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Royals Bullpen Holds on for 5-4 Victory over Twins

kc-royalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bruce Chen labored through five innings before the Kansas City Royals’ bullpen took over, shutting down the Minnesota Twins the rest of the way in a 5-4 victory Saturday.

The Royals have won five straight after getting swept last weekend in Minnesota.

Chen (1-1) allowed all four runs on eight hits and four walks, but the damage could have been worse. He twice walked the bases loaded, and his only clean inning was the first, when Brian Dozier hit a fly out that nearly left the park.

Still, a five-run fourth inning off Kevin Correia (1-1) staked Chen to a lead, and his bullpen made it stand up.

Danny Duffy tossed two scoreless innings, and Wade Davis navigated a perfect eighth before turning the game over to All-Star closer Greg Holland. He set down the top of the Minnesota lineup in order for his sixth save in as many chances.

Royals put Outfielder Dyson on Bereavement List

Jarrod Dyson Kansas City RoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have placed outfielder Jarrod Dyson on the bereavement list and recalled versatile Jimmy Paredes from Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals were already thin in the outfield after placing Lorenzo Cain on the disabled list with a strained groined earlier in the week.

Kansas City made the moves before Friday night’s game against Minnesota.

Manager Ned Yost said he expects Dyson to return Monday in Cleveland.

Paredes was claimed off waivers from Baltimore in February, and was hitting .319 at Omaha. Yost views him as capable of playing second base, third base and any of the outfield spots.

In other injury news, Royals left-hander Bruce Chen said he’s ready to pitch against the Twins on Saturday. He had his regular turn pushed back from Thursday because of a sore back.

Kansas City’s Cain to DL with Groin Strain

Lorenzo-Cain-Kansas-City-RoHOUSTON (AP) — Kansas City outfielder Lorenzo Cain has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain.

Cain was injured trying to beat a throw to first base in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. He is hitting .333 with five RBIs and two stolen bases in 12 games this season.

Manager Ned Yost says Cain is: “still sore in his leg so … we’ll give him time to get this out of the way. Hopefully it won’t be any more than 15 days, but we’ll see.”

The team recalled left-hander Justin Marks from Triple-A Omaha on Thursday. Marks went 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA in one start and two relief appearances for the Storm Chasers.

Davis’ Throwing Error Sends Twins over Royals

kc-royalsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Pitcher Wade Davis made a wild flip home on a comebacker in the eighth inning and the Minnesota Twins rallied past the Kansas City Royals 4-3 Sunday for a three-game sweep.

After the Royals scored three times in the eighth for a 3-2 lead, reliever Aaron Crow (0-1) walked two Minnesota batters to start the bottom half.

Davis struck out Joe Mauer, but Trevor Plouffe walked to load the bases. Chris Hermann then hit a tapper back to the mound and Davis, hoping to begin an easy double play, hesitated briefly after getting the ball out of his glove.

Davis’ toss sailed past catcher Salvador Perez. Pedro Florimon scored the tying run and Brian Dozier slid home under Perez’s return throw to Davis covering the plate.

Casey Fien (1-0) got one out and Glen Perkins posted his third save.

Mauer Homers, Nolasco Pitches Twins past Royals

kc-royalsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Joe Mauer hit his first home run of the season and free-agent acquisition Ricky Nolasco earned his first win for the Minnesota Twins in a 7-1 victory Saturday over the Kansas City Royals.

A day after getting his first RBI of the year, Mauer drove in three more runs against Kansas City starter James Shields. Brian Dozier had a leadoff homer for Minnesota, which has scored the second-most runs in the American League.

Nolasco (1-1) showed why the Twins signed him to a $49 million, four-year contract to steady their rotation. The right-hander gave up five runs in each of his first two outings for his new team, but was on top of his game Saturday in his first home start for Minnesota. Nolasco went eight innings and allowed five hits with four strikeouts.

Shields (0-2) yielded seven runs — one earned — in 5 2-3 innings. He gave up six hits and walked three while striking out five.

Gordon Homers, Drives in 4 as Royals Beat Rays 7-3

kc-royalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon hit a three-run homer and matched a career high with four RBIs, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 7-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays in their series finale Wednesday.

Nori Aoki, Johnny Giavotella and Billy Butler also drove in runs for the Royals, who have struggled to find offense all season. They had only scored more than four runs once in their first seven games, and lost 1-0 to Tampa Bay the previous night.

