Kansas City Royals News

Max Kepler hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning, Jose Berrios pitched seven effective innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2 Saturday night at Target Field.After the Twins inducted left-hander Johan Santana in their Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony, Kepler produced his fourth three-hit game of the season and 12th of his career.He sandwiched two singles around his 14th homer, a drive to right field off Burch Smith (1-3) that put Minnesota ahead 3-2.Berrios (11-8) allowed three runs on five hits, all singles, and completed seven innings for the 12th time. The right-hander struck out six, walked three in a 106-pitch outing and improved to 17-3 at home since the start of last season. Berrios also improved to 8-4 in his last 14 starts since mid-May. He retired 14 of the last 18 hitters he faced.Eddie Rosario reached 20 homers for the second straight season with a drive to right field in the first inning. Logan Morrison added a late two-run homer in the seventh off Glenn Sparkman.Newly acquired Logan Forsythe added an RBI double, Rosario also lifted a sacrifice fly and Bobby Wilson hit a run-scoring groundout.The Twins beat the Royals for the second straight night after Santana became the 31st player inducted into the team's Hall of Fame. The two-time Cy Young Award winner attended a game at Minnesota's current home field for the first time.

Miguel Sano had two hits and two RBIs and reliever Gabriel Moya picked up his first major league victory as the Minnesota Twins snapped a two-game losing streak with a soggy 6-4 victory over Kansas City Royals on Friday night at Target Field in Minneapolis.Eddie Rosario and Jorge Polanco each had two hits for Minnesota in a contest that featured two rain delays totaling two hours and 24 minutes. Moya (1-0) got the win despite allowing two runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Fernando Rodney pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 23rd save in a contest that ended at 12:56 a.m. on Saturday morning.Whit Merrifield had three hits and scored two runs, Salvador Perez homered and drove in two runs and Alex Gordon added two hits and an RBI for Kansas City. Brian Flynn (2-3), who allowed three runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings of relief, took the loss.Kansas City starter Heath Fillmyer, making his fourth career start and first-ever appearance against the Twins, allowed five hits and three runs in three innings before departing after a 91-minute rain delay.The Twins took a 3-0 lead in the second thanks to a two-run double by Sano off the glove of third baseman Hunter Dozier, driving in Logan Forsythe, who had singled, and Max Kepler, who had walked. Sano later scored on a single by Joe Mauer.The Royals cut the lead to 3-2 in the third on Perez's 19th homer of the year over the 411 sign in left-center with Merrifield, who had singled, on board. It was the 16th career home run for Perez at Target Field, the most by an opposing player since the stadium opened in 2010.

Jose Abreu hit a game-tying home run in the eighth inning and pinch hitter Daniel Palka blasted a three-run shot three batters later Thursday afternoon, rallying the Chicago White Sox to a 6-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals in Chicago.Whit Merrifield's pinch-hit, three-run homer in the top of the eighth had given Kansas City a 3-2 lead in its attempt to sweep the three-game series.But after reliever Jason Adam (0-3) got the first out of the bottom of the eighth, Abreu teed off for his 17th home run of the season to tie the game.Avisail Garcia followed with a double, and after Omar Narvaez was intentionally walked, Palka greeted Jason Hammel with his bomb to right-center, providing the difference-making runs. The homer was Palka's 16th of the year.Xavier Cedeno (1-0), who allowed Merrifield's homer in the eighth, got credit for the win.The Royals got within 6-4 in the ninth on a double by Brett Phillips and sacrifice fly by Rosell Herrera, before Luis Avilan recorded his first save of the season.After winning the first two games of the series 4-2 and 10-5, the Royals found themselves trailing 2-0 as White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez took a three-hit shutout into the eighth.But Alcides Escobar led off the eighth with a double and took third on Adalberto Mondesi's bunt single. Two outs later, Merrifield came through with his pinch-hit homer, his sixth of the season, to give the Royals a brief advantage.Lopez was charged with two runs in seven innings. He gave up five hits and two walks, and struck out four.

