YANKEES 11, ROYALS 7
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Aaron Hicks hit a three-run home run to cap a five-run fourth inning, the Yankees piled up 16 hits and New York rolled to an 11-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Michael Pineda (4-2) allowed 3 runs and 6 hits with 2 walks over 6-plus innings. The big right-hander was shaky throughout but good enough to win for only the second time in 16 road starts.
The Yankees teed off on Jason Vargas (5-2), who came into the game with a major league-leading 1.01 ERA. The left-hander allowed as many earned runs in the fourth as he had in his first seven starts combined, and was lifted after allowing 6 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings.
Vargas had been unbeaten in his last 10 home starts.
Then again, maybe his abysmal night shouldn't have been that much of a surprise. Vargas has never beaten the Yankees in 9 starts and 10 outings, going 0-6 with a 7.15 ERA.
Starlin Castro had three hits and drove in a run. Brett Gardner and Didi Gregorius each had two hits and two RBI. The only Yankees without a hit by the fifth inning were Matt Holliday and Aaron Judge, and all Judge had done was draw a pair of walks and score both times.
Holliday and Judge promptly got their base hits in the sixth.
Salvador Perez hit a two-run home run and Whit Merrifield also went deep for Kansas City, which scored three times in the ninth to make the final score more respectable.
The Yankees entered the game leading the big leagues with a plus-59 run differential, and they added to it on a windy night at Kauffman Stadium. They pounded their 59th home run through their first 37 games, and scored seven or more runs for the fourth consecutive game.
They routed the Royals 7-1 in the series opener Tuesday night.
Alex Rodriguez makes his debut as a color commentator for the series finale today. A-Rod will join Kevin Burkhardt in calling the game on Fox Sports. Rodriguez has been active in TV since his retirement, doing pre- and postgame analysis for Fox Sports along with other projects.
"I get a chance to talk to him tomorrow pregame and talk about the team, so that will be kind of strange," Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said. "That means I'm getting old."
RAYS 7, INDIANS 4 Corey Dickerson hit a three-run home run -- his third home run in two days -- and Alex Cobb controlled host Cleveland over seven as Tampa Bay beat the Indians to complete its most successful road trip in a year.
TIGERS 5, ORIOLES 4 Tyler Collins snapped an 0-for-30 skid in style, hitting two home runs for Detroit in a victory over visiting Baltimore. Michael Fulmer (5-1) wasn't at his best, allowing 3 earned runs and 10 hits in 7 innings, but the Tigers gave him enough support.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
DIAMONDBACKS 5, METS 4 (11) Chris Herrmann homered off Rafael Montero leading off the 11th inning, giving host Arizona a victory and sending New York to its season-high seventh consecutive loss.
DODGERS 6, GIANTS 1 Clayton Kershaw took a share of the major league lead with his seventh victory and earned career victory No. 20 against rival San Francisco, helping visiting Los Angeles avoid a sweep by beating the Giants.
PIRATES 6, NATIONALS 1 Gerrit Cole shut down the best offense in the majors, holding Washington to three hits in seven innings to win for the first time in a month as host Pittsburgh eased to a victory.
CUBS 7, REDS 5 Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber drove in two runs apiece, and Chicago handed visiting Cincinnati its season-high fifth consecutive loss.
INTERLEAGUE
ASTROS 3, MARLINS 0 Lance McCullers paid tribute to the late Jose Fernandez and pitched like him, allowing no earned runs for the third start in a row, and Houston beat host Miami to complete a three-game sweep.
BRAVES 8, BLUE JAYS 4 Kurt Suzuki hit a three-run home run to cap a six-run first inning, and Atlanta held on after Freddie Freeman left with an injury in a victory over visiting Toronto.
RANGERS 9, PHILLIES 3 Andrew Cashner finally won in his home state of Texas, pitching seven solid innings to help the host Rangers match the longest winning streak in the majors this year at eight games with a victory over Philadelphia.
RED SOX 5, CARDINALS 4 (13) Pinch-hitter Chris Young singled home the tiebreaking run in the 13th inning and visiting Boston rallied past St. Louis to sweep their two-game interleague series.
Sports on 05/18/2017