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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

James McCann delivered a walk-off two-run single to cap a late-inning comeback on Wednesday night by the host Baltimore Orioles, who edged the Kansas City Royals 4-3.The Orioles had just one hit and a pair of walks in the first seven innings against Royals starter Cole Ragans and reliever James McArthur before scoring twice in the eighth, when Gunnar Henderson lofted a sacrifice fly and McCann scored on a two-out single by Adley Rutschman.Ryan Mountcastle opened the ninth by working a walk against Will Smith (0-2) before Anthony Santander singled. Cedric Mullins pinch-ran for Santander, and both runners moved up a base on the first sacrifice bunt of Jordan Westburg's professional career. Austin Hays was then intentionally walked to load the bases.Smith struck out Colton Cowser looking before McCann singled to left on a 2-0 count for his game-winning hit to cap a contest that began exactly five hours late due to rain.It was the Orioles' second walk-off win in three days. Westburg hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning on Monday to give Baltimore a 6-4 victory.Yennier Cano (1-0) threw a perfect ninth inning for the win.Salvador Perez had a pair of RBI singles and Maikel Garcia hit a solo homer in the seventh for the Royals. Perez finished with three hits while Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. had two apiece.

Alec Marsh held the host Baltimore Orioles to two hits and one run across a career-high seven innings as the Kansas City Royals picked up their first road victory of the season, winning 4-1 on Tuesday night.Maikel Garcia knocked in a total of three runs with a double and a triple for the Royals.Baltimore starter Cole Irvin (0-1) lasted five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits in his season debut. He walked two and fanned three.Colton Cowser had two of the Orioles' three hits.Marsh, a right-hander, struck out five and walked one. He is in his second big-league season after working six full innings only once last year. His ninth career start turned into a beauty in his first-ever appearance against Baltimore.John Schreiber and Will Smith each worked an inning out of the Royals' bullpen. Smith recorded his first save of the season.Salvador Perez and Nick Loftin both joined Garcia with two hits for Kansas City.The Royals scored three runs in the second inning, with Loftin's single knocking in the first and Garcia following with a two-run double.

Jordan Westburg hit a two-run, walk-off homer in the ninth inning to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a 6-4 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Monday night.Cedric Mullins singled with one out against Nick Anderson (0-1). Westburg followed with an opposite-field shot, sending an 0-2 fastball just beyond the scoreboard in right for his first career walk-off homer.Ryan Mountcastle homered, singled and drove in three runs for the Orioles. Craig Kimbrel (1-0) gave up a run to blow a save chance in the top of the ninth, but he emerged with the win.Bobby Witt Jr. had two hits including a homer while Salvatore Perez also went deep for the Royals. Kansas City finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.Neither starter was around for the decision. Michael Wacha allowed three runs on three hits while striking out five and walking one in his Royals debut.Baltimore's Dean Kremer's gave up three runs on three hits and struck five with a walk over 5 1/3 innings.Witt broke a scoreless tie with solo homer to center field off a 2-1 fastball with two outs in the third. Vinnie Pasquantino then walked, and Perez followed with a two-run homer to center.

Salvador Perez homered and drove in four runs and Brady Singer struck out 10 over seven shutout innings as the Kansas City Royals blasted the visiting Minnesota Twins 11-0 on Sunday afternoon.The Royals launched five home runs to salvage the final game of their season-opening series, out-hitting the Twins 14-4.Singer (1-0) efficiently dispatched the Twins, striking out seven in the first five innings. He allowed three hits, one walk and hit two batters.The Royals did their damage early. In the first inning, Perez lifted an 83-mph change-up off the outside corner 390 feet into the left-field bullpen for a 3-0 lead.Kyle Isbel and Maikel Garcia hit back-to-back homers to begin the second. It was Garcia's second of the year after a leadoff home run in Thursday's opener.Bobby Witt Jr. followed with a triple off the right-centerfield wall and scored on Perez's single through the middle.A two-run single by Adam Frazier and a run-scoring error capped the six-run outburst for a 9-0 Royals advantage.Witt added a solo homer in the third, his fifth extra-base hit of the season. He scored three runs. Perez also collected three hits.

