|
 Hosmer stroked four hits and Danny Duffy combined with three
relievers on a six-hit shutout as the Kansas City Royals beat the
Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 on Friday night for their sixth straight
victory.
Hosmer's four-hit game was his first since July 1, 2014, and raised
his average to .292. He was 5-for-28 during the homestand before
going 6-for-8 in the past two games.
"A four-hit game is big for anybody," Hosmer said. "I'll definitely
take it. It feels good. It's big for me. It's been a tough
homestand.
"You get a night like this is really big. As long as we keep
winning, that's the name of the game."
Catcher Salvador Perez led off the eighth with his 15th home run, a
shot off reliever Ryan Tepera.
Duffy (3-4) allowed four singles in six innings to pick up the
victory.
"I thought he threw the ball great to get us through six scoreless,"
Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He made big pitches when he needed
to. His command was off a little bit.
"That's a real dangerous team over there. You make a mistake and
they can hit it a mile. But his stuff was so good, it was keeping
them off the heart of the bat."
Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 18th save. Kelvin Herrera and
Wade Davis, both All-Star selections, each worked a scoreless inning
before Holland.
Jays starter Marco Estrada (6-5) gave up two runs and a season-high
nine hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Toronto has not scored a run in 24 innings and was shut out in
back-to-back games for the first time since June 7-8, 2014, against
St. Louis.
"We've cooled off with the bats, but we've also run into some good
pitching, no doubt about that," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.
"It was bound to happen."
Estrada was visited by the trainer and Gibbons with two outs in the
first inning after Hosmer drilled a single off his right shin.
Estrada limped back to the mound and made a few warmup tosses but
remained in the game.
"I didn't really want to come out and I couldn't really feel my
legs, to be honest with you," Estrada said. "When he asked me, you
either can or you can't. I just said I'm going to do it. It did feel
better as the game went on."
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Right fielder Alex Rios doubled to center in the second to score
Perez, who led off the inning with a single.
The Royals picked up a two-out run in the fourth when shortstop
Alcides Escobar's single scored Rios, who singled and stole second,
his 250th career steal.
Duffy, who was making his fourth start since coming off the disabled
list, walked left fielder Danny Valencia and gave up a single to
designated hitter Russell Martin to lead off the fourth but retired
the next three batters without the runners advancing.
Jays shortstop Jose Reyes opened the third with a single but was
thrown out by left fielder Jarrod Dyson when he attempted to stretch
it into a double. Dyson has three assists in as many games since
replacing injured Alex Gordon.
NOTES: The start of the game was delayed two hours and seven minutes
because of rain, with the first pitch at 9:17 p.m. CDT. ... 3B Mike
Moustakas was reinstated from the bereavement/family medical
emergency list after missing four games to be with his mother, who
is ill. ... 3B Cheslor Cuthbert was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. The
Royals went 4-0 with Cuthbert starting at third base. ... Jays
rookie RHP Aaron Sanchez will throw 50 pitches for Class A Dunedin
on Saturday and then report to Triple-A Buffalo for rehab starts
Thursday and July 21. He is on the disabled list with a right
latissimus dorsi strain. ... Jays LHP Mark Buehrle will start a
Saturday matinee against the Royals, who will counter with RHP Chris
Young working on three days' rest.
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