Alex Gordon began and ended a flurry of 10 unanswered runs over a four-inning span Wednesday night by the Kansas City Royals, who went on to beat the host Chicago White Sox, 10-5, at Guaranteed Rate Field.The Royals have won the first two games of the three-game series to move within three games of the White Sox for fourth place in the American League Central.Gordon's two-run double in the third gave the Royals the lead for good at 2-1. Ryan O'Hearn had an RBI single in the fourth before the Royals chased Dylan Covey (4-7) in the fifth, when Salvador Perez (fielder's choice grounder), Lucas Duda (single), Rosell Herrera (double) and Brett Phillips (single) all collected RBIs before Herrera scored on a wild pitch.Gordon's two-run homer in the sixth capped the outburst by the Royals, who reached double digits in runs scored for the seventh time this season. It also gave Gordon his first four-RBI game since Aug. 18, 2016.The outburst allowed Jakob Junis (6-11) to cruise to his first victory since May 18. Junis, who was 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA in his previous 10 starts, allowed four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings

Ryan O'Hearn made his major league debut a memorable one Tuesday night, when his first career hit, a two-run homer, snapped a scoreless tie and lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 4-2 win over the host Chicago White Sox in the opener of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field.The Royals have won six of their past 11. The White Sox have lost five of six.O'Hearn, 25, was recalled from Triple-A Omaha earlier Tuesday after playing 558 minor league games, and he is expected to see regular playing time down the stretch for the rebuilding Royals.Starting as the designated hitter, he grounded out in his first at-bat in the third inning before homering to right in the fifth to score Jorge Bonifacio, who had walked.Brett Phillips, another new member of the Royals who is likely to play almost daily the remainder of the season, hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Phillips was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers last Friday along with minor league pitcher Jorge Lopez in exchange for Mike Moustakas.Alex Gordon had two of the Royals' six hits.Danny Duffy (7-9) earned the win by wriggling in and out of trouble throughout 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Duffy allowed six hits and four walks while striking out seven.

J.A. Happ pitched six outstanding innings in his debut for the New York Yankees, who beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3 Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.Happ (11-6) made it to New York Saturday after inclement weather canceled his flight from Chicago on Friday. After playing catch in between games of Saturday's doubleheader, Happ went right to work in his debut while working quickly in a 96-pitch outing.Happ allowed one run on three hits after getting traded in the days leading up to the non-waiver deadline for the fourth time in his career. He is 16-8 in 35 (31 starts) post-trade games.The veteran left-hander also won for the first time since June 25 after going 0-3 in his last four starts for the Toronto Blue Jays.Aaron Hicks hit a two-run homer, fell a triple shy of the cycle and reached base four times as the Yankees hit 30 games over .500 for the third time of the season.Miguel Andujar and Greg Bird added RBI singles for New York while Giancarlo Stanton lifted a sacrifice fly.Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth for his 28th save. It was his second appearance since not getting an out against the New York Mets on July 21.Salvador Perez, Hunter Dozier and Rosell Herrera homered for the Royals.

Lucas Duda hit a towering two-run homer off Luis Severino as the Kansas City Royals recorded a 10-5 victory over the New York Yankees in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.Duda ended Severino's fourth straight rough outing by hitting a high fly ball that carried 345 feet over the right field fence to give the Royals a 6-0 lead in the fifth inning.Rosell Herrera hit a two-run double and Salvador Perez roped a two-single for the Royals, who are 7-6 since a 10-game losing streak.Brian Goodwin added insurance by hitting a three-run homer about halfway up the second deck in right field off David Robertson in the eighth. Goodwin's first homer with Kansas City and fourth off the season occurred after Tim Hill struck out pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar with two on in the sixth.Duda capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the ninth.The Royals won less than 24 hours after trading longtime third baseman Mike Moustakas to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Brett Phillips and right-hander Jorge Lopez.Kansas City's Brad Keller (4-4) allowed a two-run homer to Giancarlo Stanton in the fifth while allowing four runs on eight hits in six innings. He was aided by three double plays, including a strange play with the bases loaded in the second when Tyler Wade did not run after hitting a tapper inches in front of the plate.Keller gave up four runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Aaron Hicks lofted the tie-breaking sacrifice fly to cap an eighth-inning comeback Saturday night for the New York Yankees, who salvaged a split of a doubleheader with the Kansas City Royals by earning a 5-4 win in the second game at Yankee Stadium.With the win, the Yankees ensured they would not fall more than 5 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. New York is on pace for 104 wins.The Royals, who are on a 112-loss pace, won the opener 10-5.The doubleheader was necessitated by a rainout Friday night.The Royals put themselves in position to earn a sweep by scoring single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take a 4-3 lead. But Greg Bird tied the game with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the eighth against Brian Flynn (2-2), who then gave up a double to Neil Walker.Glenn Sparkman entered and allowed a bunt single to Austin Romine before walking pinch-hitter Gleyber Torres to load the bases. Walker then scored easily on Hicks' fly ball to left field.