Christian Vazquez sparked a ninth-inning rally to help the Minnesota Twins top the host Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Saturday afternoon.With one out, Vazquez sliced a 1-2 pitch down the left-field line, scoring Ryan Jeffers to break a 1-1 tie. Alex Kirilloff's sacrifice fly and Byron Buxton's two-run double capped the four-run inning against Will Smith (0-1).Griffin Jax (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory.The Twins' bullpen allowed two hits over the final 3 2/3 innings while Royals relievers surrendered five hits, five runs, and two walks in three innings.Minnesota starter Joe Ryan was perfect through three innings, although Salvador P�rez nearly homered leading off the second, hitting a high drive to left that landed foul. After a short umpire review, the call was confirmed and the game remained scoreless.

The Minnesota Twins began their defense of their American League Central crown behind a strong start by Pablo Lopez, topping the host Kansas City Royals, 4-1 on Thursday.After surrendering a leadoff home run to Maikel Garcia, Lopez shut out the Royals while scattering four hits over seven innings, striking out seven. Lopez needed just 84 pitches to complete seven innings.The Twins jumped to an early lead in the first inning as Royce Lewis hit a two-out, two-strike solo homer, a 423-foot shot to left-center.Garcia answered with a homer into the left-field bullpen in the bottom half of the frame.Minnesota took a 2-1 lead on Carlos Correa's two-out RBI double in the third. Lewis pulled up lame at third base on the play and left the game with a right quad injury. He was replaced by Edouard Julien.Correa had three hits and drove in two while reaching base safely four times, marking 21 consecutive games reaching safely in games at Kauffman Stadium, the longest active streak in the majors.The Twins expanded their lead with a pair of ninth-inning runs on Chris Stratton's wild pitch and Correa's RBI infield hit.

Former major league middle infielder UL Washington, who was known for his time playing in Kansas City and his trademark toothpick, died over the weekend after a reported bout with cancer. He was 70 years old.Washington played 11 seasons with three teams, most notably the Royals from 1977-84. His two-out single in the ninth inning of a game in July 1983 against the New York Yankees set up the infamous "Pine Tar" incident involving his teammate George Brett."So sorry to hear my friend my team mate UL washington has died of cancer he was a great player I will always be thankful of our time together with the royals," Brett said in a post to X on Monday.Washington hit .251 with 27 home runs, 255 RBIs and 132 stolen bases in 907 career games with the Royals, Montreal Expos (1985) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-87). He helped Kansas City win its first American League pennant in 1980.

Eric Hosmer officially ended his 13-season MLB career on Wednesday and announced the launch of his new media company, MoonBall Media.Hosmer, who won a World Series title with the Kansas City Royals in 2015, told Forbes his new business venture will include "original unscripted programming, a weekly podcast, social media content and upcoming FAST (free, ad-supported streaming television) channels."The "Diggin' Deep" podcast will feature Hosmer, former major league reliever Peter Moylan and Justin Su'a, a process and development coach in Bradenton, Fla. It will be produced by former minor league teammate Anthony Seratelli, who also played in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball."We've always talked about doing something, especially after my (playing days) are over," Hosmer said of partnering with Seratelli. "He's had his feet on the ground for 10-plus years on this side of the business. Now that the playing days are over, I feel like I have so many fun stories that I want to give back, especially these last couple of years of my career when I got to experience the big-time markets, being in Chicago, being in Boston. I think this podcast is something where I can really have enjoyment and dig deep into other people's processes and how that helped them succeed."Hosmer, 34, was released by the Chicago Cubs in May. That decision allowed Hosmer to take a step back and examine his options.