DETROIT (AP) — Tyson Ross finally pitched at Comerica Park — and certainly enjoyed his new surroundings.

Ross pitched seven impressive innings, and the Detroit Tigers extended their winning streak to five with a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Ross signed with the Tigers in the offseason, and Comerica was the last current ballpark he hadn’t pitched in. The 31-year-old right-hander allowed a run and five hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

“It feels good,” he said. “Beautiful mound out there. It was nice to be out there for the first time and have such great defense behind me.”

Rookie outfielder Christin Stewart, whose grand slam lifted Detroit to a win Saturday, drove in two more runs to help the Tigers complete a three-game sweep of their first home series. Joe Jimenez pitched the eighth for Detroit and Shane Greene finished. Greene has saves in all seven victories this season for the Tigers and has not blown any.

With two outs in the ninth and a man on base, center fielder Niko Goodrum ended the game with a diving catch. Greene became the first pitcher since saves became an official stat in 1969 to earn seven in his team’s first 10 games.

Ross (1-1) and the Detroit relievers got plenty of help from their fielders. Catcher John Hicks threw out both Billy Hamilton and Whit Merrifield trying to steal.

Brad Keller (1-1) allowed three runs in six innings for the Royals, who have dropped six in a row. Because of off days, Keller was starting for the third time in his team’s first eight games.

“Going into the second inning, he was like 45 pitches before we got an out,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “But he got it settled down a little bit, and was able to give us a good, strong six in that situation. I thought he threw the ball extremely well, too.”

Merrifield and Hamilton had three hits each for Kansas City. Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 28 games dating to last season. He’s just two shy of George Brett’s franchise record.

Merrifield led off the game with a double and eventually scored on Alex Gordon’s one-out groundout. Stewart tied it in the second with an RBI triple, and the Tigers took the lead when he scored on Gordon Beckham’s double play grounder.

Stewart added an RBI single in the sixth.

CHANCES

The Royals had two on with one out in the third and didn’t score, and they had men on first and third with one out in the eighth and came up empty again. Merrifield was caught stealing second in the eighth.

The speedy Royals were 6 for 7 on stolen base attempts before going 2 for 4 on Sunday.

“It’s just part of who we are. It’s our identity as a team,” Merrifield said. “The goal is to be more successful than not.”

STARTING STRONG

Remarkably, Ross was the first starter for Detroit credited with a win this season — even though the Tigers’ rotation has a 2.02 ERA through 10 games.

“It is about throwing the ball over the plate and catching the ball. We’ve been doing a pretty nice job of that,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Our catcher threw out a couple guys — none bigger than one of the last ones — and our starting pitcher threw the ball over, really attacked, gave us another great performance out there.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Hamilton stole second base in the third inning, but he paid a price when the throw hit him in the left arm, and his head appeared to crash into the glove of Detroit’s Josh Harrison. Both players were a bit shaken up but remained in the game.

Tigers: Detroit reinstated RHP Drew VerHagen (right shoulder) from the 10-day injured list to replace LHP Matt Moore, who went on the IL with a right knee injury.

UP NEXT

Royals: Kansas City returns home to face Seattle. RHP Homer Bailey (0-0) starts for the Royals on Monday night against RHP Felix Hernandez (1-0).

Tigers: Detroit has Monday off before hosting a series with Cleveland. Jordan Zimmermann (0-0) takes the mound Tuesday for the Tigers against Corey Kluber (0-2).

— Associated Press —

DETROIT (AP) — This was the type of win that Detroit fans can be encouraged by — not only did the Tigers rally in the late innings, but one of their top young players delivered the key home run.

Christin Stewart hit a two-out grand slam in the seventh inning, lifting Detroit to a 7-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. The Tigers trailed 4-2 in the seventh but rallied against Kansas City’s struggling bullpen.

Kevin McCarthy (0-1) allowed three hits and a hit batter. The only out on his watch came with the score 4-3, when Alex Gordon threw Josh Harrison out at the plate. Detroit eventually loaded the bases with two out, and Stewart hit a drive down the line in right field off Wily Peralta.

“I love the kid. I said he can hit. I said he’s going to be a power hitter,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He’s going to have his ups and downs. He’s going to chase. He’s going to have some bad at-bats, but it’s a growing experience for him.”

