MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sitting in his office about 10 feet away from the Kansas City Royals’ locker room, manager Ned Yost’s voice was nearly drown out by the thunderous hip hop music blaring and the full-throated cackling from his players in the next room.

The young Royals have good reason to celebrate these days.

Alcides Escobar tied a career high with four RBIs on two doubles and Salvador Perez homered to lift the Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

“That’s what we need,” Perez said. “Have some fun and play the game hard.”

Danny Duffy (5-7) gave up one run and four hits while striking out three in 5 2/3 innings and Mike Moustakas had two hits for the Royals. Kansas City (43-39) has won three of four and is off to its best start since 2003.

“We’re very confident in what we have in the tank,” Duffy said. “We’ve got a great offense, great lineup. The defense is always flashing the leather. When we go out there and make pitches, it’s going to be a good night.”

Yohan Pino (0-2) gave up four runs and seven hits while also striking out three in 5 2/3 innings for the Twins. Eduardo Nunez had two hits and an RBI in his return from the disabled list for Minnesota, which has lost six of its last seven games to drop into last place in the AL Central.

“We’ve been facing some pretty decent pitching, and I don’t know if it’s pressing,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, whose Twins went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. “I just know we’re just not getting enough big hits right now. We’re not putting any runs on the board. A lot of pressure on our pitchers to be really good.”

The Royals entered the night 3 1/2 games behind Detroit in the division and 1 1/2 games out of the AL wild card. For a team that has been endlessly rebuilding and hasn’t made the playoffs since 1985, those are encouraging numbers as the season reaches its midpoint.

They grabbed everyone’s attention with a 10-game winning streak that vaulted them into first place in June, but had lost seven of 10 games as the bats cooled off.

The Royals signed 42-year-old Raul Ibanez on Monday, hoping he can help boost the team’s scuffling offense and give a little extra support to a solid starting rotation. Ibanez broke into the big leagues with the Royals a decade ago, but hit just .157 in 57 games for the Angels this season.

They had plenty of offense with him on the bench on Monday night.

Pino was shaky early, getting tagged for a two-run double by Escobar in the second inning and an RBI-single from Alex Gordon in the fourth to fall behind 3-0. Perez’s solo homer in the sixth ended Pino’s day and the Royals took advantage of two throwing errors by second baseman Brian Dozier in the eighth, padding their lead with Escobar’s second two-run double of the game.

“When you’re not going good, you’re not capitalizing on mistakes,” Yost said. “When you’re playing well, you do capitalize on mistakes. That’s exactly what we did tonight, which was big. Those were two big runs right there. That’s a lot of breathing room.”

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Raul Ibanez’s first opportunity to be an everyday major league player came with the Kansas City Royals.

Returning to the Royals more than a decade later, his hope is for another experience: postseason play.

The Royals signed the 42-year-old Ibanez Monday, nine days after he was released by the Los Angeles Angels.

”It’s been in the works for a while. I was really excited about the opportunity to come here. I like the makeup of the club, and I like the possibilities. They’re endless,” Ibanez said in Minnesota before the Royals played the Twins. ”There’s a great opportunity to do some special things here.”

The Royals entered Monday 3 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central and 1 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot. Manager Ned Yost said he’ll probably play Ibanez in the outfield, at first base and as the designated hitter.

”He’s what we call a professional hitter,” Yost said. ”So we think he’s going to be a big addition to our team.”
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Ibanez, the second-oldest active player in the majors behind Cleveland’s Jason Giambi, who is on the disabled list, batted just .157 in 57 games for the Angels. Though 10 of his 26 hits were for extra bases, he said his balance was ”totally off” at the plate.

”I’m just going to be myself and try to help this team any way I can,” Ibanez said.

This is his fifth team since 2011. Ibanez hit 29 home runs just last year for Seattle, the team that he broke in with in 1996. He didn’t regularly crack the lineup until joining the Royals in 2001, and in 2002 he had his breakout year with a .294 batting average, 37 doubles, 24 home runs and 103 RBIs in 137 games.

”I have some very fond memories of the city. My son was born in Kansas City. Nothing would please me more than to be part of something that hasn’t been done here in a long time, and that’s getting into the postseason,” Ibanez said. ”I’ve been in from the other side, and when you’re playing against them you look at that team and you realize how far the organization has come and how much progress they’ve made.”

The Royals made several moves Monday. Ibanez and infielder Christian Colon were added to the roster, and infielder Pedro Ciriaco and outfielder Justin Maxwell were designated for assignment.

