We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Royals split day-night doubleheader at Chicago Friday

riggertRoyalsCHICAGO (AP) — John Danks pitched four-hit ball into the seventh, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 Friday to split a day-night doubleheader.

The White Sox shook off a 4-2 loss in the opener to win for the 10th time in 14 games, with Danks (5-8) dominating on the mound.

Avisail Garcia tripled and scored on a single by Tyler Flowers in the second inning. Melky Cabrera doubled and came in from third on a wild pitch by Edinson Volquez (8-5). And Chicago handed the AL Central leaders their second loss in 10 games.

Danks exited to loud cheers with a 2-0 lead after he walked Alex Rios leading off the seventh.

It was the second scoreless outing in three starts for the 30-year-old left-hander, who has struggled since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2012. He shut down Baltimore over seven innings on July 3 before getting roughed up by Toronto.

In this one, Danks struck out four and walked four.

Jake Petricka retired the lone batter he faced. Zach Duke worked 1 2/3 perfect innings, and David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances.

Volquez took his first loss since June 5 despite a strong outing. He gave up two runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings after going 4-0 in his previous seven starts.

In the opener, Mike Moustakas hit a solo homer in the fifth on the 12th pitch of the at-bat to give the Royals a 2-1 lead, and Alex Rios capped a two-run sixth with his drive off Jeff Samardzija (6-5) after Chicago tied it.

Chris Young (8-5) gave up two runs and three hits, including solo homers to Geovany Soto and Adam Eaton, in five innings.

Young felt his back tightening as the game went on and left after throwing 82 pitches.

Yost said it’s “not serious at all.” And Young expects to make his next scheduled start.

Four relievers combined to shut down the White Sox the rest of the way, with Greg Holland working the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances.

Samardzija gave up four runs and seven hits in seven innings.

HONORING CHAMPS

The Chicago White Sox are set to hold another championship rally.

They are honoring the 10th anniversary of the 2005 World Series-winning season, with members of that team gathering in Chicago for the celebration. They will participate in the “Parade of Champions” before Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. Some are scheduled to appear Sunday at the Chicago Theatre for “A Season to Remember: A Night with the 2005 World Series Champions.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen (elbow) rejoined the team and the team will decide in the next two or three days whether to activate him. He is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery and has not pitched in the majors since 2013, when he won 15 games for Atlanta.

White Sox: GM Rick Hahn said RHP Matt Albers (fractured right pinky finger) and RHP Nate Jones, recovering from Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow, are progressing in their rehabilitation. RHP Jesse Crain (shoulder), who has not pitched in the majors since 2013, had a setback in an Arizona League game last week and it’s not clear when his next outing will be.

UP NEXT

RHP Jeremy Guthrie (7-5, 5.36) starts for Kansas City, with LHP Jose Quintana (4-9, 3.69) pitching for Chicago.

— Associated Press —

Royals’ Cain helps American League win All-Star Game

Reds-All-Star-Game-LogoCINCINNATI (AP) — Mike Trout flashed the skill that puts him at the front of baseball’s new generation, just moments after four of the all-time greats walked off the field.

Trout became the first player in 38 years to homer leading off an All-Star Game, then became the first player to take home the Midsummer Classic’s MVP award two years in row.

A new-look All-Star Game finished with the same old result. The AL beat the NL 6-3 Tuesday night and will open the World Series at home for the 10th time in 13 years.

“It’s obviously a humbling honor with the MVPs,” Trout said in his usual understated, aw-shucks manner.

After Trout completed a career All-Star cycle in just his fifth big league season, Prince Fielder delivered. He drove in two runs, sending Trout blazing home ahead of Joc Pederson’s throw with the run off Clayton Kershaw that put the AL ahead for good.

In an age of dominant pitching, Felix Hernandez, winner David Price, Zach Britton, Dellin Betances and Wade Davis took scoreless turns in the AL’s third win a row.

Playing on the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels, Trout could add an even bigger honor this fall — his first World Series ring.