Friday's game between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium was postponed roughly 30 minutes after its scheduled first pitch due to rain.The game was initially delayed before being called off.The contest will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader Saturday, with Game 2 taking place at 7:05 p.m. ET after Game 1 is played at its original time of 1:05 p.m.

The Kansas City Royals traded third baseman Mike Moustakas to the Milwaukee Brewers late Friday night in exchange for outfielder Brett Phillips and right-handed pitcher Jorge Lopez."We are excited to bring Mike into our organization," Brewers general manager David Stearns said in a statement. "Through this deadline period, we have prioritized adding an impact bat to our lineup, and Mike provides just that."Moustakas, 29, set a franchise record with 38 home runs last season. Despite making his major league debut in 2011, Moustakas is eighth in Royals history with 139 career home runs. In 98 games this season, the two-time All-Star is batting .249 with 20 home runs and 62 RBIs.The Royals (31-71) are currently last in the American League Central and sit only two games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for the worst record in baseball. In Milwaukee, Moustakas will reunite with Lorenzo Cain, who signed as a free agent with the Brewers after seven seasons with the Royals.Moustakas is making $5.5 million this season on the contract he signed with the Royals as a free agent in March. The deal includes a $15 million mutual option for 2019 that can be bought out for $1 million.

Didi Gregorius hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the New York Yankees lost Aaron Judge to a wrist injury in a 7-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.Gregorius helped the Yankees win on a night when they lost Judge in the fourth inning after he was hit by a pitch in the first inning.The Yankees said Judge was examined by team doctor Chris Ahmad and getting an MRI at nearby New York Presbyterian Hospital.Judge's injury spoiled a day when the Yankees acquired J.A. Happ from the Toronto Blue Jays for Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney and activated Zach Britton after acquiring him from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.Britton made his debut for the Yankees and threw 10 pitches in a perfect eighth.Gregorius homered one batter after Miguel Andujar batted for Judge and reached on a throwing error by shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, who bounced a throw to first base.On the next pitch, Gregorius hammered a changeup from Jakob Junis (5-11) into the right field seats for his 18th homer and a 6-0 lead.It marked the first time in four games the Yankees homered. New York avoided going homerless in four straight games for the first time since June 9-12, 2016.Austin Romine started the scoring in a four-run fourth with a long double to center field, and Greg Bird added a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Jose Iglesias hit a three-run homer, Matthew Boyd won for the first time in eight starts and the Detroit Tigers thumped the Kansas City Royals 8-4 on Wednesday afternoon.Iglesias scored another run later after blasting his fourth homer this season, while Victor Martinez supplied three hits, a run scored and two RBI. John Hicks had two hits and scored two runs and Jeimer Candelario added two hits and an RBI for Detroit.Boyd (5-9), who lost his previous five decisions, gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He didn't issue a walk while striking out seven. His last victory came at Boston on June 7.Royals starter Danny Duffy (6-9) surrendered seven runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. He had allowed just one run combined in his previous three starts. Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Whit Merrifield and Rosell Herrera drove in the runs for Kansas City, which dropped two of three in the home series.The Tigers scored their first run in the second when Hicks smacked an opposite-field double and Martinez knocked him in with a single.Kansas City evened the score in the bottom of the inning. Hunter Dozier singled with one out and scored on Gordon's double to right center. Following a bunt single, Boyd escaped further damage by striking out the next two batters.The Hicks-Martinez duo also sparked the Tigers' four-run uprising in the fourth. Hicks walked and Martinez singled to advance Hicks to third. Duffy threw a wild pitch with Ronny Rodriguez batting, allowing Hicks to score.