Colon was recalled from Triple-A. The fourth overall pick in the 2010 draft was batting .296 with 48 runs, 14 doubles and 14 steals in 74 games for Omaha. Yost said Colon will play second base, shortstop and third base.

Kansas City also traded left-hander Donnie Joseph to the Miami Marlins for cash. He was designated for assignment on June 24.

The 26-year-old Joseph pitched in one game for Kansas City this season, getting two outs on June 16 in Detroit. The Royals got him during the 2012 season in a trade that sent reliever Jonathan Broxton to Cincinnati.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A misplay gave Omar Infante the chance to deliver another big hit against the Los Angeles Angels.

Infante came through again, singling home the winning run with one out in the ninth inning that lifted the Kansas City Royals over the Angels 5-4 Sunday.

Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch with one out in the Kansas City ninth. Salvador Perez followed with a grounder to shortstop Erick Aybar, but his throw glanced off second baseman Howie Kendrick’s glove and sent Gordon to third. Infante followed with his single.

Perez thought the inning was over when he hit his grounder.

“Double play. Yes, sir,” Perez said. “I don’t how know he missed it. It’s going to happen.”

Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie was in the trainer’s room icing his arm when he saw Kendrick’s misplay on television.

“With disbelief and elation,” Guthrie said.

Kendrick could not believe it, either.

“I peeked too soon,” he said. “It was a good feed. It just came off my glove. It happens sometimes. I feel bad because the pitcher did his job. I’ve dropped balls before, but I don’t remember dropping one like that. I came out of it too soon.”

“I took my head out of the play. I had time,” he said. “Perez is not a fast baserunner. I had time and the throw was right there. I looked too soon and didn’t follow the ball into the glove. It opened the game up for them.”

Lorenzo Cain hit three doubles for the Royals, finishing with four hits and two RBIs.

Infante, whose grand slam Friday night helped beat the Angels, finished with three hits, including a double. His winning single came against Los Angeles newcomer Jason Grilli (0-3). Pittsburgh traded its former closer to the Angels on Friday.

“I know he throws a slider for the first pitch and I was waiting for that pitch,” Infante said. “Because I saw that the first pitch to Billy (Butler) was a slider, too. In that situation you have to look for a certain pitch, a fastball or a slider, and that’s why I made good contact on that pitch. It was a tough game today, a nice win for us.”

Greg Holland (1-2) struck out two in the ninth.

Kole Calhoun led off the game with a home run against Jeremy Guthrie. The Angels added another run in the first on Cain’s error in right field, and Los Angeles took a 3-0 lead into the fourth after a two-base throwing error by Eric Hosmer.

Albert Pujols opened the Angels sixth with a hit to left field and tried to stretch it into a double. He jogged into second with his left thigh bothering him and was thrown out by Alcides Escobar.

“It’s one of those glands that kind of grabbed something,” Pujols said. “It’s fine. They’re not too concerned about it. I don’t feel it when I’m hitting. The first time I felt it was when I was running. It’s been a couple of days. It grabbed me a little. I took some swings and I didn’t want to come out. If I get on base then they would pinch-run for me. It didn’t bother me to hit.”

Aybar homered later in the inning to make it 4-all.

After the Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, Kelvin Herrera was summoned to face Pujols and retired him on a fly ball.

The Royals won challenges in the third and fifth inning and both resulted in double plays being converted.

Cain’s two-run double highlighted a four-run fourth off C.J. Wilson.

Wilson faced 22 batters and 12 reached base seven hits, four walks and a hit batter in 3 2/3 innings. Angels starting pitchers combined for only 11 2/3 innings in the three-game series to create a work overload for the bullpen.

“It’s very frustrating,” Wilson said. “You make a lot of close pitches and just miss. I’m not going to lay it in there and let guys tee off on you.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Neither rain nor the Kansas City Royals could stop the Los Angeles Angels from winning again.

Albert Pujols and David Freese combined to drive in five runs as the Angels beat the Royals 6-2 on Saturday for their seventh victory in eight games.

There were two rain delays with the second after the fourth inning lasting 3:58. The game didn’t end until nearly 7 hours after it started.

“We had a lot of waiting in between a baseball game,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

The official game time was 2:48, while the rain delays totaled 4:06.

“It’s a waiting game,” said Eric Hosmer, who had one of the six Royals hits and scored a run. “You basically hang out. We heard it was going to be a couple of hours. It wasn’t one of those things where we were thinking it could start any minute, so we had a little heads up. It’s all part of the grind of the season. There are going to be days like that. It’s what we all sign up for.”