“He can do anything that anybody can do on a baseball field,” AL manager Ned Yost said. “He can hit with power. He can run. He can drive the gap. He’s a great defender. He’s just special. When you look at Mike, you don’t look at a 23-year-old. You look at a guy that is one of the best baseball players on this planet.”

A season after the retirement of Derek Jeter dropped the curtain on the turn-of-century greats, Trout was among six starting position players under 25 — the most since 1965. At last year’s game in Minneapolis, he hit a tiebreaking triple and later a go-ahead double.

This time Trout sent Zack Greinke’s fourth pitch, a 94 mph fastball on the outer half of the plate, over the wall in right next to the visiting bullpen for an opposite-field homer.

Winner of his first season AL MVP award in 2014, the center fielder joined Willie Mays, Steve Garvey, Gary Carter and Cal Ripken, Jr. as the only two-time All-Star MVPs.

Stars old and young gathered in one of baseball’s most traditional towns. The Reds became baseball’s first professional team in 1869, and players wore caps with horizontal stripes in an attempt at a 19th century feel.

Pete Rose, Cincinnati’s hometown hero and baseball’s banned career hits leader, was given an 80-second ovation when he walked onto the field before the game to join Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Barry Larkin, elected by fans as the Reds’ greatest players. Wearing a red jacket and tie and walking stiffly, the now 74-year-old Charlie Hustle was applauded as soon as his image appeared on the video boards, even before he emerged from the AL dugout.

And in the first All-Star Game at Great American Ballpark, which opened in 2003, fans got to see some great ballplayers.

Bench, changed into a blue jacket, returned with Hank Aaron, Mays and Sandy Koufax, voted baseball’s great living players by fans as part of the promotion. In a sentimental yet stunning reminder of generational change, Aaron, 81, and Morgan, 71, needed canes to reach the infield, and Mays, 84, was aided on and off the field by an assistant.

“Growing up, I didn’t get to see them play that much,” Trout said. “But looking up, seeing highlights of all the Hall of Famers, it’s something I really look forward to looking at and I’m learning more about them, just how great they played in every respect of the game.”

Above the field, new Commissioner Rob Manfred watched from a luxury suite, the first All-Star Game not presided over by Bud Selig since 1992.

Many players of the new generation love bling in a manner that puzzles the old guard: Posey wore a gold-colored helmet behind the plate, looking a bit like the Great Gazoo or a Praetorian Guard, accessorizing with a chest protector, shin guards and cleats all with gold-colored trim. Baltimore’s Adam Jones was shod in bright orange cleats, and Kansas City’s Lorenzo Cain and Washington’s Bryce Harper donned golden spikes.

Trout, a Generation Y star with a baby boomer work ethic, completed a unique cycle on a clear evening that followed a heavy afternoon downpour.

He singled in his All-Star debut in 2012, doubled to open 2013 game and tripled in the first inning last year. He was just the ninth player to hit for an All-Star cycle in his entire career, joining an illustrious list that includes Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Roberto Clemente, Ernie Banks, George Brett, Mike Schmidt and Mays. Fielder later became the 10th.

No one had homered leading off an All-Star Game since 1977 at old Yankee Stadium, when Morgan connected off Jim Palmer. Greinke, coming off five scoreless outings, had not allowed a run since June 13.

“It’s not easy,” Greinke said of pitching to Trout. “You’ve got like a 2-inch window up in the zone. If you throw it higher than that, he takes it. If you throw it lower, he does what he did.”

Fielder and Lorenzo Cain had run-scoring hits in the fifth against Kershaw, the reigning NL MVP, that put the AL ahead 3-1.

Manny Machado, at 23 another of the sport’s fresh faces, hit a double off the right-field wall against Francisco Rodriguez in the seventh and scored on Fielder’s sacrifice fly. And Brian Dozier, the last player added to the game as an injury replacement, hit a solo home run off Mark Melancon in the eighth.

NL runs came home on Jhonny Peralta’s RBI single in the second, Andrew McCutchen’s homer off Chris Archer in the sixth and Brandon Crawford’s sacrifice fly in the ninth.

