Royals 8, Orioles 6: Alex Gordon went 4-for-4 with a pair of three-run homers for a career-high six RBIs as Kansas City rallied to earn a split of its four-game series with visiting Baltimore.

Gordon’s blast in the fifth inning gave the Royals a 5-3 lead and his shot in the seventh expanded the advantage to five runs while Billy Butler collected three hits, scored twice and added an RBI. James Shields (6-3) allowed three runs – all in the third inning – and nine hits over seven frames en route to his sixth victory in his last seven starts.

Baltimore’s Adam Jones belted a three-run homer off Aaron Crow in the ninth before Greg Holland came on to get the final two outs for his 12th save. J.J. Hardy and Manny Machado (one RBI) recorded three hits apiece while Nick Markakis knocked in two runs for the Orioles.

Norichika Aoki reached on a bunt single to open the bottom of the first inning before coming home on Butler’s two-out base hit to right field. The Orioles started the third with four straight hits, a streak capped by Markakis' two-run single, and Machado followed with a sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead.

Gordon lined a 1-1 pitch just inside the right-field foul pole with two outs in the fifth off Baltimore starter Ubaldo Jimenez (2-5), who yielded five runs over five innings. Shields worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the seventh and Gordon hammered his second blast to right field in the bottom of the frame.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The teams wore uniforms of the Kansas City Monarchs and Baltimore Black Sox of the 1920s as a special tribute to the history of the Negro Leagues. … Gordon, who had not gone deep since April 9 against Tampa Bay, recorded his third career multi-homer effort – and first since Aug. 11, 2012 at Baltimore. … Jones went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.