KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals overcame five ejections to beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 Sunday behind Kendrys Morales' tiebreaking, two-run double in a three-run eighth inning.
Royals Manager Ned Yost and pitching coach Dave Eiland were ejected in the first inning after Lorenzo Cain was hit by a Scott Kazmir pitch and both teams were issued a warning by plate umpire Greg Gibson. After the warning was issued Sunday, Yost came out to argue and was immediately ejected by Gibson.
In the eighth inning, Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera was tossed after throwing behind Brett Lawrie. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu, who was acting as manager after Yost's ejection, also ejected during the argument along with injured Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar.
Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura was ejected Saturday when he hit Lawrie with a pitch after Josh Reddick's home run. Dugouts and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown.
Lawrie's hard slide into Escobar injured the left knee of the Kansas City shortstop on Friday and caused benches to clear. Escobar called it a "dirty slide" and did not play Saturday or Sunday. Kansas City has been hit by 14 pitches.
With Kansas City trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Scott Kazmir walked Paulo Orlando and Cain hit a one-out RBI double off Eric O'Flaherty (0-1). Cain stole third, Eric Hosmer walked and Morales doubled to deep center.
Franklin Morales (1-0) threw two pitches, retiring Lawrie on a popout. With Greg Holland on the disabled list because of a pectoral strain, Wade Davis struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save.
MARINERS 11, RANGERS 10 Austin Jackson singled in the tying run in the ninth inning, Nelson Cruz followed with a two-out single for his fifth RBI of the game, and host Seattle overcame two five-run deficits to beat the Texas Rangers. Cruz hit two home runs in the first three innings, raising his major league-leading total to eight.
TIGERS 9, WHITE SOX 1 Yoenis Cespedes hit his first major league grand slam and had a two-run homer as host Detroit improved to 10-2, the best start in the major leagues. Shane Greene (3-0) allowed his first earned run of the season when an RBI triple by Jose Abreu skipped past right fielder J.D. Martinez.
YANKEES 5, RAYS 3 Chase Headley and Mark Teixeira drove in two runs each for visiting New York, which completed a three-game sweep. Michael Pineda (2-0) allowed 3 runs and 7 hits in 5 2/3 innings to defeat Matt Andriese (0-1).
ORIOLES 8, RED SOX 3 Adam Jones went 4 for 5 with a three-run double and two-run homer to match his career high with five RBIs for visiting Baltimore. Ryan Flaherty added a solo home run and Jimmy Paredes three singles for the Orioles, who won for the second consecutive day after losing the series opener.
ASTROS 4, ANGELS 3 Scott Feldman (1-2) allowed two runs and six hit in six innings, one start after Oakland got to him for eight runs in five innings for the host Astros. Luke Gregerson pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.
TWINS 7, INDIANS 2 Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff) hit his first home run for host Minnesota since 2007, a three-run drive in the sixth off former Minnesota pitcher Anthony Swarzak. Trevor May (1-1) allowed 1 run and 4 hits in 6 innings.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
PIRATES 5, BREWERS 2 Gerrit Cole (2-0) improved to 9-1 in his last 10 decisions at PNC Park, and has won six consecutive decisions overall. He gave up 2 runs and struck out 6 in 6 innings for the host Pirates.
NATIONALS 4, PHILLIES 1 Stephen Strasburg (1-1) won for the first time in three starts this season, allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings and cutting his ERA from 6.75 to 4.50 for the host Nationals. Drew Storen worked the ninth for his fourth save.
PADRES 5, CUBS 2 Jon Lester (0-2) gave up three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings against the visiting Padres. He has a 6.89 ERA in his first three starts since signing a $155 million, six-year contract.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, GIANTS 1 Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer for the visiting Diamondbacks off Tim Hudson (0-2) helping send the World Series champions to their ninth loss in 10 games. Chris Owings added a two-run single and A.J. Pollock had three hits for Arizona.
DODGERS 7, ROCKIES 0 Howie Kendrick, Scott Van Slyke and rookie Joc Pederson hit sixth-inning home runs off rookie Scott Oberg, and host Los Angeles stretched its winning streak to seven. Brandon McCarthy (2-0) allowed 3 hits in 6 innings, struck out six and walked two to defeat the Rockies for the first time in five career starts.
METS 7, MARLINS 6 Matt Harvey (3-0) won his third consecutive start to begin his comeback season and the banged-up New York Mets, despite losing two important players to injuries, held off visiting Miami for their eighth consecutive victory.
INTERLEAGUE
BRAVES 5, BLUE JAYS 2 Jonny Gomes hit a three-run double in the first off rookie Daniel Norris (1-1) and added a sacrifice fly as the visiting Braves took two of three games from Toronto.
Sports on 04/20/2015