LDN - Sports

Stroman, Blue Jays sweep Royals

[July 07, 2016] TORONTO -- Marcus Stroman was back to the form that has been expected from him by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Stroman (7-4) needed help, however, from Michael Saunders on Wednesday night to secure the win over the Kansas City Royals.

The right-hander allowed three hits and two runs while striking out six in eight innings.

When Brett Eibner hit his second home run of the season with one out in the eighth, the Royals had tied the score at 2.

Saunders, who had hit his 16th homer of the season in the fourth inning, singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth and the Blue Jays went on to a 4-2 victory, completing a sweep of the three-game series with the Royals.

"He looks like the old guy," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "It doesn't mean every outing is going to be an easy outing, but he ought to feel good about it. His pitches are crisp again."

In Stroman's previous 10 starts, he was 2-4 with a 6.36 ERA.

"His stuff is really good and he's not afraid to bang the strike zone," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We're an aggressive team when we're swinging the bats well. Right now, we're just not making any hard contact."

Stroman has been making adjustments, including keeping his hands low on his windup.

"It's coming together and it's kind of paying off," Stroman said. "The more and more I do it, the more comfortable it's becoming. I feel great, I feel extremely strong. It feel like it helps me be more calm and keep everything in line and keep my tempo consistent."

Saunders is one of the players who could land a spot in the All-Star Game in a fan vote for the final spot on the team.

"He's had a tremendous year," Gibbons said. "I guess he goes unnoticed with some of the firepower and the big names we have on the team. He just kind or slides by. This should do it for him now that he is up (for the All-Star vote)."

It was the fifth win in a row for the Blue Jays (48-39) and the fourth loss in row for the Royals (43-41). The 2015 World Series champions are 16-30 on the road.

Roberto Osuna pitched around a two-out single in the ninth to post his 17th save of the season.

Kelvin Herrera (1-2) entered the game for the Royals in the eighth and struck out his first two batters before allowing a double to Edwin Encarnacion, a single to Saunders and a double to Russell Martin to give the Blue Jays a two-run lead.

Royals starter Ian Kennedy allowed four hits, one walk and two runs in six innings. The right-hander struck out 10 before Luke Hochevar replaced him in the seventh.

Stroman was perfect through five innings before walking Eibner to lead off the sixth.

Alcides Escobar tripled to left center to cut Toronto's lead to 2-1. Stroman kept Escobar at third base by ending the inning on two groundouts and a strikeout.

Storman made a key play by backing up third base when the throw went wide and he admitted he was fortunate because he was late getting over.

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Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (6) reacts to striking out Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield (15) to end the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

"I think the play of the game was him backing up that triple," Eric Hosmer said. "It really stopped a lot of momentum. When he got out of that inning, it definitely gave them a boost of energy. That's the unnoticed big play of the game."

The Blue Jays had two runners on base in the first inning after Josh Donaldson walked with one out and Encarnacion followed with a single.

Kennedy then struck out four batters in a row to start a string of nine successive outs that Saunders ended with his 16th homer of the season on a 3-1 fastball with one out in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Stroman retired his first 15 batters on 11 groundouts, three strikeouts and one flyout.

The Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth on a one-out double by Junior Lake and a two-out single by Ezequiel Carrera.

NOTES: With Toronto RHP Marco Estrada (sore back) placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, the team will send RHP Drew Hutchison to start Thursday against Detroit RHP Justin Verlander (8-6, 4.11 ERA) in the opener of a four-game series. RHP Bo Schultz was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo but was not expected to be available Wednesday. The back limited Estrada, an All-Star Game selection, to five innings Saturday. After a cortisone shot, Estrada thought that he could make his regular start, but manager John Gibbons said the club took the cautious route. ... Royals DH Kendrys Morales had his back lock up in Tuesday's game. He did not start Wednesday and is day to day. ... Royals LHP Danny Duffy (4-1, 3.11 ERA) will face Seattle Mariners LHP James Paxton (2-3, 4.24) on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

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