NL manager Bruce Bochy thought ahead to some future ceremony involving Trout, perhaps at an All-Star Game or World Series, perhaps at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

“He’s going to be standing there, I think, with the guys we saw tonight,” Bochy said.

THE OLD RIVALRY

The AL is 21-6-1 in the last 28 games, losing three straight from 1994-96 and 2010-12. The NL leads the matchup 43-41-2.

SPEEDING

Jacob deGrom of the Mets, the NL Rookie of the Year, struck out Stephen Vogt, Jason Kipnis and Jose Iglesias on 10 pitches in the sixth, reaching 98 mph. … Reds closer Aroldis Chapman threw 14 of 15 pitches at 100 mph or more in the ninth, reaching 103 mph and striking out the side.

— Associated Press —

Royals rally past Blue Jays after blowing 7-0 lead

riggertRoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Paulo Orlando came through again for the Kansas City Royals.

Orlando, who had a walk-off grand slam Tuesday against Tampa Bay, hit a tie-breaking eighth inning home run as the Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-10 Sunday after blowing a seven-run advantage.

Orlando led off the eighth with a home run off Bo Schultz (0-1).

“It was a fastball in,” Orlando said. “I fouled off the first pitch, which was a fastball, too. He threw me two cutters and I waited for the fastball and I put a good swing there.”

With temperatures in the 90s, Orlando did not try to escape from catcher Salvador Perez’s Gatorade shower in a postgame television interview on the field.

“I needed it because it was too hot,” Orlando said. “It was a special moment. Salvy always makes fun of everybody. I waited for that.”

The Royals enter the All-Star break with an American League-leading 52 victories.

“I saw this coming three years ago,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Kansas City led 7-0 after five innings, but the Blue Jays sent 12 men to the plate in an eight-run sixth. Danny Valencia and Jose Bautista contributed two-run doubles in the inning.

Seven of the runs were unearned after Mike Moustakas and Omar Infante committed errors.

“It was an odd game, but those are going to happen every now and then when you play a lot of games,” said Bautista, who was ejected in the middle of an eighth inning at-bat by plate umpire Jerry Meals for arguing balls and strikes. “It was quirky. A lot of errors, the sun, the heat. It was a weird game.”

The Royals regained the lead with three in the bottom of the inning with Lorenzo Cain, who had three hits, singling in one run. Alcides Escobar had a RBI on a ground out, while the other run scored on Jose Reyes’ second error of the game.

The Jays got a run back in the seventh on a Russell Martin RBI-doubles. Reyes, who had his second straight three-hit game, singled home Kevin Pillar, who had tripled, in the eighth to tie it 10-10. It was only the second run Royals reliever Wade Davis (5-1) had allowed this season.

Greg Holland worked the ninth, logging his 19th save in 21 opportunities.

Kendrys Morales homered in a six-run first. Morales crushed a Felix Doubront fastball over the center field fence with Eric Hosmer and Moustakas aboard. That gives him 61 RBIs, second in the American League.

Doubront made it through five innings after the rocky start, although he gave up 10 hits and seven runs, two unearned.

BREAK FOR BAUTISTA

Bautista opted out of the All-Star Game to rest and rehab his sore right shoulder. “After being in Chicago and getting sore again, and listening to doctors’ recommendations, there’s some therapy and some rehab that needs to be done,” Bautista said. “Normally you would need a few days off during the regular season. I’m taking advantage of this due to the break. It’s the smart thing for me to do for my health and to the end of the season, so that’s what I’m doing. With the treatments hopefully it’ll be much better. I haven’t heard anything from the doctors that it’ll be any lingering effects and I’ll be able to come back after a few days.” The shoulder has bothered Bautista since a mid-April throw against Baltimore. He missed five games after that and was the DH for the next 29.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: 3B Josh Donaldson was not in the lineup because of flu-like symptoms, which caused him to come out in the sixth inning Saturday. … RHP Aaron Sanchez (right lat strain) threw 2 2/3 innings in a rehab appearance Saturday for Single-A Dunedin, Florida, giving up one run on three hits and two walks, while striking out five.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas (left flexor strain) will make his first rehab start Monday for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: The Blue Jays will host the Rays for the first three games after the break. The Jays have dropped seven of 10 to the Rays this season.

