Salvador Perez hits 3-run HR, Brady Singer pitches 6 dominant innings as Royals beat Rangers 7-1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — — Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer, Brady Singer pitched six dominant innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers 7-1 on Friday night.
Perez hit his eighth home run of the season in Kansas City’s six-run seventh inning to break open what was a pitcher’s duel. Kyle Isbel, Vinnie Pasquantino and Bobby Witt Jr. had RBI singles before Perez gave the Royals a 7-1 lead.
Prior to that, Michael Lorenzen had his best start of the season for Texas, giving up three hits and one run — on a homer by Hunter Renfroe — in six innings. He walked two and struck out three while throwing 86 pitches.
Cole Winn (0-1) then gave up four runs in one-third of an inning and Jose Urena gave up two more before closing out the inning.
The Royals have won three straight and seven of their last 10. The Rangers had won three of their previous four.
Singer allowed just one run and four hits while striking out eight with no walks. He hasn’t given up more than one run in five of his seven starts this season.
The lone blemish against Singer came on an RBI single by Corey Seager that drove in Marcus Semien in the third inning.
John Schreiber (3-0) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, striking out Semien to keep the score at 1-1 before the Royals’ big inning in the bottom half.
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Rockies lead from start to finish for first time this year in victory over skidding Pirates
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ryan McMahon homered into the Allegheny River, Cal Quantrill pitched into the eighth inning and the Colorado Rockies finally held onto a lead during a 3-2 win over the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.
Colorado trailed in each of its first 31 games this season, a modern-era record. But not this time around.
“I’ll sleep a little better because I haven’t been sleeping well at all,” Rockies manager Bud Black said with a laugh after he was reminded that the streak was over. “Really, it’s been awful.”
McMahon put the Rockies in front when he opened the sixth with a drive over the right-field stands against Martín Pérez for his fifth homer. The ball splashed into the Allegheny 445 feet from home plate, the 71st time a home run has reached the water since PNC Park opened in 2001.
“It’s kind of like the goal of every hitter when you come in here to really juice one because you want to see it go in there,” McMahon said.
Elehuris Montero and Brendan Rodgers added RBI singles later in the sixth, and Quantrill (1-3) and two relievers did the rest as Colorado led wire to wire for the first time since beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 in September.
Jake Bird struck out Andrew McCutchen with two on to end the eighth. Jalen Beeks gave up a two-run homer to Oneil Cruz in the ninth that also reached the Allegheny, but he recorded two outs for his first save of the season.
The Rockies flirted with ending the streak this week in Miami when they took an early five-run lead on the Marlins only to fall in extra innings.
Quantrill beat the Pirates for the first time by limiting Pittsburgh to three hits with nine strikeouts. His only trouble spot came in the second when Rowdy Tellez and Jared Triolo singled with one out. Quantrill fanned Jack Suwinski and Joey Bart to end the threat, beginning a stretch in which he retired 18 of 19 batters. He was removed after hitting Bart with two outs in the eighth.
The victory was just the eighth in 32 games for Colorado, though Quantrill remains optimistic better days are ahead.
“This is a professional group and I still believe that we’re talented enough to win our fair share of baseball games,” Quantrill said.
Triolo had two hits for the Pirates, but Pittsburgh’s lineup sputtered once again.
The Pirates have dropped five straight and 14 of 17 following an 11-5 start. Pittsburgh has scored two runs or fewer 13 times during its swoon and is 3 for 40 with runners in scoring position over its last seven games.