Stewart is hitting just .143, but this was the second home run of the season for Detroit’s rookie outfielder. His other one was also big — a 10th-inning shot at Toronto that provided all the scoring in a 2-0 victory in the season opener.

“Won both games, that’s the biggest thing,” Stewart said. “I’m just thankful I was able to be a part to help us.”

After the game, Stewart got the grand slam ball back, giving a fan a signed bat in exchange.

Whit Merrifield, Jorge Soler and Hunter Dozier all homered for the Royals, but Kansas City’s bullpen — which entered the game with a 7.45 ERA — couldn’t hold on.

Shane Greene pitched a perfect ninth and now has saves in all six Detroit victories this season — without blowing any. The Tigers have won four straight, and the Royals have dropped five in a row.

“If I get frustrated, then the players see that I’m frustrated, then all of a sudden they start pressing more because they don’t want this, they don’t like this,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “So my job is not to get frustrated, my job is to continue to support and continue to lead these guys through this period. They’re going to get through it.”

Tigers starter Matt Moore retired the first eight hitters he faced, but he left the game after three innings with a right knee injury. The team announced it as a sprain, although Gardenhire described it afterward as a strain. Detroit announced it would put Moore on the 10-day injured list. Daniel Norris, who pitched three innings in relief of Moore, is joining the rotation in his place.

Detroit led 2-0 in the sixth when Merrifield hit a solo shot, extending his hitting streak to 27 games. Kansas City then tied it in the seventh on a home run by Soler, and Dozier hit a two-run homer off Victor Alcantara (2-0) later that inning.

Nicholas Castellanos hit an RBI single in the seventh for the Tigers, and Miguel Cabrera followed with a single that could have loaded the bases with nobody out. Instead, third-base coach Dave Clark sent Harrison, who was thrown out at home. One out later, Jeimer Candelario drew a walk that loaded the bases for Stewart.

Merrifield’s hitting streak, which dates to last season, is now tied for the second-longest in Royals’ history. Jose Offerman had a 27-game streak in 1998, and George Brett had a 30-game run in 1980.

Royals first baseman Frank Schwindel, whose error in the second gave Detroit the game’s first run, singled in the seventh for his first career hit.

Cabrera hit an RBI single in the fifth that put the Tigers up 2-0.

STARTERS

Moore’s three scoreless innings lowered the ERA for Detroit’s starters to 2.12. The only baserunner he allowed came on the play when he got hurt. He went to the ground to field Billy Hamilton’s bunt to the right of the mound. Hamilton ended up with an infield single and went to second on Moore’s throwing error. Moore finished the inning, then left the game.

Kansas City starter Jorge Lopez allowed one earned run in six innings.

“I feel good since first inning,” Lopez said. “The plan was to be down, looking for soft contact.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: OF JaCoby Jones (left shoulder) and RHP Drew VerHagen (right shoulder) started rehab assignments with Class A Lakeland on Friday night. Jones went 1 for 4 but struck out three times, which left Gardenhire a bit bemused. “Says, `When am I getting out of this place?’ You’re in A ball, just struck out three times,” Gardenhire said with a smile. “When you get a couple hits, not strike out three times in A ball — that would be my answer.”

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Brad Keller (1-0) takes the mound in the series finale Sunday. Because of off days, he’ll be able to start for the third time in Kansas City’s first eight games.

Tigers: RHP Tyson Ross (0-1) makes his first home start for Detroit after signing in the offseason.

— Associated Press —

DETROIT (AP) — Spencer Turnbull struck out 10 in six innings, and the Detroit Tigers drew four straight walks to start the bottom of the seventh, taking the lead for good in their 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.

Josh Harrison stole two bases and scored three times for the Tigers in their home opener. It was tied at 3 in the seventh when Kansas City reliever Kyle Zimmer (0-1) walked Harrison, Nicholas Castellanos and Miguel Cabrera in succession. Kevin McCarthy then came on and walked Niko Goodrum on four pitches, forcing in a run.

Christin Stewart added a sacrifice fly that inning to make it 5-3. Blaine Hardy (1-0) allowed a solo homer to Alex Gordon in the eighth, his second inning of work. Shane Greene pitched the ninth for his fifth save in five chances.

Whit Merrifield singled, tripled and scored twice for the Royals, extending his hitting streak to 26 games dating to last season. He came up with two outs in the ninth and Billy Hamilton on first, but the speedy Hamilton never stole second, and Merrifield grounded out.

