ROYALS 3, ATHLETICS 2
OAKLAND, Calif. -- With his team nearing its 43rd victory of the season to tie Houston for the most in the AL, Kansas City Manager Ned Yost finally relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the moment.
The Royals are rolling again and the normally stoic Yost broke character to take it in.
Chris Young bounced back from his worst start of the year to pitch six innings and Kansas City beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 Saturday to move a season-high 15 games over .500.
"I was sitting there thinking about that in the ninth inning, this would be a chance to get our high-water mark to 15 over," Yost said following the Royals' third consecutive victory. "If I would say I'm not excited about being 15 over, I'd be lying. It's great, but we want to continue to keep going, keep going, keep going."
Kendrys Morales hit a two-run single in the sixth off Scott Kazmir (4-5) that erased a 2-1 deficit. The Royals won for the fourth time in five games on their road trip.
Young (7-3) allowed 4 hits and 2 runs, walked 1 and struck out 4.
That was in stark contrast to Young's previous start against Boston when he was tagged for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings.
"He did a great job of changing eye level," Yost said. "He'd get them looking up then pitch down. He'd get them looking down, then he'd pitch up. He moved the ball in and he'd move the ball out. He just did a great job of executing pitches."
Ryan Madson and Wade Davis pitched one inning apiece, and Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 16th save.
Oakland had two on with no outs in the eighth but failed to score. Stephen Vogt struck out looking against Davis after getting ahead in the count 3-0, and Ben Zobrist hit into a 1-6-3 double play.
The Royals trailed 2-1 in the sixth before stringing together a walk and two hits. Lorenzo Cain and Hosmer also pulled off a double steal before Morales singled.
Young, who made a throwing error that led to Oakland's first run, won for the third time in four starts.
Fuld doubled leading off the first, alertly stole third against the Royals shifted defense and scored when Young's throw to third sailed wildly into foul territory.
Omar Infante doubled in the third, moved up on a balk by Kazmir and scored on a sacrifice fly by Moustakas.
A two-out throwing error by shortstop Alcides Escobar in the fifth led to an unearned run for the A's in the fifth.
Kazmir owned the lowest home ERA in the majors going into the game, but gave up 3 runs and 7 hits in 7 innings.
YANKEES 9, ASTROS 6 Brian McCann hit a grand slam and Chris Young homered to give visiting New York an early lead, and Mark Teixeira had a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth after the Yankees squandered that cushion in a victory over Houston. McCann's slam came in the first. A two-run shot by Young, a Houston native, that extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games, in the second off Houston starter Brett Oberholtzer put the Yankees up 6-0. Oberholtzer was ejected with one out in the second inning for throwing at Alex Rodriguez.
RANGERS 4, BLUE JAYS 0 Yovani Gallardo extended his scoreless streak to a career-high 23 innings by pitching three-hit ball into the ninth, and Texas snapped a season-worst six-game skid with a victory over host Toronto. Mitch Moreland, Robinson Chirinos and Rougned Odor all hit solo home runs for the Rangers, who won for the first time since beating the White Sox on June 19.
RAYS 4, RED SOX 1 Matt Andriese and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, Jake Elmore hit a two-run home run and Tampa Bay beat visiting Boston. Andriese (3-2) retired his first 11 batters before allowing his lone baserunner, coming on a two-out single in the fourth by Xander Bogaerts.
INTERLEAGUE
TWINS 5, BREWERS 2 Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff) hit two home runs and Eduardo Escobar had a three-run shot, leading Minnesota over host Milwaukee. Kyle Gibson (5-6) allowed 2 runs and 6 hits in 6 2/3 innings. He had lost a career-worst three consecutive decisions after starting June with a no-decision in the Twins' 10-5 loss to Milwaukee at Target Field.
ANGELS 4, MARINERS 2 Garrett Richards (8-5) pitched into the eighth inning and Kole Calhoun hit a two-run home run as Los Angeles beat visiting Seattle.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
MARLINS 3, DODGERS 2 Tom Koehler pitched seven innings, and host Miami beat Clayton Kershaw and Los Angeles in the Marlins' first game since Giancarlo Stanton was sidelined by a hand injury. Christian Yelich tied a career high with four hits for the Marlins, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Koehler (6-4) allowed two runs and six hits.
GIANTS 7, ROCKIES 5 Buster Posey drove in two runs, and Andrew Susac had a three-run double in the seventh inning to rally San Francisco to a victory over visiting Colorado. Matt Duffy added three hits, including a home run, for the Giants.
PIRATES 8, BRAVES 4 Pirates star Andrew McCutchen was hit in the left elbow by a pitch and exited during a five-run first inning as host Pittsburgh sent Atlanta to its fifth consecutive loss. McCutchen took a fastball from Julio Teheran (5-4). X-rays were negative and the 2013 NL MVP will be re-evaluated today. Starling Marte got three hits and scored three times for the Pirates.
CARDINALS 8, CUBS 1 Michael Wacha pitched six solid innings, and host St. Louis beat Chicago to become the first major league team with 50 victories.
Sports on 06/28/2015