Royals: RHPs Chris Young and Edinson Volquez will start a split-doubleheader Friday at the White Sox.

— Associated Press —

Royals’ six-game win streak snapped by Toronto

riggertRoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — All the Toronto Blue Jays needed to break out of a skid was an impressive outing by Mark Buehrle and two big swings.

Buehrle pitched seven strong innings, Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer and the Blue Jays beat Kansas City 6-2 Saturday to snap the Royals’ six-game winning streak.

Buehrle (10-5) limited the Royals to two runs and five hits while improving to 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA in his past four starts against them. It was Buehrle’s 26th victory over the Royals. Only Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven (34) has more wins against the Royals.

“He continues to roll, on a tough day to pitch,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “It was hot out there. The offense came to life. We do what we do with a couple of home runs; that was the difference there. Buehrle was really good. They put a run up early and he kicked it up a notch.”

Encarnacion’s 18th home run in the fourth inning off Chris Young ended the Blue Jays’ 27-inning scoring drought.

“If the pitch was executed a little bit better, it might have been a pop up,” Young said. “The next at-bat I threw a better slider and he popped it up. It was a mistake. I didn’t make too many mistakes today. It’s a bad feeling as a pitcher, letting the team down with one pitch. I felt like I executed most of my pitches to give us a chance, but again Buehrle was just better today.”

Toronto led 3-2 in the ninth when Danny Valencia, traded by the Royals to the Blue Jays last July 28, hit a three-run homer off rookie Brandon Finnegan to extend the advantage.

“Obviously I played here last year, but we needed a win and I wanted to help the team,” Valencia said.

Jose Reyes had three hits, stole three bases, walked, scored a run and drove in a run for the Blue Jays.

Young (7-5), working on three days’ rest, gave up three runs and five hits with two walks in six-plus innings. He left after giving up a single to Kevin Pillar to open the inning.

The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the first as Alcides Escobar doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice and scored on Kendrys Morales’ grounder. It gave Morales 10 RBI in his past 11 games, and 57 on the season.

The Royals had Alex Rios at third and Omar Infante at second with one out in the second, but Buehrle held them there by striking out Drew Butera and getting Jarrod Dyson on a ground out.

Encarnacion’s homer in the fourth gave the Blue Jays the lead for good, and Reyes had a run-scoring infield single in seventh to make it 3-1.

Rios led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, moved to third on a fly ball to center and scored on Paulo Orlando’s grounder to pull the Royals within a run again.

SEEING 10s

Buehrle has won 10 or more games in 15 straight seasons, the longest active streak in the majors. “That’s what he does,” Gibbons said. “I hate to see him retire because he doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down.” Buehrle is 5-1 with a 1.88 ERA in his past nine starts.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: 3B Josh Donaldson left in the sixth inning after three at-bats with flu-like symptoms. He was replaced by Valencia.

Royals: RHP Kris Medlen (rehabbing from 2014 reconstructive elbow surgery) allowed three runs, all on solo home runs, in a start Friday for Triple-A Omaha against Iowa. He walked none and struck out seven, throwing 62 strikes in 89 pitches.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: LHP Felix Doubront will make his second start after beating the White Sox on Tuesday, allowing one run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez is 0-3 in four career starts against Toronto, allowing 19 earned runs over 19 1/3 innings.

— Associated Press —

Kansas City blanks Toronto in series opener 3-0

riggertRoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Danny Duffy’s fastball was too much for the Toronto Blue Jays’ power hitters.

Duffy pitched six sharp innings to pick up his first victory in more than two months as the Kansas City Royals beat the Jays 3-0 Friday night.

Duffy (3-4) shut down a Blue Jays offense which leads the majors with 470 runs. He gave up four singles while walking three and hitting a batter to earn his first victory since beating Detroit on April 30.

“I wasn’t really executing a whole lot, but my fastball was good enough to get in on guys and riding a little bit,” Duffy said. “With the life I had on my fastball, I was able to get a couple of first pitch ground outs, a couple of more than I’m used to getting.

