Bo Bichette's three-run triple led the Toronto Blue Jays past the host Kansas City Royals, 5-3, on Monday evening.The Blue Jays took a 3-0 lead in the third after a pair of walks and Cavan Biggio's opposite-field double loaded the bases. With one out, Bichette's slicing liner to right-center tipped off the glove of diving center fielder Garrett Hampson, clearing the bases.Daulton Varsho took Kansas City starter Brady Singer's 1-2 slider out to right for a two-run homer in the sixth, expanding Toronto's lead to 5-0. Varsho leads the Blue Jays with six homers this season.Toronto scored more runs on Bichette's swing than Singer (2-1) had allowed in any of his four previous starts this year. Singer threw six innings, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks, striking out five.Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi (2-1) made quick work of the Royals through five scoreless innings, only allowing a bad-hop infield single.But he ran into trouble in the sixth, as Dairon Blanco doubled with one out and scored on Maikel Garcia's two-run blast that drew Kansas City within 5-2. The homer broke a streak of 16 scoreless innings for the Royals.

Cole Irvin took a shutout into the seventh inning as the Baltimore Orioles beat the host Kansas City Royals, 5-0, Sunday afternoon to win the season series.Irvin (1-1) escaped first-inning trouble, then limited Kansas City to just three singles and a walk over the next six innings.In his longest outing since September 17, 2022, Irvin pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, striking out two.Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg opened the second inning with back-to-back homers, each connecting for their fifth of the year to give Baltimore a 2-0 lead.Two batters later, Gunner Henderson nearly added a third home run in the frame with a ringing double off the top of the right-field wall which was reviewed by umpires to determine if it might have cleared the railing. Henderson's liner was measured at 109.1 miles-per-hour exit velocity.Baltimore expanded its lead in the sixth as Ryan Mountcastle followed Anthony Santander's one-out triple with a first-pitch double to left. Seth Lugo (3-1) exited after walking Cowser to load the bases and reliever �ngel Zerpa walked Westburg for a 4-0 Orioles' advantage.

The Baltimore Orioles used a seven-run second inning to escape with a 9-7 win over the host Kansas City Royals on Saturday night to even their series.Corbin Burnes delivered five shutout innings before coming apart in the sixth.Burnes (3-0) recovered from being pelted by a sharp first-inning grounder from Royals leadoff hitter Maikel Garcia to limit Kansas City to two singles over the first five innings. No runners passed first base until Garcia's one-out double in the sixth.Burnes exited with two out in the sixth after surrendering a three-run homer to Salvador Perez, his sixth. Burnes allowed three runs on four hits and a walk, striking out four.Perez finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs.The Orioles built a 7-0 lead in the second, forcing 49 pitches from Cole Ragans (0-2) while sending 12 batters to the plate. Ragans allowed seven runs on nine hits while recording five outs -- four by strikeout.Jordan Westburg opened the second inning with a single and then capped the seven-run outburst with a two-run single. Ramon Urias and Anthony Santander each contributed RBI doubles.It was the Orioles' most productive inning since scoring nine in the sixth inning against the Angels on March 30.

MJ Melendez homered and drove in four runs and Alec Marsh tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings as the host Kansas City Royals earned a 9-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday.Melendez snapped a 0-for-23 skid with a two-out RBI single to ignite a five-run sixth inning. He added a three-run homer in the seventh inning to propel the Royals to their ninth straight win at home.Marsh (3-0) scattered three hits, struck out six and walked two to defeat the Orioles for the second time this season. He allowed one run on two hits over seven innings in Kansas City's 4-1 win on April 2.Michael Massey had a two-run single in his season debut and Hunter Renfroe added a two-run double in the Royals' sixth-inning uprising. Massey had been sidelined since late in spring training due to a lower back strain.Vinnie Pasquantino homered for Kansas City.Baltimore's Adley Rutschman launched his first career grand slam to highlight his three-hit performance. The Orioles, however, predominantly were held in check as their four-game winning streak ended.Dean Kremer (0-2) retired the first 11 batters he faced before Pasquantino deposited a 1-1 splitter over the wall in right field with two outs in the fourth inning. The homer was the fourth for Pasquantino this season, all of them coming during his eight-game hitting streak.