Burch Smith won for the first time in nearly five years, and the Kansas City Royals finally solved Jordan Zimmermann to edge the visiting Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Tuesday.Smith (1-1) tossed a season-high 6 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on one hit while striking out six. Making his 27th appearance and third start this season,Smith hadn't gone more than four innings before keeping the Tigers at bay.His only other career victory came on Sept. 15, 2013, against Atlanta while pitching for San Diego.Wily Peralta picked up his fifth save despite giving up a ninth-inning run.Mike Moustakas hit his 20th homer of the season and Salvador Perez had three hits, including his 15th homer, and drove in two runs for Kansas City.Zimmermann (4-2) came in with a 4-0 record and 1.48 ERA in seven career outings against Kansas City. He allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings.Victor Martinez led the Tigers' offense with a three-run homer.Whit Merrifield led off the bottom of the first with a double. One out later, Moustakas ripped a two-run blast over the right field wall.The Royals made it 3-0 in the third. Rosell Herrera smacked a one-out single, advanced on a groundout and scored on Perez's single to right.

James McCann drove in two runs, including a go-ahead double during a three-run ninth, and the Detroit Tigers rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.Jim Adduci supplied a two-run double and Jose Iglesias knocked in the other run for Detroit. Alex Wilson tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win. Shane Greene got the last three outs for his 20th save.Detroit starting pitcher Francisco Liriano gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings, striking out six.The Tigers' rally denied Royals rookie right-hander Heath Fillmyer his first major league victory. Fillmyer gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and struck out six in 6 2/3 innings.Lucas Duda drove in three runs while Rosell Herrera and Drew Butera contributed three hits apiece for the Royals.Brandon Maurer, brought in to close the game with a 4-2 lead, couldn't get an out. Jeimer Candelario led off with a single and reached third on Victor Martinez's double. Adduci then ripped an opposite-field double to tie it.McCann, who had three hits, greeted Jason Hammel with a double off the left field wall to bring in Adduci.

Drew Butera hit a three-run inside-the-park home run and Alex Gordon added a two-run double as the Kansas City Royals completed their first series sweep of the season with a 5-3 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.It was the second homer of the season for Butera, who hit a sinking line drive to center. Twins outfielder Jake Cave made a diving attempt for the catch, but the ball bounced past him and rolled to the fence. It was the first inside-the-park home run by a Royals' player since Jarrod Dyson on July 8, 2015, and the first by a Kansas City catcher since Brent Mayne on Sept. 27, 1991.Brad Keller (3-4), a Rule 5 pickup from the Cincinnati Reds making his ninth start of the season, allowed three runs on three hits and two walks over seven innings while tying his career high with eight strikeouts. Wily Peralta earned his fourth save in four tries this season by retiring the Twins in the ninth.Max Kepler homered and Brian Dozier had an RBI double for Minnesota, which lost its third in a row and extended its road losing streak to nine. Zach Duke (3-4) was the hard-luck loser thanks to Cave's misplay.Keller retired the first ten batters he faced before walking Eddie Rosario in the fourth inning. Dozier followed with a liner to the gap in right-center for an RBI double, went to third on a single by Eduardo Escobar and then scored on a fielder's choice groundout by Logan Morrison to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer and Brian Flynn pitched three scoreless innings of one-hit relief to pick up the win as the Kansas City Royals won their second straight game, 4-2, over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.The victory, just the fourth in the last 17 games for Kansas City, guaranteed the Royals would win just their fourth series of the season and first since taking two out of three from the Twins on May 28-30 at Kauffman Stadium.Jakub Junis made his first start for the Royals since July 2nd after being placed on the disabled list with lower-back inflammation He left after four innings and 77 pitches (53 strikes), allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six.Flynn (2-1) then blanked the Twins over the next three innings to pick up the win, striking out four. Wily Peralta pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his third save.Joe Mauer had three hits, including the 415th double of his career to break the franchise record set by Kirby Puckett, to lead Minnesota.Lance Lynn (7-8) took the loss, giving up three runs on three hits in five innings but also tying his career high with six walks. Lynn moved into the American League lead in walks with 61.Mauer lined the second pitch of the game into the alley in left-center for his 14th double of the season and moving past Puckett. He scored two pitches later on a single to right by Eddie Rosario.

