KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Third baseman Mike Moustakas homered during a seven-run sixth inning to support right-hander Kris Medlen's first start in nearly two years as the Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-3 Monday night.

Moustakas' 14th home run of the year, and third in his last four games, ignited an inning in which the Royals collected seven consecutive two-out hits.

Medlen (2-0), who missed all of the 2014 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts to record his first win as a starter since his last appearance for the Atlanta Braves, Sept. 27, 2013.

"I just think he did a great job getting us through six inning, managing his pitch count," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "The two balls that hurt him were on secondary stuff. Just executing pitches. Good tempo. On a 70-pitch limit, to get us through six innings with our bullpen short is a great job all the way around. He was quick, efficient, and throwing strikes. A lot of good things to like."

"It was nice for him," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "It’s been a long fight back for him. You can tell why he’s had a lot of success and why he’s worth waiting on."

Down 3-1 in the sixth, the Royals erupted for seven runs, all with two outs.

"We were focused, locked in for that inning," center fielder Lorenzo Cain said. "It was a huge inning. We definitely needed it. Medlen did a great job and we definitely needed to pick him up. The inning is never over. When we have two outs, we never stop fighting."

"They’re just a good group that never quits," Yost said. "They get two outs and there’s no let down in that group. They just keep focused on good at-bats. The first five innings he had really good sink on the ball and we couldn’t get it elevated and kept hitting ground balls. We still hit some ground balls that inning. We just found ways to find some holes."

After Moustakas' two-run shot into the right-field bleachers tied the score 3-3, catcher Salvador Perez reached on an infield hit and right fielder Alex Rios doubled. Second baseman Omar Infante then tripled and scored on second baseman Jonathan Schoop's throwing error for a 6-3 lead.

"It was a fastball," Moustakas said. "He went fastball 0-0 and I took it, and I was kind of looking for the exact same pitch and he threw it again. I just put a good swing on it and it ended up getting out of the yard."

"I probably started leaving the ball a little bit up and they put a good swing on it," right-hander Jimenez said. "I think the pitch to Moustakas wasn’t a bad pitch. That’s what I wanted to throw, he just put a good swing on it. The biggest mistake I made was the 0-2 pitch to Infante. It was supposed to be up and in. I left it right down the middle."

Kansas City added two more runs in the sixth when Cain singled to bring in shortstop Alcides Escobar and left fielder Ben Zobrist. The seven-run inning tied a season high for the Royals and the eight hits were their most in one inning since Game 6 of the World Series last year.

"It just shows the resiliency of this team," Moustakas said. "We never quit, never gave up. We can do a lot of damage with two outs and we proved that tonight."

"We were focused, locked in for that inning," Cain said. "It was a huge inning. We definitely needed it. Medlen did a great job and we definitely needed to pick him up. The inning is never over. When we have two outs, we never stop fighting."

Including the four-game sweep in the AL Championship series, it was Kansas City's seventh straight win against Baltimore.

Jimenez (9-8) allowed seven runs on 10 hits with one walk and three strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

"He was pitching well," Showalter said. "He just started elevating some fastballs and they made him pay for it. He was really commanding the ball well and just didn’t that (sixth) inning. You’re a pitch away from making it out of there. But you know we had five hits. You always tip your hat to the opposition, but you get a little tired of doing that."

"That’s the tough thing about baseball," Jimenez said. "We were one out away."

Center fielder Adam Jones' two-run, first-inning homer was his 24th of the year and seventh in his last 14 games.

The Orioles did not have a baserunner after designated hitter Steve Clevenger's one-out RBI double in the fourth.

"They got in a groove," Jones said. "Medlen got in a groove after Clevenger hit that double and settled down. He got eight or nine straight and then that bullpen we all know what they can do."

"They pitched well and we didn’t swing the bats well," Showalter. "Sometimes our guys are pushing, they know that we’ve got to get it going. Not usually a good recipe against good pitchers."

What looked to be a spectacular catch by Cain of third baseman Manny Machado's long drive on the first pitch of the game was overturned on an Orioles challenge. The replay determined Cain momentarily lost control of the ball and it touched the wall in right-center, making it a double. Two batters later, Machado scored ahead of Jones' home run.

"I got a great jump on it, a great read on it, and the wind just kept pushing it out," Cain said. "It came out of my glove. I had it and it came out. I hit the wall and I looked down and the ball’s at my chest. I didn’t actually see it hit the wall until I saw the replay. I thought I had it then I saw the replay and I was surprised."

"The fastball to Jones, I can’t make those kinds of pitches to good hitters like that," Medlen said. "It felt terrible coming out of my hands. It was one of those that you know he’s going to smack once you let it go. It stayed arm side. It wasn’t the worst pitch I’ve ever thrown, but those breaking balls have to stay on the other side of the plate. That hung right up on the plate for him. He does what he does and smacks it out."

The Royals cut the lead in half in the third. Zobrist and Cain singled with one out, and first baseman Eric Hosmer delivered an RBI grounder.

The Orioles regained their two-run advantage in the fourth when Clevenger's one-out double to left brought home Jones for a 3-1 lead.

NOTES: Orioles C Steve Clevenger will miss the final three games of the series (Tuesday through Thursday) as he returns home to be with his wife for the birth of their child. Labor will be induced Tuesday afternoon. ... Orioles RHP Mike Wright (left calf strain) is expected to go five innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday. ... Royals DH Kendrys Morales entered the series as a career .359 hitter (47-for-131) against the Orioles, third best among active players behind only Miguel Cabrera (.391) and Adrian Gonzalez (.379). ... The Orioles recalled RHP Jorge Rondon from Norfolk to help with an overworked bullpen. Manager Buck Showalter said, "We're short; the last two or three games we've really had to push the envelope." ... Monday's game was the first matchup between last year's AL Championship Series opponents. The Royals and Orioles were the last two AL teams to face each other this year.