Kansas City Royals vs Baltimore Orioles Match Player Stats On Aug 02, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 2, 2017

BALTIMORE -- Jeremy Hellickson made his Orioles debut in style with seven shutout innings, and Caleb Joseph hit a two-run homer as Baltimore extended its winning streak to five with a 6-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

The Orioles (53-54) completed a three-game sweep of the Royals (55-51) after Kansas City had won 10 of 11 games.

The beleaguered Baltimore starters came up big in the series, and Hellickson (1-0) helped by scattering five hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

The right-hander, acquired from the Phillies in a trade last Friday, left to a standing ovation after the top of the seventh.

His biggest problem came when Kansas City put runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the sixth. Hellickson quickly retired the next three batters to maintain a 3-0 lead.

The decisive offense came in the second, with Joseph's two-run homer the big hit.

Mychal Givens (eighth) and Darren O'Day (ninth) pitched the final two innings for Baltimore.

The Orioles broke the game open with three runs in the eighth thanks to hits from Chris Davis (two-run double) and Tim Beckham (RBI triple).

Beckham also had a run-scoring double in the second.

Kansas City starter Jason Vargas (13-5) took the loss after having early trouble.

Baltimore showed lots of patience at the plate and often worked the count, driving up Vargas' pitch count. The left-hander gave up three runs and four hits but lasted just five innings, needing 96 pitches to make it that far.

The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the second when Beckham sliced a one-out double to right, driving in Trey Mancini from second.

Joseph followed two batters later with a line-drive homer to left on a 1-1 pitch, giving Baltimore a 3-0 lead.

Rains came in the top of the third and caused a 35-minute delay, but Hellickson and Vargas both came back after the precipitation stopped.

NOTES: RHP Jeremy Hellickson took No. 58 for the Orioles in his debut, and LHP Donnie Hart shifted to No. 57. ... Orioles C Caleb Joseph extended his hitting streak to five thanks to a second-inning homer. ... Royals CF Lorenzo Cain was given the day off because of ongoing hamstring issues. Manager Ned Yost thought the veteran needed a break. ... Royals DH Mike Moustakas and Yost were thrown out in the ninth inning after arguing a strike call with plate umpire John Tumpane.