KANSAS CITY — Tyler Skaggs pitched seven innings in his first big league start in two years and Yunel Escobar went 5 for 5 to help the Los Angeles Angels pound the Kansas City Royals 13-0 on Tuesday night.
Kole Calhoun drove in four runs and Carlos Perez had four hits, including a home run. Mike Trout drove in three runs, and Johnny Giavotella had three hits, including two doubles, and scored three runs.
Escobar matched a career high for hits and the Angels collected 22 overall, equaling their season best.
Skaggs allowed three singles, struck out five and walked one. The 25-year-old left-hander, who had elbow surgery in August 2014, had his fastball clocked in the 91-95 mph range in his return to the majors.
Calhoun doubled home Escobar in the first inning. The Royals have been outscored 73-51 in the first inning after allowing only 68 first-inning runs last year.
Calhoun drove in another run in the fourth with a groundout. He also had a sacrifice fly in the sixth and another run-scoring grounder in the ninth.
Perez led off the sixth with his fifth homer.
Royals right-hander Dillon Gee (3-4) was charged with five runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings.
The Angels sent 13 men to the plate in a seven-run ninth. Reserve catcher Drew Butera got the final out in his second pitching appearance of the season.
The Royals have dropped six of seven to fall three games below .500 for the first time this season.
YANKEES 6, ASTROS 3 CC Sabathia allowed just two runs in 6 2/3 innings to get back on track after a tough stretch and help the New York Yankees to a 6-3 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. Sabathia (6-8) allowed four hits and struck out five to pick up his first win since June 16 after going 0-4 and allowing 31 runs — 29 earned — combined in his past six starts. Things didn’t look good early on Tuesday night when he allowed a solo home run to Marwin Gonzalez in the first inning. But he settled in after that, allowing only one single over the next five innings. The Yankees built a five-run lead thanks in part to a two-run triple by Aaron Hicks by the time Evan Gattis homered to start Houston’s seventh and cut it to 6-2.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 3, METS 2 Noah Syndergaard kept it close, manager Terry Collins won a pair of replay challenges and the New York Mets threw out three runners on the bases. They just didn’t do quite enough to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets remained stuck in a recent holding pattern, falling to St. Louis 3-2 Tuesday in the opener of a doubleheader. New York has alternated wins and losses for the last 11 games. METS 3, CARDINALS 1 Bartolo Colon pitched three-hit ball for seven sharp innings and the New York Mets overcame another home run by Jedd Gyorko to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Tuesday night for a doubleheader split. Gyorko homered in both ends and has connected seven times in nine games. His two-run shot helped St. Louis win the opener 3-2. Colon (9-5) struck out eight and walked none. After Gyorko homered in the second and Alberto Rosario doubled in the third, Colon set down 14 of his final 15 batters.