Pujols, who has 14 RBIs in his past 13 games, singled home runs in the third and sixth innings. Freese, who had three hits, drove in three runs, two in the four-run sixth and the other in fourth. He has six RBIs in his past seven games, after driving in only three in his previous 26 games.

“It was nice to come out and get some runs after the rain,” Freese said. “It was almost like starting a new game so it was nice to get some runs, and nice to get the win.”

Kole Calhoun added three hits, scored two runs and drove in one. The Angels’ four-run sixth included four hits, two walks and three stolen bases.

Rookie right-hander Mike Morin (2-1), who went to high school at a Kansas City suburb, allowed two runs on two hits over two innings to pick up the victory.

“It was cool,” Morin said. “Scioscia told me I was going to get the ball and I had all my family and friends here. They were probably the only ones left after the rain delay. It’s been a great weekend. I’ll never forget it. It was just fortunate that I could be in there to get the win in front of them.”

Angels left-hander Hector Santiago was not allowed to come back out after the second delay. He pitched four scoreless innings, giving up four hits.

“Somebody sent me a message and asked me `did you make a witch angry?” said Santiago, who needed to pitch one more inning to claim his first victory of the season and losing his first seven decisions. “It seems like everything that can have an effect on me getting a win has happened. But I gave four scoreless innings and gave us a chance to win, and the team got the win, so that’s what I care about.”

Royals rookie Yordano Ventura (5-7) took the loss, yielding two runs on seven hits over four innings.

“I felt like I was in command of the strike zone, but unfortunately the rain got to me and I couldn’t go back out,” Ventura said with Royals catching coach Pedro Grifol acting as his interpreter. “I prepared to pitch today and I wanted to go back out, but there was no way I could go back after that long rain delay.”

Veteran left-hander Bruce Chen, who had not pitched since April 24 and going on the disabled list with a bulging disc, replaced Ventura after the game resumed. He allowed four runs on four hits, all in the sixth, walked two and struck out eight over five innings.

Jason Grilli made his Angels’ debut after being acquired in a Friday trade with the Pirates and worked a perfect eighth, striking out one.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Omar Infante capped a seven-run inning with his first career grand slam, and the Kansas City Royals held on to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-6 on a rough Friday night for starting pitchers.

Jason Vargas and Angels counterpart Matt Shoemaker (5-2) combined to give up 14 runs on 20 hits — four of them home runs. Neither got an out in the fifth inning.

Michael Mariot (1-0) picked up his first career win with 1 1/3 innings of relief, and Greg Holland earned his 23rd save by tossing a perfect ninth.

Salvador Perez had three hits while Lorenzo Cain, Billy Butler and Alex Gordon each drove in a run for Kansas City, which ended the Angels’ six-game winning streak despite limping into the series having lost six of seven.

C.J. Cron hit two homers for Los Angeles, and Mike Trout sent a shot to center in the first inning that cleared the fence, four rows of seats and a walkway before landing in a fountain.

Trout’s mammoth drive only counted for one run, though, and on a muggy night with a brisk breeze blowing out to left field, it was going to take more than that to win.

Cron added a homer to left with two outs in the second inning, but Kansas City quickly erased its two-run deficit in the third by matching its biggest inning of the season.

The seven-run outburst against Shoemaker began with a double by Alcides Escobar, who added a single later in the inning. Jarrod Dyson, Cain and Eric Hosmer hit singles, Butler walked, Gordon hit a sacrifice fly and Perez added another base hit.

By that point, the Royals had pulled ahead 3-2 and the bases were loaded for Infante, who hit a high fly to left field that carried just over the wall and landed in the bullpen.

His first career grand slam came in his 1,268th game.

Butler added an RBI single in the fourth to make it 8-2. Shoemaker finished the inning but did not emerge for the fifth after allowing eight runs on 11 hits and a walk.

The rookie was 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his previous seven starts.

Vargas nearly squandered the big cushion when Cron hit a two-run shot in the fifth for his first career multihomer game. David Freese, Chris Iannetta and Collin Cowgill joined Trout in stringing together enough hits to eventually put up four runs.

Howie Kendrick nearly tied the game with a shot to the wall in right, but Cain caught it on a sprint at the warning track to end the inning and preserve the Royals’ 8-6 lead.

Despite some hiccups, their bullpen tossed five scoreless innings to seal the win.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Wade Davis plunked A.J. Ellis of the Dodgers with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning Wednesday night, sending Los Angeles to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Jamey Wright (3-2) threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Dan Haren to pick up the win.