“That’s the way I needed to pitch. With how much thump they have and how many good hitters they have, keep the ball down, put a little sink on it, try to get them to roll over it and they did tonight.”

The Royals have won six straight to improve to an American League-best 51-34.

“Duffy maneuvered through a real tough lineup,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Eric Hosmer went 4 for 4, his first four-hit game of the season and his eighth career game with at least four hits. Salvador Perez, Alex Rios and Alcides Escobar each had two hits and an RBI.

Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada (6-5), who did not allow a hit until the eighth inning in two late June starts, gave up a season-high nine hits.

“It’s a long season and I know that a lot of times it’s going to feel like the changeup’s not there,” Estrada said. “I’ve just got to fight through it and work hard to get it back to the way it should be. I think I’m on the right path.”

The Blue Jays, 3-7 in July, dropped below .500 for the first time since June 8.

Rios’ double in the second scored Salvador Perez with the first run.

Escobar’s two-out fourth inning single brought home Rios to make it 2-0.

Perez homered, his 15th, in the eighth off reliever Ryan Tepera.

Duffy was in trouble only in the fourth when he walked Danny Valencia and Russell Martin singled to begin the inning, but Duffy retired the next three batters.

“You could probably say he was effectively wild,” Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He’s got a good arm. He clutched up and made good pitches when he needed, good changeups. We had those chances, but it just didn’t happen.”

After Duffy exited, Royals relievers Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland completed the shutout. Holland struck out the side in the ninth for his 18th save in 20 opportunities.

Rain delayed the beginning of the game for 2 hours, 7 minutes.

ROYALS RECORD

The Royals’ 51 victories before the break matches a club record. The 1976 and 2003 clubs also won 51 before the All-Star Game.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: Rookie RHP Aaron Sanchez (strained right latissimus dorsi) will throw 50 pitches for Advance-A Dunedin (Florida) on Saturday. If all goes well, he will report to Triple-A Buffalo for a Thursday for a rehab start.

Royals: 3B Mike Moustakas was reinstated from the bereavement/family medical emergency list after missing four games. Moustakas went 0 for 4 in his return. INF Cheslor Cuthbert was optioned to Triple-A Omaha and will play in the Future’s All-Star game Sunday in Cincinnati.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: LHP Mark Buerhle, 4-1 in his past eight starts, will start Saturday.

Royals: RHP Chris Young will be working on three days for the fourth time in his career.

— Associated Press —

Royals’ Moustakas, Cards’ Martinez win final All-Star vote

Reds-All-Star-Game-LogoNEW YORK (AP) — Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas and St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez are going to the All-Star Game as winners of the final fan vote.

Martinez surged ahead of Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto in voting that ended Friday afternoon to become the sixth Cardinals player to make the NL roster for Tuesday’s Mid-Summer Classic in Cincinnati.

A first-time All-Star, Martinez might’ve gotten a voting boost from his outing Thursday night, pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings against the NL Central-rival Pirates. The 23-year-old Martinez is 10-3 with 2.52 ERA this season.

“When I saw names like Cueto and Kershaw and Tulowitzki, I really didn’t feel like I had a very good chance to win,” Martinez said ahead of the Cardinals’ game at Pittsburgh. “That’s why I’m so thankful to all the fans and all their help.”

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Mets closer Jeurys Familia were also in contention.

Moustakas, 26, becomes the seventh Royals player set to participate in the All-Star Game. Also a first time All-Star, Moustakas was hitting .301 with seven homers and 31 RBIs for the AL Central leaders.

He beat out Minnesota’s Brian Dozier, Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts for the last American League spot. Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner was in the final five, but he replaced Moustakas’ injured teammate Alex Gordon on the roster Wednesday.

“The best fans in baseball. They proved that in the voting and again with the second voting. They’ve been with me the whole way,” Moustakas said in Kansas City. “It’s an exciting time to be a Royal.”

Moustakas had been away from the team for the previous four games to be with his ailing mother, missing out on much of the campaigning for the final spot.

“When I’m hanging out with my mom, all that other stuff doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I get to hang out with her, talk to her and see how she’s doing. It really puts everything else in perspective.”

