DETROIT (AP) — Salvador Perez homered and drove in three runs as the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 Tuesday night. Continue reading “Perez homers to lift Royals to 5-1 win over Tigers”

TORONTO (AP) — Chris Colabello hit a two-run home run, R.A. Dickey threw seven shutout innings and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 in testy matchup Sunday, taking three of four from the AL’s top team. Continue reading “Colabello homers, Jays beat Royals 5-2 in testy game”

TORONTO (AP) — Dioner Navarro hit a two-run home run, Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson added solo shots and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 on Thursday night.

The Blue Jays, who acquired star pitcher David Price from Detroit earlier in the day, have homered in 12 consecutive games since the All-Star break, their longest streak of the season.

Price was not with the Blue Jays on Thursday but is expected to join them Friday. Toronto has not said when Price will make his first start but Sunday is a possibility.

Marco Estrada (8-6) allowed two runs and three hits in 5 2-3 innings. Estrada left after Lorenzo Cain’s two-out single in the sixth ended his run of 15 straight outs. Brett Cecil came on and retired Eric Hosmer.

LaTroy Hawkins pitched the seventh, Aaron Sanchez worked the eighth and Roberto Osuna finished for his sixth save.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have traded right-hander Joe Blanton to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations.

Blanton, 34, was designated for assignment Tuesday, when Johnny Cueto reported to the Kansas City following his trade from Cincinnati. Blanton was 2-2 with a 3.89 ERA in four starts and 11 relief appearances this season.

A former first-round draft pick, Blanton is 87-91 in 11 major league seasons.

The trade was announced Wednesday.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber took a shutout into the ninth, rookie Francisco Lindor hit a three-run homer and had a career-high four RBIs, and the Indians avoided a winless homestand with a 12-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes and rookie Giovanny Urshela hit solo homers for Cleveland, which had been outscored 37-10 in losing the first six games of the homestand. Michael Bourn was 4 for 5 as Cleveland had a season-high 18 hits.

Kluber (6-11) held Kansas City to five hits. The reigning Cy Young Award winner retired the first 12 batters before Eric Hosmer’s leadoff double in the fifth. Alex Rios’ RBI groundout in the ninth scored the Royals’ only run.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Eric Hosmer’s homer with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 2-1 victory on Tuesday night over the Cleveland Indians, who have lost eight straight at home — their longest home losing streak in 40 years.

Hosmer hit a 3-2 pitch from Trevor Bauer (8-8) over the wall in right for his 11th homer. The shot came one pitch after Indians catcher Roberto Perez threw out Lorenzo Cain trying to steal second. When his homer cleared the wall, Hosmer pointed toward Kansas City’s dugout, which was celebrating wildly.

Wade Davis (7-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Greg Holland worked the ninth — getting a nifty groundout, and a game-ending double play — for his 22nd save as the Royals won their fourth straight and 16th in 21 games.

 

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have traded utilityman Ben Zobrist and cash to the Kansas City Royals for right-hander Aaron Brooks and minor league left-hander Sean Manaea.

The teams announced the trade Tuesday. The 34-year-old Zobrist, an infielder and outfielder, batted .268 with six home runs, 20 doubles, two triples and 33 RBIs in 67 games for the A’s, who are last in the AL West.

He joins a Royals team that leads the AL Central a season after beating Oakland in the one-game wild card on the way to its first World Series in 29 years and a seven-game loss to San Francisco.

Zobrist missed a month following arthroscopic left knee surgery in late April for a torn meniscus.

A’s general manager Billy Beane pulled off his second trade in 24 hours and third in six days. Oakland dealt closer Tyler Clippard to the New York Mets on Monday night after trading lefty Scott Kazmir to his hometown Houston Astros last Thursday.

 

CLEVELAND (AP) — Eric Hosmer drove in four runs, Kendrys Morales added three RBIs and the Kansas City Royals opened a 10-game road trip with a 9-4 victory over the spiraling Cleveland Indians on Monday night.

Hosmer connected for a three-run homer in the first inning off rookie Cody Anderson (2-2) as the Royals rolled to their AL-leading 60th win and improved to 15-5 in their last 20 games.

Edinson Volquez (10-5) worked into the seventh inning for Kansas City, which will welcome newly acquired ace Johnny Cueto on Tuesday.

Rookie Francisco Lindor hit a three-run homer and Carlos Santana had a solo shot for the Indians, who have dropped five straight.

Joe Blanton gave up Lindor’s homer, but worked three innings for his second save.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals traded for Johnny Cueto, and then used Yordano Ventura’s seven sharp innings to beat Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros 5-1 on Sunday.

Ventura (5-7) allowed one run and six hits in just his second win in his last seven starts. The right-hander, who won 14 games last year, was demoted to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday and then recalled the next day after the Royals learned left-hander Jason Vargas would miss the rest of the year with an elbow injury.

The Royals announced during the game that they had acquired Cueto from Cincinnati for minor league left-handers Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed, drawing a big cheer at Kauffman Stadium.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have acquired ace right-hander Johnny Cueto in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, bolstering their chances of returning to the World Series.

The Royals began the day with the best record in the American League. Now they add Cueto to a rotation that lost Jason Vargas to a season-ending elbow injury last week.

The scuffling Reds received left-handers Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed in Sunday’s deal. Finnegan was Kansas City’s first-round pick in last year’s draft.

Cueto, who is eligible for free agency after the season, was one of the top starters on the market. He pitched eight scoreless innings in Cincinnati’s 5-2 victory at Colorado on Saturday.

Cueto won 20 games last season and is 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA in 19 starts this year.