Davis (5-2) had not allowed a run in 22 1/3 innings spanning his last 20 outings. But after nearly escaping a jam by catching Adrian Gonzalez in a rundown between third base and home for the second out of the eighth, the reliever walked Scott Van Slyke to load the bases.

Davis then had a 1-2 count on Ellis before hitting him in the shoulder.

J.P. Howell and Brandon League worked the bottom of the eighth for the Dodgers, and Brian Wilson handled the ninth in place of closer Kenley Jansen for his first save since April 12, 2012.

It wasn’t easy. Danny Valencia hit a one-out single and pinch-runner Pedro Ciriaco stole second — he was initially called out but the call was overturned by replay. But Wilson got Lorenzo Cain to line out to first base, and Ciriaco was doubled off second to end the game.

Matt Kemp homered and Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig drove in a run apiece for the Dodgers, while Dee Gordon had four hits and his league-leading 40th stolen base.

Cain and Jarrod Dyson hit solo shots for the Royals.

Haren gave up two homers among six hits, walked two and was pulled after throwing 92 pitches in 4 1/3 innings. The three-time All-Star had gone at least five innings while allowing four earned runs or fewer in his previous 15 starts with the Dodgers, the longest streak by any pitcher to begin his career with the club in the last 100 years.

James Shields wasn’t much better, though he lasted a whole lot longer. After breezing through the first, the Royals’ ace allowed four runs, seven hits and a walk in seven innings.

Shields gave away the 1-0 lead that Cain supplied with his leadoff homer when Kemp went deep in the second. Shields then allowed two more runs in the third on consecutive triples by Gordon and Puig — Gordon scored on a balk by Shields — and a groundout by Gonzalez.

The Royals got one back in the fourth on Mike Moustakas’s RBI single, but Los Angeles restored its cushion in the fifth when Gordon singled, swiped second and scored on Puig’s double.

Kansas City finally squared things in the bottom half. Dyson led off with a homer, his first in 277 at-bats, and Billy Butler’s groundout was enough to score Cain from third.

But when the game came down to a battle of bullpens, the Dodgers’ proved to be better.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Clayton Kershaw was asked to assess his performance against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night, and the Dodgers ace bemoaned the fact that he didn’t have command of his fastball.

Maybe if he did, he’d have tossed another no-hitter.

Kershaw still managed to follow his first career no-no by going eight marvelous innings, and Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier drove in a run apiece as the Dodgers scraped out a 2-0 victory.

“It definitely wasn’t easy tonight,” Kershaw said.

It only looked that way.

“All night he felt like he was fighting it,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly explained. “His fastball command wasn’t where he wanted it, but typical Clayton.”

Kershaw (8-2) allowed six hits and a walk while striking out eight. The two-time Cy Young winner hasn’t allowed a run in 21 1/3 innings, spanning his near-perfect game against Colorado on Wednesday — the only runner occurred on an error — and his previous start against Arizona.

Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save.

Danny Duffy (4-7) dueled admirably with Kershaw for six innings, allowing one run on four hits and four walks. But the left-hander was done in by a high pitch count, needing a season-high 105, and was eventually lifted to protect his surgically repaired shoulder.

Eric Hosmer had a pair of hits for the Royals, the first with one out in the first inning to end any thought of Kershaw tossing consecutive no-hitters. Otherwise, their offense was sporadic, unable to string together enough runners to pose much of a threat.

“He’s as good as advertised, that’s for sure, every bit of it,” Hosmer said. “He’s definitely got his game plan, which he sticks to the whole time. He’s got four well-above average pitches. The main thing about him is he gets ahead and attacks you early. That’s a guy you don’t want to get behind on with great off-speed and a fastball that he can hump to 95, 96. Luckily, that’s the last time we face him.”

The Dodgers plated their first run after Justin Turner tripled to lead off the game. He scored on a hard grounder by Gonzalez, which deflected off Duffy and toward second base for what nearly ended up being the game’s only run.

Ethier’s RBI single came off reliever Kelvin Herrera in the ninth inning.

Duffy needed 29 pitches to survive the first, and he wiggled out of jams each of the next four innings, too. But while he was gritty enough to keep Kansas City in the game, a lineup that has struggled to put up runs for the last week failed him again.

Kansas City has only scored 13 times while losing five of its last six.

Los Angeles had lost all four of its games played at Kauffman Stadium, including the series opener Monday night, when the Royals beat up on Zack Greinke, their former ace.