Dozier was grateful for all the support from the Twins and their fans. Minnesota parked a bulldozer outside Target Field and the second baseman got support from fellow athletes such as Brett Favre, the Wild’s Zach Parise and Ryan Carter and the Vikings’ Chad Greenway.

“I wouldn’t say it’s disappointing,” Dozier said before playing the Tigers in Minneapolis. “It’s kind of crazy in the fact of how that’s the voting process, but we had a lot of fun with it.”

— Associated Press —

Kansas City rolls past Rays to finish off four-game sweep

riggertRoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jarrod Dyson did his best impression of Alex Gordon with his glove. Lorenzo Cain and Salvador Perez did the same with their bats.

Along with a strong return from the disabled list for right-hander Yordano Ventura, the Kansas City Royals proved with an 8-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday that they could be just fine without their injured star outfielder.

“We do have a confident team here,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We think we can get through these things. We think we have the ability to overcome these things.”

Earlier in the day, the Royals announced that Gordon would miss at least eight weeks with a several strained groin muscle. Even in the best-case scenario, that would put his return at some point in September, when the Royals hope to be in the thick of the playoff chase.

In the meantime, they’ll have to do without him.

“Next guy in line has to step up. That’s it,” said Dyson, who started in Gordon’s place and made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch at the wall in left to set the tone in the first inning.

Ventura (4-6) allowed three runs and four hits and three walks, striking out four. It was his first start since June 12, when an elbow condition began causing numbness in his hand.

“My arm felt good,” he said through a translator. “It was strong.”

Eric Hosmer, Cheslor Cuthbert and Kendrys Morales also drove in runs off Nathan Karns (4-5), the latest Rays starter to get pummeled by Kansas City. The Royals scored at least seven runs in every game of their first four-game sweep since September 2008, against Seattle.

Meanwhile, the Rays were swept in a four-game set for the second time in two weeks, after Cleveland did it June 29-July 2. Tampa Bay has lost 11 of 12 overall.

“It’s just one of those parts of the season that no one can really figure out why we’re there and how we’ve got here,” Karns said, “but we’re here.”

Even without Gordon’s hot bat in the lineup, the Royals struck first for the first time during their eight games this homestand. Hosmer doubled home Alcides Escobar in the first inning, and Cain followed with his two-run shot into the stands in left field.

All three runs were scored in the first five pitches.

The Royals tacked on another run in the second when Cuthbert tripled to right.

Ventura was cruising along through four innings, shutting out Tampa Bay — which had not scored a single run to support Karns in his past three starts.

But the Rays finally broke through in the fifth when David DeJesus and Asdrubal Cabrera strung together hits and Kevin Kiermaier and Rene Rivera walked to force in a run. John Jaso and Grady Sizemore added sacrifice flies to get Tampa Bay within 4-3.

The Royals answered with three runs in the bottom half. Morales hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, and Perez lined his two-run shot into the bullpen in left.

Karns allowed six runs and nine hits in six innings, the latest in a string of lousy Tampa Bay starts. Matt Moore and Matt Andriese failed to make it five innings the first two games of the series, and Chris Archer allowed a career-high nine runs Wednesday night.

Kansas City piled up 33 runs total in the four-game set, more than the reigning AL champions had scored in their previous 10 games combined.

“No excuse, `cause sometimes you’ve got to make your own break,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It hasn’t been going well for us, obviously. We’ve had times throughout the season where it has and now it’s not going that well. We need to get home and hopefully change that around.”

SHH, KEEP QUIET

Cain was ejected prior to the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes from the dugout. It was his second ejection of the season. Paulo Orlando replaced him in the lineup.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: Jaso came off the DL for the series opener and went 7 for 12 with a pair of walks. He had been out since the first week of the season with a bruised wrist.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas (left flexor strain) will make a rehab start for Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Monday. The plan is to activate him from the DL after the All-Star break.

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Erasmo Ramirez will start against Houston on Friday night.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy will be on the mound against Toronto on Friday night.

