KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Delino DeShields is known for his speed, stealing 101 bases in 2012 in the minors, not for his power.
DeShields hit a home run in the seventh inning to break a tie and the Texas Rangers defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Sunday.
DeShields, who was recalled Thursday from Class AAA Round Rock, walked and doubled before leading off the seventh with his third home run. DeShields hit a 2-1 pitch from Luke Hochevar out to left.
“It so happened that today I was the guy that got us the go-ahead run,” DeShields said. “I was just trying to hit the ball hard. I wasn’t looking for anything specific. I wanted to get on base. Before I had gotten on base in every at-bat.
“With the game tied and if I get myself in scoring position, there’s a good chance for me to touch home plate. I got into it pretty good and got it over the fence, but the main focus was just putting the barrel on the ball and try to get on base.”
The loss dropped the Royals to 48-49, the first time the World Series champions have been below .500 since May 15 when they were 18-19. The Royals have lost 13 of 19 games in July.
WHITE SOX 5, TIGERS 4 Melky Cabrera drove in Adam Eaton with a game-ending single in the ninth inning after closer David Robertson gave up three home runs in the top half to lead the host White Sox over the Detroit Tigers hours after they suspended ace Chris Sale for five days on Sunday.
ORIOLES 5, INDIANS 3 Pinch-hitter Nolan Reimold hit a game-winning, two-out home run in the ninth inning after Pedro Alvarez reached on a strikeout, and Baltimore completed a three-game sweep at home.
BLUE JAYS 2, MARINERS 0 J.A. Happ and three relievers combined on a one-hitter, Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo home run and host Toronto avoided a three-game sweep.
ATHLETICS 3, RAYS 2 Billy Butler hit a tiebreaking home run off Erasmo Ramirez with one out in the eighth inning and host Oakland held on. RED SOX 8, TWINS 7 Rick Porcello became the first Boston pitcher in 55 years to open a season 10-0 in Fenway Park, and Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw both hit three-run home runs. ASTROS 13, ANGELS 3 Jose Altuve hit two of host Houston’s season-high five home runs and had a career-high six RBI to help complete a three-game sweep.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
PADRES 10, NATIONALS 6 Alex Dickerson and Ryan Schimpf hit back-to-back home runs off Shawn Kelley in the eighth inning and San Diego scored four runs off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth to beat host Washington.
CUBS 6, BREWERS 5 Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run double in the seventh inning for the visiting Cubs and Joe Nathan got the victory in his first game in the majors since April 2015.
DIAMONDBACKS 9, REDS 8 Paul Goldschmidt’s solo home run in the fifth inning gave visiting Arizona the lead for good, and the Diamondbacks finished with four home runs for the game.
METS 3, MARLINS 0 Steven Matz pitched six innings for his first victory since May, and visiting New York took the rubber game of a series against Miami.
PIRATES 5, PHILLIES 4 Adam Frazier’s pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning powered host Pittsburgh over Philadelphia.
ROCKIES 7, BRAVES 2 Trevor Story lined his fourth home run in three games, Tyler Chatwood allowed one hit over five erratic innings and host Colorado swept Atlanta.
DODGERS 9, CARDINALS 6 Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam and Howie Kendrick added a two-run home run, helping Los Angeles spoil Mike Mayers’ major league debut. Scott Kazmir (9-3) pitched 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits to earn the victory.
INTERLEAGUE
YANKEES 5, GIANTS 2 Nathan Eovaldi pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira hit early solo home runs and host New York completed a 6-4 homestand.
Sports on 07/25/2016