KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Robinson Cano hit his eighth career grand slam, Alex Rodriguez added a three-run shot and the New York Yankees roughed up Luke Hochevar in a 10-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Nick Swisher added a homer in his return to the starting lineup, helping the Yankees to a four-game split. The series began with a freak, season-ending injury to All-Star closer Mariano Rivera, but ended with the Yankees’ best offensive output in a dozen games.

The Yankees already led on RBI singles by Raul Ibanez and Curtis Granderson when Cano came to the plate with the bases loaded in the third inning. He connected on a 2-1 pitch from Hochevar (2-3), sending the ball over the wall in right field for his second homer of the season.

Swisher added a solo shot two batters later, and A-Rod’s homer came in the eighth.

That was plenty of support for Phil Hughes (2-4), who went a season-high 6 2-3 innings. It was only the second time the right-hander had allowed fewer than four runs this season.

The Royals had nine hits but couldn’t put them together for a big inning.

Billy Butler provided an RBI double in the first, Alex Gordon added a run-scoring single in the fifth, and Humberto Quintero snapped a 0-for-18 skid with a solo homer in the seventh. Jarrod Dyson tacked on an RBI single in the ninth.

The Yankees had been having similar troubles lately. They scored a combined 11 runs over the past five games, their worst stretch since June 2009, and were coming off a game in which Derek Jeter, Cano, Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira combined to go 1 for 15 at the plate.

They didn’t have much problem against Hochevar.

The Royals’ former No. 1 overall draft pick was battered for the second straight start, his ERA soaring to 9.00 on the season. He was yanked after 2 1-3 innings, and has allowed 16 runs and 19 hits with four walks and a hit batter his past two starts.

Hochevar got in trouble right from the opening pitch, giving up a leadoff single to Jeter, who reached base four times on the afternoon. But the Yankees didn’t really capitalize until the third inning, when their bats finally awoke with a vengeance.

No. 9 hitter Dewayne Wise started a string of three straight base hits, and Granderson’s RBI single was the 1,000th hit of his career. Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to the load the bases for Cano, who delivered his first grand slam since last September against Baltimore.

Swisher, who had the Yankees’ other slam this season, chased Hochevar when he sent a 1-2 pitch into the seats in right two batters later. Swisher had been out since hurting his hamstring last Sunday against Detroit, but looked just fine trotting around the bases at Kauffman Stadium.

Irving Falu provided the Royals with a rare bright spot.

Falu had spent more than nine years and 949 games in the minor leagues before getting his first major league start at shortstop. He tripled in his first at-bat, and then added a single in the fifth inning, coming around to score on Gordon’s base hit.

– Associated Press –

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ned Yost wasn’t sure whether the Kansas City Royals needed a relatively easy wire-to-wire win to finally exhale after an often-difficult start to the season.

The one thing Yost did know: He surely needed it.

“It was an extremely good game in all facets of the game,” the Royals’ manager said after a 5-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday night. “It was a good day for us.”

Felipe Paulino came off the disabled list to toss six shutout innings. Billy Butler drove in three runs with a pair of well-timed doubles. Alex Gordon matched a career high with four hits, and an up-and-down bullpen kept the Yankees in check the final three innings.

“We’re getting back to playing our style of baseball now,” Yost said. “We had that little rough patch and we’re starting to swing the bats a little better now.”

Russell Martin’s long homer off Jose Mijares in the seventh inning represented the only run for the Yankees. Derek Jeter went 0 for 4 and committed an error at shortstop in the first inning, while slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira also went 0 for 4 at the plate.

“You are going to go through periods,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “The key to keeping your offense consistent for me is not having a bunch of guys struggle at once. Maybe having one or two and having the other guys picking you up. That hasn’t necessarily been true.”

Paulino (1-0) retired 11 straight to start the game and did not allow a ball out of the infield until Raul Ibanez singled with one out in the fifth. Paulino gave up only four hits and walked two while striking out six in his first start of the season.

“I had my game plan,” Paulino said. “I executed all my pitches. I’m happy because at the same time, we won the game tonight.”

Hiroki Kuroda (2-4) allowed two runs in the first inning, one earned, which kept up a strange trend. Nine of the 18 runs the Yankees’ starter has given up this season have come in the first.

He wound up getting pulled after 4 1-3 shaky innings.

“I didn’t have all my pitchers. I didn’t have my command, either,” Kuroda said through a translator. “I just have to be consistent.”

The Royals capitalized when Jeter misplayed a grounder by Jarrod Dyson to lead off the game. Gordon followed with a clean single to right field, and Butler delivered a scorching RBI double down the third-base line to bring home both runs.

Kansas City added another in the fifth when Gordon singled for the third straight at-bat. He was running when Butler doubled into the right-field gap, allowing him to score from first.

“You can’t always get it done,” Butler said, “but it was good to get it done tonight.”

The Royals added on to their cushion in the sixth.