Lucas Duda homered and had three hits and three RBIs and Danny Duffy gave up just one run and five hits over seven innings as the Kansas City Royals held on for a 6-5 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.Duffy (6-8) struck out four and walked three while yielding five singles as Kansas City won for just the third time in its last 16 games.Salvador Perez had a two-run double, and Alcides Escobar added two hits for the Royals. Brandon Maurer got the final out during a nail-biting three-run ninth by the Twins to earn his first save.Minnesota loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth off Wily Peralta. Eddie Rosario drove in Jorge Polanco, who doubled to open the inning, with a forceout at second. Brian Dozier then grounded to third to drive in Jake Cave, who had walked.After Eduardo Escobar walked, Maurer replaced Peralta and gave up an infield single to Robbie Grossman to load the bases again. He then walked Mitch Garver to force in a run to make it 6-5. But Max Kepler flew out to shallow left to end the game.Escobar scored two runs and hit his major-league-leading 36th double, and Garver had an RBI triple for Minnesota. Kyle Gibson (4-7) took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings.Gibson looked like he was going to get out of an early first-inning jam that started with a leadoff single by Whit Merrifield followed by a walk to Jorge Bonifacio. After Mike Moustakas grounded out to first and Perez struck out, Duda hit a pop fly down the left field line that Escobar misjudged, landing inside the foul line for a two-run single.The Twins, who loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, managed just a Kepler sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1.

Lucas Giolito pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings as the Chicago White Sox walloped the visiting Kansas City Royals 10-1 Sunday afternoon.Daniel Palka and Yoan Moncada each had three hits and a home run for the White Sox, who took two of three games in the weekend series.The Royals lost for the 13th time in 15 games.Giolito (6-8), a right-hander, allowed two hits, walked three and struck out six as he improved to 3-0 in his career against the Royals. It was his first scoreless start of the season and his best at home, as he entered the game at 2-4 with an 8.65 ERA at Guaranteed Rate Field.It didn't take long for the White Sox's offense to get going against a Kansas City pitching staff that was using a bullpen-by-committee approach in the final game before the All-Star break.Royals right-hander Burch Smith (0-1) surrendered a two-run homer to Palka in the first inning and the rout was on. Moncada led off with a single and, two outs later, Palka lined a 2-0 pitch over the wall in right-center field, his 12th homer of the season.

Left-hander Danny Duffy pitched seven scoreless innings and Jorge Bonifacio drove in three runs as the Kansas City Royals defeated the host Chicago White Sox 5-0 on Saturday afternoon.Duffy (5-8) allowed only four hits, walked three and struck out eight as the Royals won for just the second time in their past 13 games. Jason Hammel and Wily Peralta each pitched an inning of relief to complete the shutout.Bonifacio hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning, and added a run-scoring triple in the fifth. All-Star Salvador Perez added a two-run homer in the eighth for the Royals.Bonifacio, who hit 17 homers as a rookie last year, was playing in just his 13th game of the season after missing the start of the 2018 campaign while serving an 80-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's joint drug prevention and treatment program.White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (4-7), who became a father Friday night with the birth of his daughter, allowed five runs on nine hits in 7 2/3 innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out seven.The Royals got to Lopez early, as Whit Merrifield led off the first with a single and Bonifacio hit a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall.

James Shields pitched 6 2/3 effective innings and the Chicago White Sox held off a late rally to defeat the visiting Kansas City Royals 9-6 Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field.Jose Abreu, Leury Garcia and Omar Narvaez hit home runs for the White Sox, who won consecutive games for the first time since taking three in a row from June 24-27. The Royals lost for the 12th time in their past 13 games and dropped to 5-30 since June 3.The veteran right-hander Shields (4-10) allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out seven.Joakim Soria struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth for his 14th save of the season.Shields allowed only two hits through the first six innings before the Royals put together a rally in the seventh.Adalberto Mondesi and Whit Merrifield singled with two outs. Jorge Bonifacio's two-run double to left field ended Shields' night. Left-hander Luis Avilan came on to face Mike Moustakas, but hit the Royals slugger with a 3-2 pitch to bring the potential tying run to the plate and White Sox manager Rick Renteria out of the dugout for another pitching change. Right-hander Juan Minaya got Salvador Perez to fly out to right field to end the inning.The Royals got two more runs in the eighth to pull within 7-6, but Narvaez hit a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning, his third of the season, to cap the scoring.Royals rookie right-hander Brad Keller (2-4) lasted just 2 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out one.