— Associated Press —

Royals place Gordon on DL; expected to miss at least eight weeks

riggertRoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals manager Ned Yost joked that nobody had better steal Alex Gordon’s crutches, only to watch his star outfielder walk slowly into a news conference without any Thursday.

The doctors may be saying that Gordon will be out for eight weeks with a severe groin strain, but he already seemed to defy them just one day after getting hurt.

”I’m going to do everything I can to get back out there quicker,” he said.

Gordon was injured in the fourth inning of Wednesday night’s game against Tampa Bay. He crumpled to the field near the warning track and lay there for several minutes, eventually needing a cart to leave the field. He later underwent an MRI that revealed the extent of the injury.

”The news is obviously tough. I mean, I want to be out there every day,” he said. ”I knew it wasn’t good, especially with the season we’re having. To be carted off and thinking that’s going to be taken away for a while, it’s frustrating.”

Yost said that the MRI revealed a ”two-plus groin strain,” and that the one positive is that Gordon will not need surgery.

Still, the clubhouse leader is supposed to be on crutches for a while, and he will almost certainly do no baseball activities for several weeks.

When asked whether the eight-week timeframe given by the doctors meant Gordon would be back in time for regular-season games, Yost said that he simply didn’t know.

”We have no way of determining that,” he said. ”We just have to go week to week.”

The Royals put Gordon on the disabled list prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Rays, one of several roster moves they made.

Right-hander Yordano Ventura was activated from the DL to make the start, right-hander Aaron Brooks was optioned to Triple-A Omaha and left-hander Brandon Finnegan was recalled from the same club.
View gallery
Royals outfielder Gordon goes on DL; Ventura reins …
Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon is carted off the field after sustaining an injury while …

Filling Gordon’s void in the Royals lineup wasn’t all Yost had to worry about, either: He is also the manager of the American League team for Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

After spending Thursday morning pondering replacements for Gordon, who was due to start in Cincinnati, Yost chose Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner – one of the five ”final vote” candidates.

”That’s another crazy thing about this,” Yost said. ”I knew as soon as Gordo went down, this was going to affect both of my teams. And it was going to be a lot more homework.”

Still, the thought that he put into his All-Star team seemed to be secondary to the thought that he was giving Gordon, one of the most respected players in the clubhouse.

”Put it this way, when I really screw up in a game, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and have this pit in my stomach, right?” Yost said. ”I woke up last night and had that horrible feeling in my stomach, and I said, ‘Wait a minute, I didn’t screw up. And we’re not on a losing streak.’ And then it hit me, Alex Gordon. So it runs deep.”

Not only is the four-time Gold Glove winner one of the best defensive players in baseball, he was also the Royals’ hottest hitter. He had seven hits, reached base eight times and drove in six runs during a doubleheader sweep of Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

”It’s just devastating,” said Jarrod Dyson, who started in Gordon’s place Thursday. ”I got a chance to talk to Gordo before I left the clubhouse. We just wish him the best. Our prayers go out to the guy. We stick together around here.”

Yost said that Dyson and Paulo Orlando would handle the vacant spot in the outfield, though the Royals also still could make a move prior to the trade deadline.

In some positive injury news, Ventura had no issues going five innings in an 8-3 victory on Thursday that finished off a four-game sweep of Tampa Bay. The hard-throwing right-hander had been struggling before going on the DL with the elbow issue.

The Royals are also due to get Jason Vargas, out with a left flexor strain, back from the DL after the All-Star break. He had no problems after a 60-pitch simulated game Wednesday, and will make a rehab start Monday for Double-A Northwest Arkansas so he can face live hitters.

The return of those two starters should also help overcome Gordon’s injury.

”That always helps. That’ll be a key part of it,” Yost said. ”When you lose a key player like that, everybody has to pitch in a little bit.”

— Associated Press —

Royals lose Gordon to injury, hold on to beat Rays 9-7

riggertRoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals’ Alex Gordon has earned four Gold Gloves by making the spectacular look routine, whether it’s a diving catch or robbing someone of extra bases by running into the wall.

Every time, the All-Star left fielder seems to pop right back up.