Jeremy Guthrie (2-0) recovered from a sloppy start to hold the Rays to four hits over seven innings. The only run he allowed came on Desmond Jennings’ homer in the fourth.

The Royals broke the game open with a five-run fifth off Jake Odorizzi (1-1), who was part of the blockbuster trade in 2012 that brought James Shields from Tampa Bay to Kansas City.

The Royals went ahead on Butler’s RBI groundout and Gordon’s run-scoring single in the fourth inning.

Lorenzo Cain singled off Odorizzi to lead off the fifth, Aoki followed two batters later with a triple to right, and the flood gates were open.

Giavotella, recalled from Triple-A Omaha to replace injured second baseman Omar Infante, hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1. Hosmer and Butler followed with back-to-back singles, and Gordon popped a pitch to right-center that hung up long enough in the wind to land over the fence.

It was a rough way for Odorizzi to return to Kauffman Stadium, where he made his big league debut with the Royals in 2012. He allowed all seven runs on 10 hits and a walk in five innings.

The Royals squandered a scoring chance with runners on first and second and one out in the second inning when Mike Moustakas struck out and Gordon was thrown out heading to third.

Royals manager Ned Yost trundled onto the field and challenged the call. After a review of 2 minutes, 10 seconds, the ruling made by third base umpire Quinn Wolcott was upheld.

It hardly mattered the way the Royals were swinging — and the way Guthrie was pitching.

The right-hander, who turned 35 on Tuesday, was coming off a rough start against the White Sox. But Guthrie navigated trouble in each of the first three innings, leaving five Rays on base, and then retired his final 12 batters to hand the lead to his bullpen.

Kelvin Herrera gave up two runs in the ninth for Kansas City.

Notes: The Royals activated RHP Louis Coleman (bruised finger) from the DL and optioned RHP Aaron Brooks and LHP Donnie Joseph to Omaha prior to the game. … Rays 3B Evan Longoria reached base three times. … The Rays visit Cincinnati for a three-game set this weekend. They’ve never won at Great American Ball Park. … Kansas City plays 13 of its next 16 on the road beginning Friday night in Minnesota.

Infante’s Jaw Sprained, Not Broken by Bell Pitch

Omar Infante Kansas City RoyalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City’s Omar Infante has a sprained jaw and needed six stitches to close a cut opened when he was hit by a Heath Bell pitch.

Infante was injured during the seventh inning of Monday’s 4-2 win over Tampa Bay and was sent to the University of Kansas Medical Center.

The Royals said Tuesday that the second baseman did not sustain a concussion. The team said he will be evaluated over the following two days and he was not likely to miss a significant amount of playing time.

Royals put LHPs Collins, Bueno on Disabled List

kc-royalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Left-handed relievers Tim Collins and Francisley Bueno have been put on the 15-day disabled list by the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals recalled right-hander Michael Mariot and left-hander Donnie Joseph from Triple-A Omaha on Monday.

Collins, who walked two and gave up a hit while retiring only one batter against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, is out with a flexor strain in his left elbow.

Bueno, who allowed a double and a single while getting two outs Sunday, has a sprained little finger on his left hand.

 

Sale Shuts Down Royals as White Sox Win 5-1

kc-royalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chris Sale gave up four singles in eight scoreless innings as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Sunday.

Alexei Ramirez and Tyler Flowers each drove in a pair of runs as the White Sox won the series finale after dropping the first two games.

Sale (2-0) struck out six and walked one. In his previous four starts against the Royals, the White Sox had backed him with one run, enough to beat James Shields 1-0 in the 2012 opener.

Shields (0-1) took the loss in this one, too, giving up a run on five hits, striking out six, walking none and hitting two batters in seven innings.

Perez Go-Ahead Double Lifts Royals over White Sox

kc-royalsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a go-ahead RBI double with two outs in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 Saturday.

Alex Gordon doubled off left-hander Scott Downs (0-1) before Perez hit Maikel Cleto’s second pitch down the left-field line.

Wade Davis (1-1) let the White Sox tie it at three when gave up two runs in the eighth on two singles, a walk, a hit batter and sacrifice fly.

Royals right fielder Norichika Aoki prevented the White Sox from taking a lead when he made a lunging catch of Alexei Ramirez line drive to end the eighth with two runners on base.

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