Gavin Sheets homered and the Chicago White Sox beat the visiting Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Wednesday night in the second game of a doubleheader.It marked Chicago's first win against the Royals this season in seven tries. Kansas City took the opener of the twin bill, 4-2.In Game 2, the White Sox went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth when Andrew Vaughn doubled to left and Dominic Fletcher drove him in with a sharp single down the right field line.Sheets doubled Chicago's lead when he led off the sixth by turning on a first-pitch fastball from Royals right-hander Michael Wacha, driving it off the right field foul pole for his third homer of the year.The Royals cut the lead in half at 2-1 in the top of the seventh. Nick Loftin singled to right, went to second on Adam Frazier's groundout to first, took third on Tanner Banks' errant pickoff attempt and scored on Hunter Renfroe's groundout to third.Kansas City got the tying run on against reliever Deivi Garcia in the eighth, but with two outs, pinch runner Dairon Blanco was gunned down by Chicago catcher Korey Lee while trying to steal second.Garcia stayed in for the ninth and got his first save of the season. He logged two scoreless innings in all, giving up just one hit while walking one.

Tuesday's game between the host Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals was postponed due to rain.The American League Central rivals instead will get together for a traditional doubleheader Wednesday, starting at 1:10 p.m. local time.Pitching plans were not yet known. On Tuesday, the Royals were scheduled to start right-hander Brady Singer (2-0, 0.98 ERA) against Chicago's Jonathan Cannon (0-0, 0.00). Cannon was slated to make his major league debut.

Salvador Perez blasted a go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning and five pitchers combined on a five-hitter as the visiting Kansas City Royals topped the Chicago White Sox 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon in Game 1 of a doubleheader.Back in the lineup after leaving Sunday's game with injuries to his left hip and knee, Perez connected against Chicago closer Michael Kopech, who was attempting a six-out save.Kopech (0-2) got two outs around a Bobby Witt Jr. (2-for-4) infield single before the Perez blast. Hunter Renfroe provided an insurance run with a solo homer against Dominic Leone in the ninth.The late struggles wiped away White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon's bid for a victory in his major league debut while spoiling a 3-for-3 day from Paul DeJong.Cannon spaced one run and three hits over five innings. He struck out three and walked one.Cannon needed just seven pitches to retire the side in order in the first inning. He set down the first five Royals overall, and the streak may have stretched to six if not for Dominic Fletcher's slip in center field.Fletcher was unable to catch up to a Nelson Velazquez line drive that fell for a double. Adam Frazier then singled to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning.Chicago didn't trail for long. Two batters after Eloy Jimenez drew a leadoff walk in the bottom half, DeJong connected for a two-run home run against Royals starter Brady Singer. It was DeJong's team-leading third homer.

Seth Lugo threw seven shutout innings and Vinnie Pasquantino homered and doubled to lead the visiting Kansas City Royals to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.Lugo (3-0) scattered four singles, walked one and struck out four while lowering his ERA to 1.05. He threw 99 pitches, 64 for strikes. James McArthur, who hit Gavin Sheets in the foot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, bounced back to strike out pinch hitter Eloy Jimenez to end the game and garner his third save in four tries.Kyle Isbel added an RBI single for Kansas City, which improved to 5-0 against the White Sox this season. The loss was the 14th in 16 games for Chicago, the worst start in the franchise's 124-year history.Andrew Benintendi had two hits while Nick Nastrini (0-1) suffered the loss in his major league debut. Nastrini, obtained at the trade deadline last July from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a deal that sent Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to L.A., started the game with 3 2/3 perfect innings and allowed two runs on three hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out five, but the White Sox were shut out for the sixth time in 16 games.

Whitey Herzog, the Hall of Fame manager of the 1982 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, died Tuesday at the age of 92."On behalf of the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization, I would like to offer our condolences to the family and many friends of Whitey Herzog," team chairman and chief executive officer Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a news release. "Whitey and his teams played a big part in changing the direction of the Cardinals franchise in the early 1980s with an exciting style of play that would become known as 'Whitey Ball' throughout baseball. Whitey loved the Cardinals, their fans, and St. Louis. He will be sorely missed."Herzog is survived by Mary Lou, his wife of 71 years, along with three children, nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. The Herzog family also issued a statement."Whitey spent his last few days surrounded by his family. We have so appreciated all of the prayers and support from friends who knew he was very ill. Although it is hard for us to say goodbye, his peaceful passing was a blessing for him."Herzog compiled an overall record of 1,281-1,125-3 (.532) across 18 seasons as manager of the Texas Rangers (1973), California Angels (1974), Kansas City Royals (1975-79) and Cardinals (1980-90).He guided the Cardinals to a seven-game triumph against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1982 World Series and led St. Louis to two more National League pennants in 1985 and 1987. His 822 wins with St. Louis rank third in franchise history behind fellow Hall of Famers Tony La Russa (1,408) and Red Schoendienst (1,041).Herzog was the NL Manager of the Year in 1985 and was inducted into Cooperstown in the Class of 2010. He is also a member of the Royals' and Cardinals' Halls of Fame.As a manager, his strategy that became known as "Whiteyball" was based on valuing pitching, speed and defense over home runs. He prioritized base stealers and patient hitters with high on-base percentages.Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement.