When stayed down Wednesday night, first baseman Eric Hosmer knew something was wrong.

“His tolerance of pain,” Hosmer said, “he can handle a lot.”

In a scary moment for AL Central-leading Kansas City, Gordon had to be carted off the field in the fourth inning of a 9-7 victory over Tampa Bay. He was diagnosed with a severe groin strain, one that manager Ned Yost feared could sideline him for months.

“He heard it pop, which isn’t good,” Yost said. “The doctors didn’t think it detached from the bone, which is a good thing. But it kind of took the wind out of the sails.”

Fortunately for the Royals, they got the wind back.

Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson each hit a two-run homer, Alcides Escobar had four hits and Kansas City pounded away on All-Star Chris Archer before holding on for the victory.

Gordon’s injury came as he was chasing Logan Forsythe’s inside-the-park homer, but Dyson countered with another inside-the-park homer two innings later. It was the first time there were two in one game since the Cubs’ Sammy Sosa and Pirates’ Tony Womack did it on May 26, 1997.

“Dyson gave us a big lift, as he always does,” said Jeremy Guthrie (7-5), who allowed three earned runs in six-plus innings. “He probably saved the game for us.”

Archer (9-6) allowed a career-high nine runs and 11 hits over six innings. The right-hander had only given up four runs total in seven road starts this season.

Tampa Bay, swept in a doubleheader Tuesday, fell for the 10th time in 11 games.

“It’s just disappointing in the fact I didn’t hardly give my team a chance to win. We put up seven runs and when we usually do that we win,” Archer said. “That boils down to me not executing pitches. They did find some holes, but they also hit some balls hard.”

Forsythe’s home run tied it at 2, and the Rays added another run later in the inning. But Dyson threw out John Jaso trying to score on a fly out to left field, and that seemed to pick up Kansas City’s spirits.

“We needed to tack on runs right there and we didn’t,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Jaso hits a bullet to the left fielder and we’re not at least able to get the sac fly, if not more.”

The Royals came back with five runs in the fifth.

Cheslor Cuthbert started the rally with a one-out walk, and Escobar lined a sharp single off Archer’s ankle. The Rays’ ace hobbled around a bit but stayed in the game, and appeared to be fine when he fanned Dyson for the second out.

Cain, who homered in the third, followed with an RBI single deep in the hole behind second base. Eric Hosmer added a run-scoring single and Kendrys Morales had a two-run double before Salvador Perez hit a flare into shallow right field to make it 7-3.

The Royals padded their lead the next inning when Dyson followed a single by Escobar with a line drive into the left-field corner. David DeJesus had trouble handling it and Dyson sped home.

It was the light-hitting Dyson’s first homer since June 25, 2014, a span of 252 at-bats.

“My emotions were, `Run, Dice, run!” Yost said. “In four years as a third base coach in Atlanta, I don’t think I ever had an inside-the-park home run. To see two in one game, that’s pretty amazing.”

ONE-SIDED SERIES

Kansas City improved to 17-5 against Tampa Bay since 2012, including an 11-1 mark at Kauffman Stadium. The three wins this homestand have all come after the Rays scored first.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi (strained left oblique) will be activated to start Saturday against Houston, manager Kevin Cash said. Matt Moore will start on Sunday.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas (left flexor strain) threw 60 pitches in a simulated game. He will make a rehab start for Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Monday, Yost said.

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Nathan Karns starts the series finale in search of his first win since June 19.

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura returns from the DL to start for the first time since June 12. He has been out with ulnar neuritis, a condition that caused numbness in his hand.

— Associated Press —

Royals, Cardinals form alliance for All-Star final vote

RoyalsCardinalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, bitter cross-state rivals, have forged an unlikely alliance to get their final vote candidates into the All-Star Game.

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas and Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez are among the five candidates in their respective league. Fan voting will determine who makes the roster.

The regional sports networks for each team are promoting the alliance, and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said Wednesday that fans should vote “so there is as much Royals blue and Cardinals red on the field next week in Cincinnati as possible.”

The Royals already have six players on the American League roster, including four starters. The Cardinals have five on the National League roster, two of them starters.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File