak. The shortstop has started all 79 games this season. … Phillies OF Peter Bourjos extended his hitting streak to 10 with an infield single. … Phillies 1B Tommy Joseph struck out as a pinch-hitter and is hitless in his last 14 at-bats with six strikeouts.

K ZONE

Kennedy has struck out 19 of the last 48 batters he’s faced in the past two starts. He fanned eight Phillies.

“I felt I wasn’t getting on top of the ball,” he said. “It was a constant grind.”

UP NEXT

LHP Danny Duffy (3-1, 3.24 ERA) goes for the Royals while RHP Aaron Nola (5-7, 4.45) pitches for the Phillies. Duffy threw a career-best eight innings in his last start. Nola has failed to pitch four innings in four straight starts.

— Associated Press —