The Kansas City Royals returned to form Saturday, fewer than 24 hours after enduring their quietest offensive game of the season.Yet even in defeat, the New York Mets displayed some encouraging traits.The Royals and Mets will both be looking to stay hot Sunday afternoon, when they meet in the rubber game of a three-game interleague series in New York.Left-hander Cole Ragans (0-1, 2.60 ERA) is slated to start for the Royals against Mets right-hander Jose Butto (0-0, 1.50).Six players had two hits apiece Saturday afternoon for the Royals, who held off a late rally to earn an 11-7 victory.Kansas City finished with 13 hits one day after it was limited to a season-low three hits in a 6-1 loss. The 11-run outburst marked the third time in the last four games the Royals have scored at least 10 runs.The Royals, who are 10-5 in their best 15-game start since they opened 10-5 in 2016, lead the American League with 84 runs and are tied with the Houston Astros for first with a .433 slugging percentage. Kansas City ranked 10th in the AL in both runs (676) and slugging percentage (.398) last season, when it finished 56-106."It's no surprise," outfielder Nick Loftin said, referring to the Royals' early-season outbreak. "I saw these guys day in and day out in spring training do this. This is a high-octane offense. Every time you get us going, it's scary."

Harrison Bader snapped a scoreless tie with an eighth-inning RBI single Sunday afternoon and four pitchers combined on a three-hitter for the host New York Mets, who beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1 in the rubber game of a three-game interleague series.The Mets have won seven of 10. The Royals lost for just the second time in 10 games.Pete Alonso led off the eighth by walking against Chris Stratton (1-1). Alonso went to second on a bunt by Tyrone Taylor before Francisco Alvarez flew out. Stratton then walked Jeff McNeil and Brett Baty before Bader legged out an infield single on a slow roller to third.Brandon Nimmo followed with a four-pitch walk to force home McNeil.Edwin Diaz notched his third save despite giving up a two-out homer to Vinny Pasquantino. Brooks Raley (1-0) threw a 1-2-3 eighth.Nimmo and Francisco Lindor each had two singles for the Mets. Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. had the Royals' other hits.Neither pitcher factored into the decision despite tossing six scoreless innings apiece. Mets rookie right-hander Jose Butto gave up two hits and walked one while striking out nine. Royals left-hander Cole Ragans allowed five hits and walked one with eight strikeouts.

Luis Severino and four relievers combined on a three-hitter Friday night for the host New York Mets, who cooled off the Kansas City Royals with a 6-1 win in the opener of a three-game interleague series.The Mets scored their first five runs with two outs as they won for the sixth time in eight games following an 0-5 start. The Royals had their seven-game winning streak snapped.Severino (1-1) signed as a free agent with the Mets in December after spending his first eight seasons with the New York Yankees. The right-hander earned his first win with his new team after allowing one run on one hit -- Salvador Perez's leadoff homer in the second -- while walking four and striking out four in five innings.Jake Diekman got two outs in the sixth before Reed Garrett, Adam Ottavino and Jorge Lopez combined to allow one hit over the final 3 1/3 innings. The three hits allowed tied a season-low for the Mets, who held the Cincinnati Reds to three hits in a 3-1 win last Sunday.Brandon Nimmo had an RBI double in the third against Michael Wacha (1-1) before the Mets took the lead in the fourth, when Jeff McNeil and DJ Stewart laced consecutive RBI singles.Brett Baty added a two-run double in the fifth before Pete Alonso homered leading off the eighth.

