Luke Hochevar

Luke Hochevar allowed three hits in seven shutout innings Saturday night and the Kansas City Royals scored three first-inning runs off Chris Sale to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-0. Hochevar (3-3) cruised as the White Sox mustered only one real scoring threat against him all night. That came in the second on a walk and single by Alex Rios before Alexei Ramirez hit into a double play. Hochevar walked one and struck out five, and his strong effort came after two rough outings against Detroit and New York Yankees when he surrendered a total of 19 hits and 16 runs in 6 1-3 innings.

Erik Bedard pitched seven solid innings, Neil Walker had three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Friday night for their 10th victory in the last 13 games. Bedard (4-6) allowed two runs and five hits as Pittsburgh captured the opening game of a series for the sixth consecutive time. The Pirates (30-27) also moved three games over .500 for the first time this season. Jason Grilli worked a perfect eighth and Joel Hanrahan retired the side in order in the ninth for his 16th save in 18 opportunities.

Luke Hochevar recovered from a shaky start to earn his first win since May 26 and Yuniesky Betancourt stole home, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 6-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. The top pick in the 2006 amateur draft, Hochevar (6-5) gave up three runs in the first two innings but none after that. He allowed eight hits over six innings, striking out five and walking one. Hochevar missed nearly three months this season with a right elbow sprain. Mitch Maier had a two-run single in the Royals' four-run second.

Melky Cabrera's RBI single scored Chris Getz from second in the 12th inning Tuesday night, lifting Kansas City past the Chicago White Sox 7-6 and giving the Royals their fourth straight win in their final at-bat. Chris Getz singled leading off and was sacrificed to second and then Cabrera connected of Tony Pena (0-1) for his third hit of the game. Jeremy Jeffress (1-0) got two outs for the win in Kansas City's first four-game winning streak since September 2009. The Royals bullpen threw six shutout innings after the White Sox scored four in the first off Luke Hochevar and took a 6-4 lead in the sixth.

Luke Hochevar gave up one hit in seven innings and Jeff Francoeur homered and drove in three runs to help the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on a rainy Friday night for their fifth victory in six games. Ichiro Suzuki led off the game with a double, the only hit Hochevar (2-1) would allow. Suzuki advanced to third on a Milton Bradley ground out and scored on Jack Cust's fielder's choice grounder. Hochevar, the first player picked in the 2006 draft, retired 16 in a row after walking Luis Rodriguez with two out in the second before exiting after seven innings and 100 pitches.

Alex Gordon extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI double in a four-run first inning and Luke Hochevar won another afternoon start as the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 Sunday. Hochevar is 9-3 with a 4.43 ERA in 14 day starts the past two seasons, compared to 2-11 with a 5.28 ERA in 21 appearances at night. He picked up just his second victory in his last 10 starts, with both coming in afternoon games. Hochevar (5-8) departed after 5 2-3 innings.

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.

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.

The struggling Oakland Athletics took advantage of some bumbling Kansas City defense to pile up their most offense in more than three weeks, helping them snap a nine-game losing streak with a 9-3 victory over the Royals on Saturday. Brandon McCarthy (4-3) came off the disabled list to throw six innings, Jemile Weeks reached base four times and Josh Reddick had a two-run triple during a four-run fifth for Oakland. The A's nine runs surpassed their total from the previous six games combined.

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.

Justin Verlander breezed through eight innings and Prince Fielder hit a solo homer, helping the Detroit Tigers steady themselves with a 6-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. Detroit entered one game behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central after being swept in a doubleheader by Minnesota on Sunday. Verlander (16-8) had little trouble with the Royals, who knocked him around for eight runs and 12 hits last month. The right-hander allowed two runs and nine hits this time, striking out eight without a walk.

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.

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.

Erik Bedard pitched seven solid innings, Neil Walker had three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Friday night for their 10th victory in the last 13 games. Bedard (4-6) allowed two runs and five hits as Pittsburgh captured the opening game of a series for the sixth consecutive time. The Pirates (30-27) also moved three games over .500 for the first time this season. Jason Grilli worked a perfect eighth and Joel Hanrahan retired the side in order in the ninth for his 16th save in 18 opportunities.

The struggling Oakland Athletics took advantage of some bumbling Kansas City defense to pile up their most offense in more than three weeks, helping them snap a nine-game losing streak with a 9-3 victory over the Royals on Saturday. Brandon McCarthy (4-3) came off the disabled list to throw six innings, Jemile Weeks reached base four times and Josh Reddick had a two-run triple during a four-run fifth for Oakland. The A's nine runs surpassed their total from the previous six games combined.

Luke Hochevar allowed three hits in seven shutout innings Saturday night and the Kansas City Royals scored three first-inning runs off Chris Sale to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-0. Hochevar (3-3) cruised as the White Sox mustered only one real scoring threat against him all night. That came in the second on a walk and single by Alex Rios before Alexei Ramirez hit into a double play. Hochevar walked one and struck out five, and his strong effort came after two rough outings against Detroit and New York Yankees when he surrendered a total of 19 hits and 16 runs in 6 1-3 innings.

Billy Butler hit two of Kansas City's four home runs to help the Royals snap a 12-game losing streak by beating the Cleveland Indians 8-2 Wednesday night. Butler's two-run blast off Ubaldo Jimenez (2-1) put the Royals ahead in the first. He added a solo shot in the ninth off reliever Jairo Asencio, following Alex Gordon's three-run homer against the reliever. Eric Hosmer's two-run shot in the fifth made it 4-0 - the Royals' largest lead since April 8, when they beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3. Luke Hochevar (2-1)

A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a $9 million, two-year contract with left-hander Bruce Chen. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the team had not announced it. Chen will make $4.5 million each of the next two seasons. He can earn an additional $500,000 per year in roster bonuses and $1 million a season in performance bonuses. Chen has been the Royals' most reliable starter the past two years, going 12-8 with a 3.77 ERA last season.

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.

Casey Kotchman led off the ninth inning with a home run to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 2-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. Kotchman drove the first pitch from Blake Wood (5-1) over the center field fence. He also knocked in the other Tampa Bay run with a run-scoring single that tied it in the seventh. Rays closer Kyle Farnsworth (4-1) pitched a perfect ninth to earn the win. Luke Hochevar allowed one run and five hits over seven innings for the Royals.