Whit Merrifield hit a scorcher past third baseman Gio Urshela in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to an 8-7 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday in the final game of a three-game series.

The game-winning single came after the Royals blew a three-run lead in the ninth.

The Yankees rallied against closer Ian Kennedy to tie the score. With two outs, DJ LeMahieu singled in the first run and Aaron Hicks drove home the tying runs with a single.

The Royals hit four homers to avoid the sweep and end the Yankees' seven-game winning streak.

Kevin McCarthy (1-1) pitched a scoreless 10th to pick up the win. Jonathan Holder (3-2) took the loss.

The Royals wasted a solid effort by Danny Duffy, who gave up four runs (only one earned) on five hits, with four strikeouts and one walk.

Yankees starter Domingo German gave up seven runs on nine hits in five innings. He was trying to become the first American League pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 1999 to reach 10 wins before June 1. His only loss this season came to the Royals, and six of his nine home runs allowed have come against Kansas City.

Most of the season, the Royals top four hitters have carried their offense, but it was the No. 5 through No. 9 batters who did most of the damage Sunday. Those five hitters were a combined 11-for-23 with seven runs scored and seven RBIs.

Trailing 1-0, the Royals got three runs in the bottom of the second from an unlikely source as Martin Maldonado connected on a two-out, three-run home run off German. Ryan O'Hearn hit a two-out opposite-field home run in the fourth, his fifth this season, but his second off German.

The Royals tagged German for three more runs in the fifth inning. Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler hit back-to-back homers with two outs. Dozier's drove in Adalberto Mondesi.

The Yankees got three runs in the sixth following a two-out error by Mondesi, allowing Hicks to reach safely. Gary Sanchez followed with a single and Gleyber Torres hit a three-run home run to center.

--Field Level Media