By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yordano Ventura dominated the Indians for seven stingy innings, and the Kansas City Royals scored all of their runs on sacrifice flies in a 4-1 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday.

The four sacrifice flies tied a franchise record, and the Royals became only the second team to score four runs all on sacrifice flies since it became an official stat in 1954. The Expos did it in an 8-4, 14-inning loss to the Cubs on May 28, 1980, according to STATS.

Kansas City won its fourth in a row.

Ventura (4-5) allowed six hits while striking out three without a walk to win back-to-back starts for the first time. The only run he allowed came in the sixth, when he gave up consecutive singles to start the inning and Carlos Santana hit an RBI single.

By then, Indians counterpart Trevor Bauer (1-3) had already allowed sacrifice flies to Jarrod Dyson, Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar. Billy Butler added another sacrifice fly off reliever John Axford in the seventh to complete the scoring.

The Indians loaded the bases off Wade Davis with nobody out in the eighth, but two strikeouts and a groundout ended the threat. Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save.

The Royals (33-32) moved over .500 for the first time since May 18. They also jumped over Cleveland into second place in the AL Central as they embark on a trip that begins with the White Sox and concludes with the division-leading Detroit.

Lonnie Chisenhall had a pair of hits for Cleveland, extending his hitting streak to a career-best nine games. He’s had at least two hits in his last five.

Prior to the game, Indians manager Terry Francona recalled with disdain the last time his club faced Ventura — the young flamethrower’s debut last September. Ventura allowed one run over 5 2-3 innings, and at one point threw a pitch to Yan Gomes clocked at 102 mph.

“He’s got pretty special stuff,” Francona said. “Kind of hope we don’t see that today.”

Turns out he did. Ventura kept the ball down in the strike zone and forced the Indians to chop into a series of groundouts. He retired seven straight batters at one point, never allowing a ball to be hit out of the infield.

Nobody was more frustrated than Jason Giambi. With the Royals shifting their infield, the Indians DH grounded out to the exact same spot three straight times before popping out.

The Royals scored their first run when Dyson followed a double by Mike Moustakas and a single by Escobar with a sacrifice fly in the third. Nori Aoki followed with a single, and Infante hit his sacrifice fly to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.

Escobar’s sacrifice fly came after a double by Salvador Perez and a single by Moustakas in the fourth, and Butler added his sacrifice fly after singles by Infante and Eric Hosmer.

That was enough to beat Bauer, who has still never won in seven road outings. The Indians starter allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 1-3 innings.

NOTES: Escobar has hit in 10 straight games. … Indians OF/1B Nick Swisher (left knee) planned to make a final rehab start Wednesday for Double-A Akron before joining the team Thursday in Boston. Asked if Swisher would be activated immediately, Francona said, “We’ll see.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jason Vargas was completely unaware that Cleveland had piled up 17 runs the previous night.

He was happy about it, too.

Unaware of how hot the free-swinging Indians had been, the Royals left-hander calmly carried a shutout into the eighth inning Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Kansas City offense hit a season-best three home runs in a 9-5 victory to open their two-game series.

“I guess I’m glad I didn’t know they scored 17 runs last night,” said Vargas, who gave up six hits and hit three batters with pitches, but didn’t allow a run until Jason Kipnis drove in a pair with a two-out double in the eighth.

“You just have to get ahead and execute,” he said, “and let the defense do what they do.”

Eric Hosmer hit a two-run shot and also drove in a run during a four-run fourth inning. Alex Gordon went deep in the eighth and Mike Moustakas added a two-run shot later that inning as the Royals (32-32) moved back to .500 by matching their second-best run total of the season.

“It’s a good feeling,” Moustakas said, “but it’s not where we want to be.”

Corey Kluber (6-4), who dominated the Royals earlier this season, allowed six runs — three earned — and six hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked two.

He was nearly bailed out when Tim Collins gave up another run in the eighth inning and Aaron Crow yielded two more in the ninth. But Crow wound up finishing for his first save of the season.

Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana and David Murphy drove in the other runs for Cleveland.