They had a much tougher time handling Kershaw.

Showcasing his mid-90s fastball, power curveball and devastating slider, Kershaw at one point retired eight straight. And even when he ran into trouble, he slipped right out of it.

Kershaw induced a double play after Hosmer’s single in the first. He rallied from a 3-0 count to Alex Gordon to strike him out with a runner aboard in the sixth. In the seventh, he got Justin Maxwell and Alcides Escobar on groundouts to leave a pair of runners on base.

“That’s the best slider we’ve seen all year long,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “That thing had teeth with a bite.”

In fact, the biggest blight on Kershaw’s night may have been his walk to Gordon in the fifth inning. It was only the second he’d allowed to a left-handed hitter this season.

“I made some pitches when I had to,” Kershaw said. “Tonight I was making a lot more stressful pitches. The no-hitter was stressful for more personal reasons.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jeremy Guthrie pitched into the eighth inning, Jarrod Dyson drove in two runs off Zack Greinke and the Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Monday night to end a four-game losing streak.

Guthrie (5-6) allowed two runs and seven hits while winning his third straight start. He was buoyed by an offense that had only scored eight runs total during its recent slide.

Dyson, the Royals’ No. 9 hitter, went 3 for 3 and stole two bases. Salvador Perez hit a solo home run, and Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar — two of the players acquired by the Royals in the trade that sent Greinke to Milwaukee in December 2010 — drove in a run apiece.

Greg Holland served up a homer to Adrian Gonzalez in the ninth before earning his 22nd save.

Hanley Ramirez drove in the other two runs for the Dodgers, who are visiting Kansas City for the first time since they were swept in a three-game set in 2005.

In his third start against his former team, Greinke (9-4) was battered for a season-high five runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He had allowed just two runs over 15 1/3 innings in his previous two starts against the Royals, one with the Brewers and the other with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Royals pounded Greinke almost from the start, Perez belting the first pitch of the second inning over the wall in left field for a 1-0 lead. Then with two outs, Escobar singled and went to second on a wild pitch before heading home when Dyson dumped a single into left field.

Dyson made it 3-0 in the fifth when he scored on Cain’s single to right.

The Royals finally knocked Greinke from the game in the fifth, this time after Perez started the inning with a double. Greinke fought back to get two outs, but Escobar hit a triple into the right-field corner and Dyson tacked on another RBI single to make it 5-0.

That hit ended Greinke’s night. As he departed the mound, fans showered him with a chorus of boos, clearly recalling how the right-hander once demanded to be traded from their team.

Meanwhile, those same fans were waiting to give Guthrie a standing ovation.

The right-hander faced the minimum number of hitters through four innings, needing just four pitches in the second and five in the fourth. Gonzalez and Matt Kemp finally hit consecutive singles to start the fifth, but Guthrie calmly wiggled out of that jam.

It wasn’t until Miguel Rojas and Justin Turner hit singles and Ramirez one-hopped a double over the outfield wall to make it 5-2 in the eighth that Guthrie finally left the game.

Wade Davis finished the inning, and Holland cleaned up the ninth to preserve the win.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Fernando Rodney was good for another dozen pitches and the Seattle Mariners were good for a sweep.

Rodney, working for the fourth straight day, earned his 21st save in 23 chances as the Mariners defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Sunday for a three-game sweep.

Rodney, who had thrown 46 pitches in the previous three days, got saves in all three games at Kansas City. He last got into four consecutive games on May 27-30, 2013, for Tampa Bay.

“It was no problem,” Rodney said. “I said I feel ready. I got warmed up and felt good, felt loose. That’s why I’m a reliever.”

“Sometimes early in the season you have a little problem with getting loose. When the weather warms up it helps get me a little more loose,” he said.

Rodney dispatched the Royals on 12 pitches, giving up a two-out single to pinch-hitter Mike Moustakas before striking out Pedro Ciriaco to preserve the one-run lead.

“It’s simple,” Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said on summoning Rodney once again. “I had a talk with him and he felt good. He’s worked very, very efficiently, and he was very efficient today as well. He has not thrown a lot of pitches. He’s definitely off tomorrow. He asked me if he could go to the Dominican, but I told him no.”

Rookie Roenis Elias pitched neatly into the seventh inning and Mike Zunino homered for the Mariners, who have won 18 of their past 26 road games.

After winning 10 straight to move into first place in the AL Central, the Royals have dropped four in a row, three of them by 2-1 scores.

“We’re playing fine, but just an offensive down turn a little bit,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “You go through the ups and downs. A four-game losing streak right when you had put together a nice 10-game winning streak, it’s tough.”

