Blue Jays 5, Royals 3: Brett Lawrie drove in two runs and stole home, and Ricky Romero pitched eight strong innings as Toronto kept Kansas City winless at home.
Romero and Kansas City starter Danny Duffy matched zeroes for four innings before the Blue Jays' bats came to life.
Duffy (1-2) allowed four hits and two walks in the fifth before leaving with two outs. Lawrie's two-run single chased Duffy and gave the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead.
Romero (3-0) struck out five and allowed two runs on five hits to win his third straight start.
Francisco Cordero converted his first save opportunity since taking over for closer Sergio Santos, who was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Cordero allowed one run to score but got Brayan Pena to ground into a game-ending double play.
Mike Moustakas had three of Kansas City's seven hits, including an RBI single in the ninth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto improved to 5-1 on the road, while Kansas City lost its 10th straight overall and ninth straight at home. … Royals OF Alex Gordon batted in the No. 2 spot for the second consecutive game and extended his hitting streak to six games. … Duffy has not lasted five innings in either of his two starts against Toronto. … Lawrie stole home on a double steal in the eighth inning, racing home after Royals C Humberto Quintero threw to second to try to catch J.P Arencibia stealing.
Toronto | Kansas City | |
Ricky Romero | Player | Danny Duffy |
Win | W/L | Loss |
8.0 | IP | 4.2 |
5 | Strikeouts | 5 |
5 | Hits | 5 |
2.25 | ERA | 7.71 |
Toronto | Kansas City | |
Yunel Escobar | Player | Mike Moustakas |
2 | Hits | 3 |
1 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 4 |
.400 | Avg | .750 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Toronto | 8 | 0 | 10 | .229 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
Kansas City | 7 | 0 | 9 | .219 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |