Alcides Escobar

Bruce Chen allowed three hits over six impressive innings, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Saturday. Wilson Betemit and Alcides Escobar drove in runs in the second inning for Kansas City, and Jeff Francoeur added a sacrifice fly in the ninth. The Royals' previous four wins all came in their last at-bat, but they needed no dramatics this time with Chen (1-0) protecting the early lead. Detroit loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Magglio Ordonez hit a popup on Robinson Tejeda's only pitch of the game.

Alex Gordon belted a three-run homer and the Kansas City Royals roughed up Charlie Furbush, then weathered Luke Hochevar's struggles in a 13-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night. Alcides Escobar drove in three runs and scored three times forthe Royals, who led 9-2 after three innings. Melky Cabrera and Billy Butler had two RBIs apiece. Hochevar struggled with the big lead and was battered for six runs before he was yanked in the fourth. Greg Holland (3-1) wiggled out of trouble to earn the victory, and Everett Teaford kept Detroit off the scoreboard for the final three innings in a game that began in 90-degree heat and took 3 hours, 24 minutes to finish.

Brennan Boesch hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. Wilson Betemit led off the inning with a walk and pinch-runner Andy Dirks took second on a wild pitch by Aaron Crow (3-3) with one out. Daniel Schlereth (1-1) worked two scoreless innings and Jose Valverde pitched the bottom of the 10th for his 31st straight save. Austin Jackson and Boesch opened the game with back-to-back triples in the Tigers' two-run first inning.

Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar hit back-to-back homers and the Kansas City Royals beat the first-place Detroit Tigers 9-5 Monday night. Alex Gordon also homered and Johnny Giavotella added a bases-loaded double for the Royals, who came in 18½ games behind Central Division leaders. Luke Hochevar (9-10) ended a four-start winless streak. He gave up five runs on eight hits in seven innings. Max Scherzer (13-8) allowed seven runs on 10 hits and a walk in three-plus innings to drop to 2-2 in August.

Felix Hernandez won his fourth straight decision, Jesus Montero homered and drove in four runs as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-1 Thursday. Hernandez (8-5) is 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his past seven starts since a loss to San Diego on June 12. While he leads the majors with 143 strikeouts, Hernandez struck out only three, tying his season low. He allowed one run and eight hits, throwing only 89 pitches in eight innings. Hernandez worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth, striking out Alcides Escobar and retiring Billy Butler on a grounder.

Alcides Escobar drove in three runs, Luke Hochevar pitched six solid innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 8-3 Tuesday night to snap a five-game losing streak. Escobar had two hits for his 34th multihit game, raising his average to a team-leading .307. Jarrod Dyson and Alex Gordon had three hits each, and Chris Getz had two hits and drove in two runs. The Royals scored all their runs in the first three innings. Hochevar settled down after giving up three runs over the second and third innings.

James Shields took a three-hitter into the eighth inning, leading Tampa Bay over the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Wednesday for the Rays' 16th win in 21 games. Shields (12-7) retired 12 in a row after Alcides Escobar's two-out single in the third and allowed three runs and five hits in 7 2-3 innings. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one, improving to 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA in his last five starts. Escobar ended Shields' day with a two-out RBI triple in the eighth that pulled Kansas City to 4-2. Jake McGee allowed a run-scoring single to Alex Gordon, and Kyle Farnsworth retired Billy Butler on a grounder.

Mike Moustakas stroked a go-ahead single in the 10th inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. The Royals plated both their runs with two outs in the 10th off Brett Myers (2-3), the seventh of eight White Sox pitchers in the game. The rally started after Alcides Escobar was thrown out, leaving the bases empty and two outs. Myers walked Billy Butler, who was replaced by pinch runner Jarrod Dyson. Salvador Perez, Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur then hit consecutive singles, the last two driving in runs.

Alcides Escobar hit a pair of homers off Jake Peavy, the second a go-ahead shot with two outs in the seventh inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Saturday night.     The 25-year-old shortstop had just two homers all season and 11 in his career before he connected for a two-run shot off Chicago's All-Star right-hander in the third inning.     White Sox slugger Adam Dunn homered and Dayan Viciedo hit an RBI triple in the sixth to tie it at 3, but Escobar doubled up against Peavy (7-6)

Wade Davis pitched out of bases loaded jams in the first two innings, Billy Butler and Jeff Francoeur homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 3-0 on Wednesday night to sweep the three-game series. The Royals have won four straight and six of seven to move three-games above .500 for the first time since May 12, 2011, when they were 20-17. Butler homered in the first, while Francoeur led off the seventh with a home run to extend his hitting streak to seven games.

Wade Davis pitched out of bases loaded jams in the first two innings, Billy Butler and Jeff Francoeur homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 3-0 on Wednesday night to sweep the three-game series. The Royals have won four straight and six of seven to move three-games above .500 for the first time since May 12, 2011, when they were 20-17. Butler homered in the first, while Francoeur led off the seventh with a home run to extend his hitting streak to seven games.

Mike Moustakas stroked a go-ahead single in the 10th inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. The Royals plated both their runs with two outs in the 10th off Brett Myers (2-3), the seventh of eight White Sox pitchers in the game. The rally started after Alcides Escobar was thrown out, leaving the bases empty and two outs. Myers walked Billy Butler, who was replaced by pinch runner Jarrod Dyson. Salvador Perez, Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur then hit consecutive singles, the last two driving in runs.

James Shields took a three-hitter into the eighth inning, leading Tampa Bay over the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Wednesday for the Rays' 16th win in 21 games. Shields (12-7) retired 12 in a row after Alcides Escobar's two-out single in the third and allowed three runs and five hits in 7 2-3 innings. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one, improving to 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA in his last five starts. Escobar ended Shields' day with a two-out RBI triple in the eighth that pulled Kansas City to 4-2. Jake McGee allowed a run-scoring single to Alex Gordon, and Kyle Farnsworth retired Billy Butler on a grounder.

Alcides Escobar drove in three runs, Luke Hochevar pitched six solid innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 8-3 Tuesday night to snap a five-game losing streak. Escobar had two hits for his 34th multihit game, raising his average to a team-leading .307. Jarrod Dyson and Alex Gordon had three hits each, and Chris Getz had two hits and drove in two runs. The Royals scored all their runs in the first three innings. Hochevar settled down after giving up three runs over the second and third innings.

The Kansas City Royals are happy to be leaving the West Coast and done with the Seattle Mariners until next season. Felix Hernandez shook off a line drive to his left wrist and threw seven strong innings, and the Mariners overcame bullpen problems to beat the Royals 7-6 on Sunday for a four-game sweep. It was the second time this season the Royals were swept in a four-game series and the first time Seattle has done it against Kansas City since May 2001. The sweep in Seattle concluded a miserable 1-6 West Coast swing for the Royals and a 1-7 stretch overall against the Mariners since the All-Star break.

Jonathan Broxton expected Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham to pull the ball. Instead, they both stroked opposite-field hits to give Minnesota the win. Mauer went 3-for-4 and scored the winning run in the 11th inning to lead the Twins to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. Mauer, a career .359 hitter at Kauffman Stadium, led off the 11th with a double to left off Broxton (1-2) and he scored on Willingham's groundball single to right. "The first guy got a hit and it was downhill from there," Broxton said.

Joe Mauer went 3-for-4 and scored the winning run in the 11th inning to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. Mauer, a career .359 hitter at Kauffman Stadium, led off the 11th with a double off Jonathan Broxton (1-2) and he scored on Josh Willingham's groundball single to right. Casey Fien (1-0) worked two perfect innings to pick up his first major-league victory. Glen Perkins worked around Alcides Escobar's leadoff double in the bottom of the inning to pick up his fifth save in eight opportunities.

Felix Hernandez won his fourth straight decision, Jesus Montero homered and drove in four runs as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-1 Thursday. Hernandez (8-5) is 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his past seven starts since a loss to San Diego on June 12. While he leads the majors with 143 strikeouts, Hernandez struck out only three, tying his season low. He allowed one run and eight hits, throwing only 89 pitches in eight innings. Hernandez worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth, striking out Alcides Escobar and retiring Billy Butler on a grounder.

Chris Sale won his eighth straight decision, Adam Dunn homered in his third straight game and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1 Sunday. Sale (11-2) is 8-0 with two no-decisions since a May 12 loss to the Royals. He allowed one run and scattered a season-high 10 hits eight innings to lower his earned run average to 2.11, which ranks second on the American League. He struck out four and walked none. Dunn, who leads the league with 28 home runs, drilled a 2-0 pitch from Luis Mendoza (3-6)

Alcides Escobar hit a pair of homers off Jake Peavy, the second a go-ahead shot with two outs in the seventh inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Saturday night.     The 25-year-old shortstop had just two homers all season and 11 in his career before he connected for a two-run shot off Chicago's All-Star right-hander in the third inning.     White Sox slugger Adam Dunn homered and Dayan Viciedo hit an RBI triple in the sixth to tie it at 3, but Escobar doubled up against Peavy (7-6)