Turnbull, impressive enough in spring training to earn a spot in the rotation, allowed two earned runs in just his fifth major league start. He yielded six hits and two walks but prevented Kansas City from any big innings.

The Royals have lost four straight after winning their first two games this season. Detroit’s five runs were a season high. The Tigers had scored only 12 runs through their first seven games.

Detroit’s outfield wasn’t sharp defensively, and that helped Kansas City score two runs. An error by Castellanos in right field allowed Gordon to score from first on Jorge Soler’s double in the first. In the fifth, Goodrum was unable to cut off a ball hit to center, and Merrifield ended up with a leadoff triple. He came home on Gordon’s sacrifice fly for a 3-2 lead.

Goodrum answered with his bat, however, hitting a flare past first base for an RBI double in the bottom of the inning.

Cabrera hit an RBI single in Detroit’s two-run first.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Detroit is without OF JaCoby Jones (left shoulder), and his absence appeared to hurt the Tigers defensively Thursday.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jorge Lopez (0-1) takes the mound Saturdayt. He allowed four runs in five-plus innings against the Chicago White Sox in his first start this season.

Tigers: LHP Matt Moore (0-0) makes his first home start for Detroit.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli really wanted to give Byron Buxton a rest, a day after the center fielder bruised his ribs when he crashed into the wall chasing down Adalberto Mondesi’s inside-the-park home run.

But then the perfect situation arose to insert the speedster Wednesday, and Baldelli made the move. After Nelson Cruz drew a leadoff walk in the ninth, Buxton entered as a pinch-runner.

On the next pitch, Buxton swiped second, his 30th straight successful steal.

Eddie Rosario followed with a single and Buxton scored the go-ahead run as the Minnesota Twins used a late rally for the second straight day, beating the Kansas City Royals 7-6.

“That’s the only thing he was going to be used for today, regardless of what else happened in the game,” Baldelli said. “He did not waver one bit. He said he was feeling good and he went out there and changed the game again. That’s the kind of stuff that he can do.”

Max Kepler hit a tying, two-run single with two outs in the Twins eighth.

Willians Astudillo and Mitch Garver each had three hits and scored twice for Minnesota.

Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 25 games, tied with George Brett and Mike Sweeney for third longest by a Royals player. Alex Gordon homered and drove in four runs for Kansas City.

Mondesi kept up his fast start for the Royals with two more hits, including his third triple of the season. The 23-year-old shortstop also flashed the leather in the field, laying out for a catch in shallow left to leave the bases loaded in the sixth and then starting an inning-ending double play with two runners on in the seventh.

Trevor May (1-0) threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win and Blake Parker picked up his second save in as many days.

The game drew an announced crowd of 10,575. A day earlier, the Twins scored the tying run in the ninth and won 5-4 in the 10th on an RBI single by Cruz — that game drew 10,024, the lowest at Kauffman Stadium in eight years.

Despite surrendering a run in the first, Twins starter Kyle Gibson cruised through 4 2/3 innings. But after retiring the first two hitters in the fifth, the next seven batters reached base — one on an error — and he left with the Royals leading 6-3. Albert Mejia threw 2 1/3 innings to keep the Twins in the game.

“I mean, Mejia did a great job. He came in and gave the offense the break they needed right then and put up a couple zeros and gave our guys a chance to fight back,” Gibson said. “We got a lot of quality arms done there and the ability to put up zeros quick and give the team a chance to get one run at a time.”

Three Twins relievers combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings. The Kansas City bullpen faltered, giving up four runs and six hits over four innings.

“Whenever you’re at home and get a come-from-behind loss like that, it’s always frustrating,” Gordon said. “It’s early. We have to keep running them out there and giving them chances. Hopefully it turns around.”

Homer Bailey, who was 1-14 with a 6.09 ERA last year with Cincinnati, was solid in his Kansas City debut. He threw five innings, allowing five hits and three runs and striking out eight. But for the second consecutive day, the Royals bullpen couldn’t shut down the Twins.

“He spotted his fastball well. He had a good split, a good breaking ball. He made a couple of mistakes. But all in all, I thought it was a good first outing for him,” manager Ned Yost said.