Both starters dominated for the first couple of innings, Vargas using guile to keep Cleveland off balance and Kluber needing just 17 pitches to retire the first six Royals batters.

Everything changed in the bottom of the third.

Moustakas walked to start things off, and Alcides Escobar followed with a single. Jarrod Dyson then hit a grounder that Kipnis fielded and tossed to Cabrera covering second. But in making the grab and transitioning to his throwing hand, Cabrera dropped the ball. He was still granted an out initially, but replay overturned the umpire’s call and he was given an error.

“When you give teams extra chances, extra opportunities, especially against the middle of the order, sometimes you pay a price for it,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.

“Obviously, nobody is perfect,” Kluber added. “Errors are part of the game.”

That one loaded the bases for Omar Infante, in the throes of a 1-for-21 slump, and he dropped a single into center field for a 1-0 lead. Hosmer followed with his RBI groundout, and Billy Butler added a two-run single moments later to make it 4-0.

“If we don’t win that challenge,” Royals manager Ned Yost said, “we lose out on three runs.”

Hosmer homered in the fifth, his third of the season, and Kluber was yanked after the inning. It was a marked contrast to his last outing against Kansas City, when the right-hander tossed his first career complete game in a 5-1 victory on April 24.

Meanwhile, Vargas was mowing down an Indians order that included the scorching Lonnie Chisenhall, who went 5 for 5 with three homers and nine RBIs the previous night in Texas. Vargas even helped himself, snaring a liner in the sixth to start an inning-ending double play.

It wasn’t until Vargas left the game that the Indians started to rally, and the hole they had dug themselves proved to be far too deep.

NOTES: Indians RHP Zach McAllister (strained lower back) allowed two runs in six innings during a rehab start for Triple-A Columbus. He will join the team later this week in Boston, though it’s unclear when he’ll slot back into the rotation. … Indians OF Nick Swisher (left knee) went 0 for 2 while playing five innings for Double-A Akron. He also plans to join the Indians in Boston. … Royals LHP Bruce Chen (back) plans to make a rehab start for Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — James Shields would have been wise to pop some Dramamine, Ned Yost some antacids.The Royals’ ace survived six shaky innings mostly of his own doing Sunday, and the Kansas City offense supplied just enough offense against Hiroki Kuroda to squeak out a 2-1 victory.

“Shields had to grind it out again and again,” said Yost, his manager, who spent the entire game on edge, “and he made it through some choppy waters.”

Even without any motion-sickness medicine.

The Royals have won the last seven games that Shields (7-3) has started, and he’s earned the win in four of those. The veteran right-hander may have lasted only six innings in this effort, but he gave up only six hits to the punchless Yankees and allowed one unearned run.

“They’re always tough,” said Shields, who faced the Yankees for the 30th time, more than any other club. “They make good at-bats. It’s always a grind whenever you face them.”

Aaron Crow escaped a jam in the seventh inning, and Wade Davis recorded the 500th strikeout of his career during a perfect eighth before Greg Holland survived a shaky ninth for his 18th save.

The All-Star closer gave up a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki and then sent him to second on a wild pitch. Holland kept his cool, retiring Brian Roberts on a fly out, pinch hitter Mark Teixeira on a groundout and then striking out Brett Gardner to end the game.

“Shields battled his butt off,” Crow said. “You want to make sure he gets the win.”

The Yankees failed to score more than four runs for the 10th consecutive game, though the not-so-aptly-named “Bronx Bombers” certainly had their share of chances.

Not just in the ninth inning, either.

New York stranded runners on first and second in the first inning. It loaded the bases with nobody out in the second and failed to score. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the third with a double and was left on third base. And Roberts was stranded after a fourth-inning double.

“Somehow we’ve got to find a way to get it done,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

In all, 10 of the first 12 outs Shields recorded were with runners in scoring position. The Yankees finished 1 for 17 with runners in scoring position.

“It was a game of missed opportunities,” Derek Jeter said. “We had a lot of opportunities. Gives those guys credit. We’ve seen Shields for years now and he’s as good as they come, especially with guys on base. He bears down.”

