Wright Gets It Right As Orioles Use 3 HRs To Beat Royals 4-1
BALTIMORE (AP) — Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters hit solo homers in the seventh inning to back a sparkling pitching performance by Mike Wright, and the Baltimore Orioles beat Kansas City 4-1 Monday night to extend the Royals' losing streak to five games.
Manny Machado also homered for the Orioles, who have won five of six — all in come-from-behind fashion.
Wright and Kansas City left-hander Danny Duffy were locked in a scoreless duel until the Royals pushed across an unearned run in the seventh.
Trumbo led off the bottom half with his 19th home run, and Wieters connected with one out to chase Duffy (1-1). Adam Jones capped the uprising with an RBI double.
Machado homered off Kelvin Herrera in the eighth after striking out three times against Duffy.
Wright (3-3) allowed one run and five hits over seven innings, striking out four and walking two.
Brad Brach struck out the side in the eighth and Zach Britton got three straight outs for his 18th save.
Wright gave up four home runs in 2 2/3 innings against Boston last Wednesday and was optioned to the minor leagues the following day. But the 6-foot-6 rookie was recalled Friday when reliever Darren O'Day was placed on the disabled list.
Wright was inserted back into the rotation for this game. Given a "do-over" — as manager Buck Showalter labeled it — the right-hander shut down the defending World Series champions over seven gritty innings.
Duffy gave up five hits in 6 1/3 innings and matched his career high with nine strikeouts.
Paulo Orlando and Cheslor Cuthbert hit singles in the Kansas City seventh before Jarrod Dyson chopped a grounder to Machado at shortstop. After Jonathan Schoop got the force out at second base, he changed his mind about throwing to first while his arm was in motion. He released the ball, which bounced off the right elbow of the sliding Cuthbert and rolled away, allowing Orlando to score.
Cuthbert left with a bruised elbow. Earlier, Duffy took a line drive off his left calf but stayed in the game.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: Kris Medlen (shoulder) threw batting practice in Arizona "and everything went great," manager Ned Yost said. The right-hander will do it again Tuesday in preparation for a rehab assignment. ... OF Brett Eibner (ankle) took batting practice with the team. ... OF Alex Gordon (wrist) is improving to the point where he can begin to catch and throw, Yost said.
Orioles: RHP Yovani Gallardo (shoulder) will make his second rehab start Tuesday, this time with Triple-A Norfolk. If all goes well, he could be activated Sunday in Toronto. ... SS J.J. Hardy (broken left foot) took 25 grounders in Florida. He's still weeks from returning to action.
UP NEXT
Royals: Yordano Ventura (4-3, 4.82 ERA) pitches the second game of the series Tuesday night. He's 4-1 with a 1.91 ERA in five career starts against Baltimore.
Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez (2-6, 6.59) seeks to strengthen his shaky spot in the rotation after going 0-3 with 16 walks and a 9.97 ERA in his last five starts.
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