GETTING IN A GROOVE

After three off days in the first week of the season, Kansas City will play games on 19 consecutive days beginning Saturday at Detroit, something Yost is looking forward to.

“I’m glad we get past Friday and we get to roll for a while,” Yost said. “I’m happy for that.”

The Twins have five days off in the first 12 days of the season, the most in baseball. Beginning April 12, Minnesota has a game on 13 straight days.

ROSTER MOVES

Kansas City added Bailey to the roster prior to the game. RHP Chris Ellis, who made his major league debut on Sunday, was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Royals: Jakob Junis gets his second start of the season Thursday as the Royals hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Detroit for a three-game series with the Tigers. Junis was the winning pitcher Saturday in his first start of the season, giving up three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings of work as the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 8-6.

Twins: Jake Odorizzi tries to follow up an outstanding first start of the season Friday at Philadelphia as Minnesota continues a nine-day road trip. Odorizzi matched his career high with 11 strikeouts over six innings in a no-decision Saturday against Cleveland.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nelson Cruz got a second chance and delivered a go-ahead single with two outs in the 10th inning, giving the Minnesota Twins a 5-4 victory over the Royals on Tuesday night before Kansas City’s smallest announced home crowd in eight years.

Cruz appeared to ground out against reliever Brad Boxberger (0-1) with runners on first and second when third base umpire James Hoye signaled his chopper fair. But plate umpire Mark Ripperger came in and signaled it was foul, and after the two umps visited it was Ripperger’s call that stood.

Cruz followed a couple pitches later with his third RBI of the game.

Trevor Hildenberger (1-0) got the final out of the ninth inning for Minnesota, and Blake Parker worked around a two-out walk in the 10th to earn his first save.

Kansas City announced attendance as 10,024, the lowest at Kauffman Stadium since 9,279 against Cleveland on April 21, 2011.

The Royals took the lead with one out in the eighth on an inside-the-park home run by Adalberto Mondesi, only for starter-turned-reliever Ian Kennedy to cough it right back up in the ninth.

Jorge Polanco led off with a double and, after Nelson Cruz flied out, Eddie Rosario delivered his first hit of the season to tie the game. Rosario eventually reached third on a single by Marwin Gonzalez, but Kennedy bounced back to retire Jonathan Schoop and escape the inning.

Mondesi finished a triple shy of the cycle, driving in a run with a single in the first and hitting a double in the third. Ryan O’Hearn also homered while Hunter Dozier added a sacrifice fly.

The game was supposed to be a matchup of bright young pitchers, and the Twins’ Jose Berrios and Royals counterpart Brad Keller followed up scoreless outings on opening day with solid starts.

They just weren’t around to see the finish.

Berrios allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings, while Keller struggled with his command most of the night. He got some help when Max Kepler was thrown out trying to steal second, but the right-hander still allowed three runs on five hits over six innings.

The Royals bullpen nearly coughed up the game right after Keller took a bow.

Tim Hill allowed back-to-back singles to the only two batters he faced, and Wily Peralta issued a full-count walk to load the bases with nobody out. But their erstwhile closer bounced back to bookend a pair of strikeouts around a lineout and left the bases loaded.

Mondesi’s drive off reliever Taylor Rogers in the eighth hit high off the wall, just past the outstretched glove of centerfielder Byron Buxton. It bounced far enough away that Mondesi was able to score with ease for his first career inside-the-park homer.

Buxton was removed from the game in the ninth inning to be evaluated.

NEW CATCHER

The Royals acquired C Andrew Susac from Baltimore for cash. Susac had been dropped from the Orioles’ 40-man roster earlier this year and failed to make the major league team coming out of spring training. He’s a career .221 hitter over parts of five big league seasons.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins RHP Matt Magill and LHP Gabriel Moya, both on the injured list with shoulder tendinitis, are throwing bullpen sessions in extended spring training. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Magill is ahead of Moya and both are ahead of LHP Addison Reed, who is dealing with a sprained thumb.

UP NEXT

The Royals plan to add RHP Homer Bailey to the roster Wednesday to make his season debut against the Twins. RHP Kyle Gibson will start for Minnesota in the finale of their two-game set.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lucas Giolito has mastered the Kansas City Royals, a trend that continued Sunday.

The rest of the major leagues? The Chicago White Sox hope the 6-foot-6 right-hander is ready to dominate there, too.