While the Yankees were struggling to find a clutch hit, the Royals managed to string together the only real success they had against Kuroda (4-4) with two outs in the second inning.

Hot-hitting Salvador Perez, who cracked a three-run homer in an 8-4 win Saturday night, got things going with a single. Cain’s base hit drove in the first run and Moustakas, in the throes of another major slump, added another single to make the score 2-0.

That was all the Royals could muster against Kuroda, who had been unbeaten in his last six starts. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out three in seven innings.

New York finally scored in the sixth, when Yangervis Solarte hit a double and reached third base on a passed ball. Suzuki drove him in with a groundout to shortstop.

But given a chance to tie the game, the Yankees kept coming up empty.

Their failure in the ninth inning came after Gardner sent a triple to the wall with one out in the seventh. Crow rebounded to get Jeter on a ground out, and then struck out Ellsbury with a full-count pitch to leave the tying run 90 feet away.

“When guys are scuffling it seems like they are scuffling in bunches. When you get hot it seems like a lot of guys are hot,” Jeter said. “These are the times you’ve got to keep swinging. The only way to get out of it is swing out of it.”

NOTES: Davis has not allowed a hit in 15 appearances. … The double by Roberts was actually a ground-rule double. A ball boy picked up his fair ball down the right-field line and gave it to a fan. … Royals 2B Omar Infante ended a 0-for-19 slump with a single in the third. … LHP Vidal Nuno starts the series finale Monday for New York. LHP Jason Vargas starts for Kansas City.

By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer, Eric Hosmer also went deep and the Kansas City Royals cruised to an 8-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday night. Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Nori Aoki drove in a run apiece as the Royals bounced back from an offensively inept performance in a 4-2 series-opening loss Friday night.

Aaron Crow (3-1) retired one batter in the sixth in relief of starter Danny Duffy, and breezed through the seventh to earn the victory. Kelvin Herrera and Michael Mariot finished it off.

David Phelps (1-4) allowed seven runs on 10 hits and two walks in 5 2-3 innings.

Yangervis Solarte drove in a pair of runs for New York, and Carlos Beltran — who’s been bothered by an ailing elbow — got an RBI with his first hit since coming off the disabled list Thursday. Brian Roberts drove in a run off Mariot in the ninth inning.

The Royals struck first when Billy Butler and Gordon led off the second inning with back-to-back doubles. Perez added a single
and Cain had an RBI single to make it 2-0, and Escobar got the fifth hit off Phelps in the inning for a three-run lead.

It took the Yankees until the sixth to answer. Derek Jeter started the rally with a single and Mark Teixeira kept it going with a two-out walk. Beltran followed with an RBI double against his former team, and Solarte tied the game 3-all when his sinking liner to center field dropped just beyond Cain’s outstretched glove.

Duffy, who appeared bothered by lengthy waits for television breaks between innings, was eventually removed after allowing three runs on five hits and three walks in 5 2-3 innings.

The Royals made sure to pick him up. Butler and Gordon worked walks to start the bottom half of the sixth, earning Phelps a visit from Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild. It didn’t do any good. Two pitches later, Perez sent a no-doubt homer into the bullpen in left field to restore the Royals’ three-run lead.

Cain tripled later in the inning, and Aoki’s RBI single knocked Phelps from the game.

It was another poor outing by the Yankees right-hander, who moved from the bullpen into the rotation last month. Phelps
has lost four straight decisions, allowing 16 runs in the last three.

Hosmer’s homer leading off the seventh was his first since May 5, a span of 130 at-bats.

NOTES: The Yankees have not scored more than four runs in any of their last nine games. … Yankees CF Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 12 games. … Royals 2B Omar Infante went 0 for 5, extending his slump to 0 for 18. … The Yankees chose RHP Mariano Rivera III, the son of longtime closer Mariano Rivera, in the 29th round of the first-year player draft. … Yankees RHP Hiroki Kuroda and Royals RHP James Shields are scheduled to start Sunday.