Toronto Blue Jays vs Kansas City Royals Match Player Stats On Jun 25, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jun 25, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Francisco Liriano pitched six-plus sharp innings, Jose Bautista drove in four runs and the Toronto Blue Jays whipped the Kansas City Royals 8-2 on Sunday afternoon.

Liriano (4-3) picked up first victory since June 2 and only his second since April 29. He stymied the Royals on six hits and two runs. He was pulled in the seventh, which Salvador Perez started with a double and Cheslor Cuthbert walked.

Danny Barnes replaced Liriano and retired the next three Royals on fly balls to end the threat.

The Blue Jays snapped a 2-2 tie with a five-run sixth inning on two hits, three walks and a Cuthbert error. Josh Donaldson's double off Peter Moylan plated Bautista and Steve Pierce. Bautista walked with the based loaded for the first run of the inning.

Rookie left-hander Scott Alexander (0-2) started the inning by giving up a pinch-single to Darwin Barney and walking the next two batters before Moylan replaced him.

Bautista homered with Ryan Goins aboard in the fifth to tie the score at 2. Bautista got the green light on a 3-0 Jason Hammel pitch and hammered it an estimated 450 feet to the left-field grass.

Bautista's seventh-inning single off Neftali Feliz, who was making his Royals debut, scored Kevin Pillar.

Hammel was pulled after five innings, allowing two runs, five hits and three walks while striking out six.

Hammel kept the Blue Jays off the board until the fifth inning but required 64 pitches to navigate through the first three innings. He gave up a double to Russell Martin in the first. He walked Troy Tulowitzki and yielded a single to Pillar in the second.

In a 24-pitch third inning, Donaldson walked and Justin Smoak singled with two outs.

The Blue Jays, who lost the first two games of this series, have not been swept in Kansas City since 1993.

NOTES: Royals LHP Danny Duffy, who went on the disabled list May 29 with a strained oblique, made his initial minor league rehab start Saturday night. He threw 48 pitches in 2 2/3 innings for Triple-A Omaha, giving up two runs and two hits, including a home run to the last batter he faced. ... Peter Moylan was ejected by home plate umpire by John Tumpane in the sixth inning. ... The Blue Jays and Royals are both idle Monday. Toronto returns home Tuesday to play Baltimore. RHP Kevin Gausman and Orioles RHP Joe Bianini are the Tuesday probables at Rogers Centre. The Royals will start rookie LHP Matt Strahm on Tuesday at Detroit. The Tigers will counter with RHP Justin Verlander.