Light-hitting Chris Getz drew a leadoff walk and Alcides Escobar followed with a base hit, putting runners on the corners. Dyson’s shallow fly to left field was enough to score Getz, and Gordon’s double moments later gave Kansas City a 5-0 lead.

The way Paulino was pitching, that was more than enough.

After starting the season on the DL with a strained right forearm, Paulino came out flashing a 96 mph fastball that befuddled the Yankees. He didn’t allow a baserunner until Alex Rodriguez walked with two outs in the fourth, and Paulino didn’t allow a hit until the fifth.

After working out of that trouble, he got some help from Jeff Francoeur in the sixth.

Curtis Granderson doubled to lead off the inning, but he should have known better than to run on the Royals’ right fielder. Francoeur settled under a fly ball by A-Rod and then made a pinpoint throw to punch out Granderson tagging up for third base.

It was Francoeur’s American League-leading fifth outfield assist and the 102nd of his career. He followed up by making a sliding grab on a fly ball by Teixeira to end the inning.

“I got a text from a friend of mine after the game that says Jeff has thrown out more people than a Bourbon Street bouncer,” Yost said, “which is kind of true.”

– Associated Press –

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Leave it to CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter, a couple of grizzled veterans, to give the New York Yankees an uplifting performance when they need it the most.

Jeter hit a two-run homer to break open a close game, Sabathia went eight innings for the third straight time, and the Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Friday night. They snapped a three-game skid while also taking a bold first step after losing closer Mariano Rivera to injury.

“We lost three in a row. We didn’t finish up the homestand the way we wanted. We had to deal with what we had to deal with yesterday. I thought it was important that we bounce back,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We cashed in four runs with two outs. It was outstanding.”

An encouraging night began with Rivera’s announcement that he plans to return from a torn ACL and meniscus damage in his right knee rather than retire, and it ended when David Robertson struck out the side in the ninth to give Sabathia (4-0) his fourth straight victory.

“CC steps up when we need it,” said Jeter, who singled and scored on Mark Teixeira’s homer in the first before delivering a two-run shot of his own during a four-run seventh inning.

“He likes to be out there,” Jeter said. “He likes to finish games.”

Jeter’s homer off Bruce Chen (0-4) was his fifth of the season, a number he didn’t reach until Sept. 4 last season. He’s batting a robust .404 this year, though he brusquely dismissed any notion that he’s playing above his own expectations.

“They are very good hitters. Right now Jeter is very hot,” Chen said. “I’m not saying he’s not a good hitter, but like right now, he’s on fire and hitting the ball well.”

The Yankees had reason to celebrate when Jeff Francoeur went down swinging for the final out.

Rivera told his teammates prior to the game that he plans to have surgery to repair a torn ACL and damaged meniscus in his right knee. The injury occurred Thursday night when baseball’s career saves leader was shagging fly balls near the warning track during batting practice.

“I’m coming back. Write it down in big letters,” Rivera said. “I’m not going out like this.”

The news appeared to give the Yankees a lift, especially after dropping their third straight game Thursday night. Sabathia was sharp on the mound and the potent New York lineup finally let loose after struggling to put up runs for the better part of a week.

“It feels good. It always feels good,” Sabathia said, “especially considering everything we’ve been through over the past day.”

Jeter’s leadoff single was his fifth hit in six at-bats in the series, and Teixeira made it hurt when he pounded a 1-1 pitch into the seats overlooking the Royals’ bullpen in left field.

Kansas City answered in the bottom half of the first. Alex Gordon followed a base hit by Jarrod Dyson with an RBI double, and Francoeur’s two-out double tied the game.

The Royals couldn’t have known that’s all the offense they would muster.

Sabathia retired 12 straight after a two-out double by Alcides Escobar in the second. Eric Hosmer broke up the streak with a two-out triple in the sixth that hit the wall just over Curtis Granderson’s head — about two feet shy of clearing the center-field fence.

Francoeur grounded out to end the inning.

Sabathia also left a runner on third in the seventh, when Mike Moustakas doubled leading off and Chris Getz delivered a base hit. Escobar grounded into a double play to end that inning.

Sabathia allowed seven hits and struck out five without issuing a walk.

“I sitting over there during the course of the game, trying to figure out a better left-hander in the game today,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “I couldn’t come up with one.”

Chen matched him nearly inning-for-inning until the seventh.

Cano led off with a single, but all the real damage came with two outs. Eduardo Nunez hit a go-ahead triple into the right-field corner, and Chris Stewart followed with an RBI single.

Then the big blow from Jeter, a two-run shot over the center-field wall.

Robertson finished up the game in a non-save situation. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the right-hander would likely get the first chance to save games in place of Rivera, though he did not rule out former Rays closer Rafael Soriano also pitching the ninth.

“We wanted to give him a little experience in that sense, but he also hasn’t worked in three or four days, too,” Girardi said. “You like to keep your relievers going, so we thought we would get him in there.”

– Associated Press –