Elias (7-5), a 25-year-old left-hander from Cuba, limited the Royals to one run and five singles over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five, walked two and improved to 4-1 in June.

“Everything was working,” Elias said through a translator.

Zunino hit his ninth home run, tops among AL catchers. He connected off Yordano Ventura (5-6) leading off the seventh to break a 1-all tie.

“Even though things aren’t going our way right now, I think we’re playing really good,” Ventura said with teammate Bruce Chen acting as interpreter.

Zunino led off the fifth with a double and scored on Willie Bloomquist’s two-out double.

“We stepped up to the challenge and were able take three from them,” Bloomquist said. “It shows what we’re able to do when we play well. Those guys are a very, very good baseball team. Granted, a bounce here or there and it could have come out differently.”

Ventura (5-6) had won his previous three starts.

“He hung a breaking pretty good (to Zunino),” Yost said. “Outside of that, he pitched a great ball game. Anytime you go seven innings and give up two runs you give your team a chance to win a game that’s a great job.”

The Royals scored their run in the second, which Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez opened with singles. Justin Maxwell’s sacrifice fly brought home Gordon.

Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar left in the seventh with a bruised left shin. He was hit in the second by a pitch. X-rays were negative.

The Mariners won a challenge in the seventh when Ciriaco was ruled safe at first for a bunt single. After a reliever that took over 3 minutes, the call was overturned and Ciriaco was out.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dustin Ackley delivered the clutch hit, while Chris Young baffled the Kansas City Royals batters.

Ackley drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out ninth inning single as the Seattle Mariners beat the Royals 2-1 on Saturday.

His single to right on a 2-2 count scored Kyle Seager, who doubled with two outs to start the game-winning rally. Seager moved to third on Stefen Romero’s infield single before Ackley’s hit. Ackley is 5-for-10 off Jason Vargas (7-3), who took the loss.

“It was basically a battling at-bat,” Ackley said. “I got behind early and I know he’s a guy who will throw any pitch in any count. I fouled a couple of pitches off and fortunately I was able to get the barrel on it and get it into the outfield.”

Vargas said he jammed Ackley with a fastball.

“He was just able to get it over the infield,” Vargas said.

The Mariners are only 7-12 in one-run games, while the Royals have dropped three in a row, all one-run decisions.

“If you want to have a good winning season, you have to win games like this,” Ackley said.

After retiring the first dozen Royals, Young yielded a home run to Alex Gordon to leadoff the fifth to tie the score at 1.

“I made a mistake,” Young said. “He can hit it out, but I can live with it because it’s a solo homer.”

Young gave up back-to-back singles to Salvador Perez and Justin Maxwell after Gordon’s team-leading ninth home run. Perez, however, was out trying to stretch his into a double.

“He’s really tough to pick the ball up,” said Eric Hosmer, who went 0-for-4. “He’s throwing 84-85 miles per hour, but he has such a long arm and his release point is so close to you that’s it really hard to pick up. He’s been real consistent for those guys.”

The Mariners bunched three hits leading off the third with Cole Gillespie’s single to center scoring Brad Miller, who began the inning with a bunt single and stopped at second on James Jones’ single.

Young, a 35-year-old right-hander who has had three shoulder surgeries including one last June, did not did not sign with the Mariners until March 27 after the Washington Nationals released him in spring training. He was pulled after seven innings, allowing only the run on Gordon’s blast and three hits.

“He’s an amazing story,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “His fastball is 85 to 88 (mph) and is straight, but nobody sees it. There is an amount of deception the hitters tell you. They’re on it and they’re not.”

Yoervis Medina (4-1) replaced Young and worked a flawless eighth, striking out two to pick up the victory. He has not allowed a run and only three hits in his past 10 outings, covering 10 1/3 innings.

Fernando Rodney worked the ninth for his 20th save in 22 opportunities, getting Hosmer to ground into a game ending double play.

“Chris pitched extremely well,” Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. “He just had the one fastball that came back over the middle of the plate to Gordon. He probably got a little bit tired with the heat, but the bullpen did a good job.”

Vargas gave up 10 hits and two runs in 8 2/3 innings, losing for the first time since May 19. Yost came out to the mound after Seager’s double, but let him in.

“He just asked me if I could get him, and I said, `Yeah.’ There wasn’t a whole lot more than that,” Vargas said. “I felt great in the ninth inning. Just a little bit of bad luck got us and I think we all know what happened after that.”

— Associated Press —