Achi news desk-
TORONTO – Michael Massey’s homer gave Kansas City a two-run lead it never relinquished as the Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Tuesday.
Bobby Witt Jr., and Vinnie Pasquantino had back-to-back RBI doubles in the eighth inning to give Kansas City (18-13) some insurance. The Royals snapped a three game losing skid.
Cole Ragans (2-2) struck out nine, allowing a run on four hits and a walk over 6 2/3 innings. Reliever John Schreiber finished the seventh and eighth, and James McArthur pitched the ninth for the save.
Bo Bichette’s RBI single in the sixth inning was all the offense Toronto (15-16) could muster.
Jose Berrios (4-2) gave up two runs on five hits and a walk, striking out three over seven innings.
Erik Swanson, Genesis Cabrera, and Zach Pop of Brampton, Ont., came out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays, with Swanson giving up two runs.
Berrios was efficient to start the game, needing just six pitches to get out of the first inning, but ran into trouble in the second. He gave up a single to Salvador Perez and then Massey launched a no-hitter to right field for a 2-0 Royals lead.
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Massey’s first home run of the season flew 404 feet on an 84.6 mph slugger from Berrios. A slurve is a pitch where the pitcher throws a curveball with the speed of a slider, creating a wider break in its horizontal movement than a traditional slider.
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Berrios and Ragans were both extremely effective after that.
Berrios allowed just one runner in the next 14 batters he faced, giving up a single to Freddy Fermin who was then forced out into a double play. Berrios plunked Witt in the sixth, but the Kansas City star was then caught stealing by Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk.
Ragans allowed just one hit through the first five innings when Davis Schneider singled to right field but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double and then Bichette drew a walk two innings later.
Toronto finally started stringing some hits together in the sixth when Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to left field and then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at third with a two-out single. Bichette plated Kiner-Falefa in the next inning with a single to shallow center field to cut the Royals’ lead to a run.
Even with those three hits, Ragans had thrown just 80 pitches after six innings and Berrios was even more efficient, throwing 67.
Witt and Pasquantino tacked on two more runs for the visitors in the eighth. Witt doubled to deep left field to score Maikel Garcia and end Swanson’s relief appearance. Pasquantino doubled off the right field wall in the next inning to drive in Witt for a 4-1 Kansas City lead.
BLUE JAYS MOVES – Pop was recalled from triple A Buffalo an hour before the game. He takes Yariel RodrÃguez’s spot on Toronto’s roster, after the rookie starter was placed on the 15-day injured list with thoracic spine inflammation.
MANFRED SAID – Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred visited the Rogers Center before the game, holding separate meetings with the two teams. It was an opportunity for players to speak directly with the league’s chief executive about issues such as recent rule changes.
ON DECK – Chris Bassitt (2-4) will take the mound for the Blue Jays in the finale of the three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.
Seth Lugo (4-1) will start for the Royals.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 30, 2024.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
