KANSAS CITY, Mo.  — After 10 consecutive home losses to start the year, the Kansas City Royals finally recorded a win at Kauffman Stadium.

Mike Moustakas had two hits, including a solo home run, to go with three runs batted in as the Kansas City Royals edged the New York Yankees, 4-3, in the opener of a three-game set on Thursday.

Moustakas also made a nifty barehanded play on Alex Rodriguez’s slow roller down the third-base line to end the ballgame, stranding Derek Jeter at third base.

Danny Duffy (2-2) allowed two runs on six hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings for Kansas City, which has won five of its past seven games.

Prior to the game, New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during batting practice, an injury that could potentially end his illustrious career.

Rivera, 42, injured his knee while attempting to snag a fly ball along the warning track. He leapt at the wall and as he came down, his knee buckled underneath him. He immediately clutched at his knee and was in visible pain.

“I grabbed myself between the grass and the dirt. I couldn’t pull my leg up and twisted it (the knee). It’s an ACL. Torn actually. Meniscus also,” Rivera said.

Rivera, whose 608 saves are the most in MLB history, had to be carted off the field as concerned teammates and coaches looked on.

“I don’t know” was his response when asked if he’d be able to pitch again.

“It all depends how the rehab is going to happen,” Rivera said. “From there, we’ll see.”

Jeter had four hits, including his 500th career double, to go with two runs scored for the Yankees, who were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.

David Phelps (0-1) took the loss after giving up two runs on six hits in four innings.

The Royals struck first on Moustakas’ solo shot to center field in the second inning, but New York got the run back in the third.

Jeter slapped a double down the left-field line and scored two batters later on Mark Teixeira’s double into right-center field.

Kansas City, though, regained the advantage after plating one in its half of the third and two in the fifth.

In the third, Eric Hosmer’s RBI single gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead.

Two innings later, with the bases loaded, Moustakas brought home Alex Gordon and Hosmer after poking a base hit through the hole on the right side, making it 4-1.

The Yankees, however, pulled within one after tallying a run each on a pair of sacrifice flies in the sixth and seventh frames.

In the sixth, Robinson Cano reached with a one-out single, moved to third on Andruw Jones’ base hit and came home when Eduardo Nunez lifted a fly ball to center field.

Jeter reached in the seventh with a single to right field and moved to third on Curtis Granderson’s base hit. Teixeira blasted a deep fly ball to center field to plate Jeter, cutting the deficit to 4-3.

Jonathan Broxton came on in the ninth and immediately gave up a single to Jeter before issuing a walk to Granderson. But Teixeira grounded into a double play and Rodriguez’s groundout ended the game.

– Sports Network –

DETROIT, Mich. – Chris Getz’s infield single in the ninth inning put Kansas City ahead, and the Royals held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 Wednesday.

Joaquin Benoit (0-1) gave up a double to Mike Moustakas, who advanced to third on a groundout and scored when Getz hit a grounder that was too deep into the hole for shortstop Jhonny Peralta to make a strong enough throw.

Tim Collins (1-0) got Prince Fielder to fly out to the warning track in left and struck out Ryan Raburn in the eighth for the victory after Detroit tied the game on Brennan Boesch’s two-run homer.

Jonathan Broxton gave up a one-out single and got Andy Dirks to ground out into a game-ending double play for his fourth save in five chances for the Royals.

Tigers ace Justin Verlander started two innings by letting the leadoff batter get on, and both of those batters scored. Jarrod Dyson opened the game with a walk and scored on Eric Hosmer’s two-out single that ended his 0-for-19 slump. Alex Gordon singled in the sixth and came around on Jeff Francoeur’s groundout.

Verlander allowed two runs, six hits and a walk and struck out seven. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner also hit a batter in his 123-pitch, eight-inning outing.

Kansas City starter Jonathan Sanchez gave up only one hit — with one out in the fifth — two walks, hit a batter and struck out two in five innings. Jose Mijares pitched a perfect sixth inning.

Kelvin Herrera allowed two runners to get in scoring position in the seventh, but Aaron Crow kept Detroit scoreless by getting Ramon Santiago to ground out. Crow, though, gave up Austin Jackson’s leadoff single in the eighth, and Boesch made it 2-all with a line drive over the right-field fence.

Kansas City finished a 4-3 trip and starts a homestand Thursday night against the New York Yankees.

Detroit, which hasn’t won back-to-back games in two weeks, has fallen to .500 after a 9-3 start.

– Associated Press –

DETROIT, Mich. – Austin Jackson had four hits, including a two- run double, and Rick Porcello snapped a two-start losing streak with eight good innings, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 9-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.

Detroit’s win started a shortened two-game series. The scheduled opener was postponed on Monday because of rain and will be made up Sept. 24.

Porcello (2-2) allowed three runs on seven hits, striking out three without a walk. He had given up 14 runs in 7 2/3 innings over his previous two starts.

Jackson singled and scored in a five-run first inning and highlighted a three- run rally in the third with his double. He also saved a home run in the ninth inning by reaching over to catch Jeff Francoeur’s hit, which had bounced off the top of the wall in left-center field.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland picked up his 1,600th career win, passing Tommy Lasorda for 17th place all-time.

“We got some really nice hitting, but to me tonight the key was pitching and defense,” said Leyland. “We looked good. Tonight we looked like a good club.”

Royals starter Luke Hochevar (2-2) gave up nine runs in just four innings — including five with no outs in the first — to take the loss. He allowed 12 hits and three walks and struck out two.

Porcello hit 95 mph on his fastball three times in the top of the first and the Tigers spotted him a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the inning, scoring all five runs with no outs.

Back-to-back singles by Jackson and Brennan Boesch leading off the inning were followed by Miguel Cabrera’s RBI double inside the right field line.

Two runs came home on first baseman Eric Hosmer’s errant throw home on Prince Fielder’s ground ball while the other two scored after singles by Andy Dirks and Jhonny Peralta.

“That’s what happens when you don’t execute. Even when I did execute, they squared them up,” said Hochevar. “I was just poor all around. Right out of the gate I put us in a 5-0 hole and that’s tough to climb out of.”

Hochevar remained in the game and gave up three more runs in the third on an RBI single by Don Kelly and a two-run double by Jackson, making it 8-0 Detroit.

Dirks hurt his hamstring legging out a one-out double in the fourth — Alex Gordon lost the fly ball in left and let it drop — and was replaced pinch- runner Brad Eldred, who scored on Peralta’s single to make it 9-0. Ramon Santiago followed with a base hit, but Peralta was thrown out at third to end the inning.

The Tigers said Dirks left the game with hamstring tightness and is day-to- day.

Francoeur scored KC’s first run in the fifth inning after leading off with a single, going to third on Yuniesky Betancourt’s double and coming home on Humberto Quintero’s ground out.

Jarrod Dyson hit a leadoff single in the sixth and scored on Gordon’s double to get the Royals within 9-2. Dyson hit a one-out triple in the eighth and came across on Gordon’s ground out for KC’s third run.

Phil Coke worked around Francoeur’s ground-rule double off the top of the wall in the ninth to finish off the win for Detroit.

– Sports Network –