Giolito took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning in his first start of the season, and the White Sox beat the Royals 6-3 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep in the season-opening series.

“It feels good to start off on a good note,” Giolito said. “Throughout my whole career, I’ve always had my not as good starts earlier in the year, and I wanted to change that this year.”

Giolito (1-0) walked Whit Merrifield on four pitches to begin the game, but then retired 19 straight before Alex Gordon’s single with one out in the seventh. Gordon fouled off four consecutive pitches before lining a curveball into center field.

“Besides that curveball, he was pretty much on all day,” Gordon said. “Like I say, give him credit. It was a good at-bat, but he had a great game.”

Giolito couldn’t finish the inning. Ryan O’Hearn drove in Gordon with a double into the right field corner, and Lucas Duda chased Giolito with an RBI single. Giolito was charged with two runs in 6 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches.

Giolito was 10-13 with a 6.13 ERA in 2018 and led the AL in walks (90) and the majors in earned runs allowed (118). In seven starts against the Royals in his career, Giolito is 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA. In 14 starts against the other AL Central teams, Giolito has a 5.62 ERA.

“He was attacking the strike zone,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “Breaking ball was working well, he was commanding his fastball, probably tired a little bit there at the end, but really did a really nice job.”

Ryan Burr got the final out of the seventh to end the threat.

Yonder Alonso preserved the no-hitter with a diving stop in the sixth, and he and Jose Abreu homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth off starter Jorge Lopez (0-1).

Alex Colome pitched a perfect ninth for his first save.

Alonso had two hits and three RBI. Four other White Sox had two hits in the game, including Abreu.

Alonso also robbed Billy Hamilton of a hit by diving down the first base line to snag a line drive in the sixth.

Lopez and reliever Tim Hill combined to walk three straight during the sixth inning, resulting in two runs. Lopez allowed four runs in five-plus innings.

Royals right-handers Kyle Zimmer and Chris Ellis made their major league debuts. Zimmer threw a scoreless eighth inning, surrendering a single and striking out two.

The fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft, Zimmer spent six seasons in the minor leagues and spent last year way from the organization while working on his mechanics at the Driveline baseball facility in Seattle.

“This is just the first of hopefully many outings. Hopefully the first of many zeros,” Zimmer said.

“We’re just scratching the surface,” Yost said. “This is nothing. He’s got the ability to put together a nice run this year and establish himself as a major leaguer. That’s what he’s got to do now.”

Ellis matched Zimmer with a scoreless ninth, giving up two singles and a walk in the inning after retiring the first two batters he faced.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: OF Jon Jay (right hip strain) will have his hip reevaluated when the team gets back to Chicago later this week, and RHP Ian Hamilton is throwing as he continues to work his way back from right shoulder inflammation. Renteria said both players, who have been on the 10-day injured list since March 25, are improving each day.

UP NEXT

White Sox: Ivan Nova makes his first start Monday as a member of the White Sox as Chicago travels to Cleveland for a two-game series.

Royals: Brad Keller will make his second start of the season Tuesday against the Twins. Keller has pitched 41 consecutive innings without allowing a home run, dating to Aug. 31. It’s the longest active streak in the AL and the second-longest streak in the majors.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — If the Kansas City Royals are going to have success in 2019, they’ll need to rely on their speed. That was very evident Saturday in an 8-6 win over the Chicago White Sox on a wet, cold and windy afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

Jorge Soler had three hits and three RBI and Alex Gordon scored three runs despite not getting a hit. Billy Hamilton got three hits and scored twice for the Royals, 2-0 for the first time since their World Series-winning season in 2015.

The first pitch was delayed 30 minutes because of rain. When the game began, it was 38 degrees and felt like 28, whipped by 18 mph winds.

The Royals had two big innings when they scored seven of their eight runs, and speed played a role in all of them. Nowhere was it more evident than a three-run fourth when Hamilton advanced from first base on a flyout to right field.

“We were screaming for him to tag,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “That’s the type of baseball we like to play. We like to push it. He’s got that phenomenal speed to be able to do it.”

For Hamilton, it was no big deal.

“I take pride in my baserunning,” he said. “It’s easier to score from second base than it is from first base. I kind of know the guys who are playing. I knew if he would have thrown me out I wouldn’t have been mad. You have to take the chance.