Salvador Perez homered and finished with four RBIs Saturday afternoon for the visiting Kansas City Royals, who beat the New York Mets 11-7 in the middle game of a three-game interleague series.Bobby Witt Jr. finished 2-for-5 with four runs scored for the Royals, who have won eight of nine. Nick Loftin was 2-for-3 with three RBIs while Hunter Renfroe had two hits and two RBIs.Nelson Velazquez had two hits and an RBI, Garrett Hampson added two hits and two stolen bases while Freddy Fermin had a run-scoring single.Alec Marsh (2-0) allowed four runs on five hits and one walk while striking out two over five innings.Pete Alonso went 3-for-3 with two homers and three RBIs for the Mets, who lost for just the third time in their past nine games.Starling Marte was 3-for-5 with a homer while Brett Baty hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice, DJ Stewart laced an RBI double and Tyrone Taylor lofted a sacrifice fly. Joey Wendle added two hits.Sean Manaea (1-1) gave up eight runs (six earned) on nine hits and three walks while striking out four over 3 2/3 innings.There were two lead changes and one tie before the Royals took control by scoring four times in the fourth.Velazquez had an RBI single in the top of the first before Alonso (single), Baty (fielder's choice) and Stewart (two-run double) gave the Mets a 3-1 lead against Marsh in the bottom half.

Vinnie Pasquantino homered and drove in a career-high five runs, leading the Kansas City Royals to an 11-2 win over the visiting Houston Astros on Wednesday night.Pasquantino's two-run double in the third opened the floodgates as the Royals batted around in the inning, plating seven to snap a scoreless tie.Nelson Velazquez added a two-RBI single and Hunter Renfroe drove in two more runs with a double as part of the third-inning onslaught, which forced Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti (0-1) to throw 43 pitches in the frame.In the fourth, Pasquantino drove the tenth pitch of his at-bat out to right-center for his first home run of the year, then added a fourth RBI on a sixth-inning sacrifice fly. He capped the scoring with a two-out RBI single in the eighth.Renfroe extended his hitting streak to six games, and MJ Melendez (1-for-3 on Wednesday) pushed his to seven. Everyone in the Royals' starting lineup scored at least once.Arrighetti's major league debut began well enough with back-to-back strikeouts in a scoreless first inning. He went three innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits, with three walks and three strikeouts.Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz opened the fourth with consecutive doubles against Seth Lugo (2-0) as the Astros trimmed the deficit to 7-1.

Bobby Witt Jr. homered twice, leading the Kansas City Royals over the visiting Houston Astros 13-3 on Thursday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep.The Royals sent 15 batters to the plate in the first inning -- scoring nine -- capped by Witt's opposite-field, two-run homer.Vinnie Pasquantino, Nick Loftin and Maikel Garcia delivered two-run singles ahead of Witt's homer as Kansas City tied a club record with 11 hits in the inning, all against starter Hunter Brown (0-2), who recorded two outs.Kansas City totaled 16 hits in winning its seventh consecutive game.Witt led off the sixth with his third hit and stole second, then scored on Pasquantino's third hit, a double into the right-field corner. Pasquantino has eight RBIs in his last two games after none in his first 10.In the seventh, Witt again went to the opposite field, delivering a three-run blast for his fourth home run.Witt matched a career high with four hits, recording his third career multi-homer game and first since May 26, 2023, against the Washington Nationals.Brady Singer (2-0) finished five innings, allowing a run on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts.Yainer Diaz led off the Houston fourth with his third home run, 432 feet into the fountains in left-center.

Salvador Perez slashed a game-ending single in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Kansas City Royals rallied past the visiting Houston Astros 4-3 on Tuesday.With pinch runner Garrett Hampson at second to start the inning, Perez jumped on Wander Suero's 0-1 cutter, drilling it into the left-center field gap for the decisive hit.The Royals won their fifth straight with their first walk-off win of the year.It was the first extra-inning game for both teams, and they combined to leave 24 runners on base, 13 by Houston.The Astros nicked Royals starter Cole Ragans for single tallies in the first, second and fourth innings but stranded eight on base in those four frames. Ragans allowed three runs on a career-high 10 hits and one walk with five strikeouts over five innings.Houston's first three hitters singled to load the bases in the first inning before Yainer Diaz had an RBI groundout.In the second, Yordan Alvarez's two-out hit plated Jeremy Pena. Doubles by Mauricio Dubon and Alvarez made it 3-0 in the fourth.Alvarez matched a career high with four of the Astros' 14 hits.Maikel Garcia's fifth-inning sacrifice fly got Kansas City on the scoreboard with the first run scored against Cristian Javier after he fired 15 shutout innings to begin the year.

MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe homered, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 5-3 win over the visiting Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon, completing a four-game series sweep.Melendez's third homer of the season -- and of the series -- gave the Royals a 4-3 lead in the seventh. Melendez collected the game-winning hit for the third straight game.The Royals took advantage of two White Sox errors in the seventh to expand their lead to 5-3 against reliever Deivi Garcia (0-2).John Schreiber (1-0) earned the victory with an inning of scoreless relief and James McArthur surrendered a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth, getting his second save.Kansas City starter Alec Marsh escaped jams in each of the first two innings as Chicago left four on base.The White Sox broke through in the fourth on Dominic Fletcher's RBI double and Braden Shewmake's sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.Andrew Benintendi's two-out RBI hit drove Marsh from the mound in the fifth. Marsh allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk, striking out three in 4 2/3 innings.Chicago starter Garrett Crochet breezed through the Kansas City lineup for four innings, striking out five and inducing weak contact while allowing one baserunner.

MJ Melendez hit a key homer and Michael Wacha tossed seven shutout innings as the host Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 3-0 on Saturday night.The game was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh, when Salvador Perez singled to left off Chicago right-hander Chris Flexen.On the next pitch, Melendez hit an opposite-field liner that was headed for the top of the wall in center. Chicago center fielder Dominic Fletcher got his glove on the ball, but instead managed to tip it over the fence for a two-run homer, Melendez's second of the season.The Royals tacked on another run in the inning when pinch-runner Dairon Blanco scored from third on Maikel Garcia's infield single to second base.The game evolved into a pitching duel between a pair of well-traveled veteran right-handers, Kansas City's Wacha and Chicago's Flexen.The White Sox were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and are hitting just 4-for-38 with RISP over their first eight games.The futility continued for Chicago in the top of the eighth after Paul DeJong led off with a double to left. But after a walk to Fletcher, Royals reliever Nick Anderson got pinch-hitter Robbie Grossman to hit into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.Wacha (1-0), pitching for his sixth different team since 2019, got the win. He faced the minimum three batters in five of his seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out eight.

Salvador Perez went 3-for-3 and Brady Singer turned in a sterling pitching performance as the host Kansas City Royals edged the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Friday night.The Royals hustled to take the lead at 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth against Chicago's hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech (0-1).Perez, the Royals' eight-time All-Star catcher, drew a one-out walk, and speedster Dairon Blanco came on to pinch run and immediately stole second base.MJ Melendez then sliced a sinking liner to left for a single and Blanco dashed home to score the go-ahead run.Will Smith came on to try to get the save for Kansas City but allowed a two-out double to Luis Robert Jr., who appeared to suffer a leg injury. Braden Shewmake was called upon to pinch run for Robert.After a walk to pinch-hitter Kevin Pillar, right-hander James McArthur took over and got Andrew Vaughn to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.Perez put Kansas City on top in the bottom of the first when he laced a line drive off the top of the wall in center field, scoring Vinnie Pasquantino, who had singled with two out.The White Sox tied things up at 1-1 in the top of the second when Gavin Sheets pulled a 2-2 slider from Singer 391 feet over the wall in right for his first homer of the season.

Nelson Velazquez and MJ Melendez homered, and Seth Lugo escaped several jams as the host Kansas City Royals blasted the Chicago White Sox 10-1 on Thursday evening.Lugo (1-0) allowed five singles and a walk through the first four innings, avoiding damage with the help of three double-play grounders, including Yoan Moncada's sharp grounder with the bases loaded in the third.In 6 2/3 innings, Lugo allowed a run on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Royals starting pitchers have a 1.43 ERA through the first seven games.Kansas City broke the game open with an eight-run seventh inning highlighted by Kyle Isbel's two-run bloop single to right and shortstop Braden Shewmake's three-run error.Melendez's first homer of the season, a two-run blast 421 feet to right, capped the Royals' biggest inning of the year.In the second inning, Velazquez's one-out hit scored Melendez, who doubled off White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn's glove.Velazquez crushed Michael Soroka's full-count fastball 429 feet into the left-field fountains for a 2-0 advantage in the fourth. The solo shot was Vel�zquez's second of the year.Bobby Witt Jr. had a pair of hits, including his fifth double of the season. Witt has an extra-base hit in six of seven games.