The speed on the basepaths seemed to rattle White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez (0-1). He gave up four runs on six hits through four-plus innings.

“If they get on base, they can be a disruption, a distraction for you because you have to keep checking on them just to make sure they don’t take a big lead and take off earlier,” Lopez said. “I don’t think that they ran a lot against me, but it’s just part of the game.”

Chicago manager Rick Renteria said Lopez struggled to stay on track.

“He was pulling pitches quite a bit early and wasn’t able to get back to front,” he said. “He wasn’t able to do it as well as we wanted him to. He was not having a good feel for the baseball this afternoon.”

“It was a little bit cool for him, as it was for both sides. I think he was pulling a lot more pitches than we’re used to. He tried to make an adjustment but just wasn’t able to,” he said.

Jakob Junis (1-0) gave up three runs — all in the sixth on Jose Abreu’s homer — over 5 2/3 innings. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out six.

It was the second straight strong starting effort for the Royals. Brad Keller threw seven shutout innings in the season-opener Thursday.

Ian Kennedy pitched the ninth for the first save of his career. He gave up two quick singles, but then retired the next three batters.

“Nerves go away quickly when you get first and second,” he said. “That’s when you know you can’t give up any more singles. You try to put it to a stop.”

The Royals made it 4-0 in the fifth when Gordon walked and scored on a double by Soler, chasing Lopez.

Yolmer Sanchez and Yoan Moncada singled in the White Sox sixth and Abreu homered.

The Royals came back with four runs in the bottom half. Whit Merrifield hit a two-run single, extending his hitting streak to 22 games back to last season, Gordon walked and Soler drove in both runners with his second double.

Moncada homered in a three-run seventh.

Prized White Sox rookie Eloy Jimenez got his first two big league hits after going 0 for 3 in his debut Thursday.

UP NEXT

White Sox: RHP Lucas Giolito will make his season debut for the White Sox as they conclude the season-opening series.

Royals: RHP Jorge Lopez will get the start for the Royals.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Brad Keller pitched two-hit ball over seven shutout innings, Adalberto Mondesi tripled twice and the Kansas Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Thursday after the start of their season opener was delayed nearly two hours by rain.

Eloy Jimenez went 0 for 3 with an RBI in his major league debut for Chicago after signing a $43 million, six-year contract — a record high for a player under club control yet to appear in a big league game. The 22-year-old outfielder was nicked on the left toe by a pitch with the bases loaded in the ninth.

Jorge Soler drove in two runs and Whit Merrifield scored twice for the Royals. Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 21 games dating to last season and stole two bases — he led the majors with 45 steals a year ago.

Keller (1-0) struck out five and walked one to help the Royals improve to 18-33 on opening day. Brad Boxberger got one out for a save in his Kansas City debut.

Mondesi joined Tony Pena (2007) as the only Royals players to hit two triples in a season opener.

Carlos Rodon (0-1) started for the White Sox and was charged with three runs — two earned — and three hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one.

Chicago won 14-7 in Kansas City in on opening day last year.

— Associated Press —

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have finalized a $2.5 million, one-year deal with Martin Maldonado, giving them a veteran catcher after losing Salvador Perez to a season-ending injury.

The deal announced Monday includes up to $1.4 million in performance bonuses for games caught.

Maldonado spent last season with the Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros, hitting .225 with nine homers and 44 RBIs in 119 games. But his biggest strength has been his ability to frame pitches and play defense, and his experience should help what is expected to be a young Royals team this season.

Maldonado’s Gold Glove in 2017 broke Perez’s streak of four straight.

Perez underwent Tommy John surgery last Wednesday after tearing a ligament in his throwing arm during a spring training workout.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals signed outfielder Terrance Gore to a split contract for next season on Tuesday, giving them yet another speedster to join what could be baseball’s fastest roster next season.

Gore, traded by the Royals to the Cubs for cash last August, will make $650,000 in the majors and $350,000 in the minors. He could make a $100,000 in performance bonuses.

Gore has appeared in 49 games over the past four seasons with Kansas City, almost exclusively as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. He has 21 stolen bases without recording a hit.

The Royals have also signed speedster Billy Hamilton in free agency, while Whit Merrifield stole 45 bases for Kansas City last season and Adalberto Mondesi swiped 32 in 75 games.

— Associated Press —