Royals pick up 1st win of season, sending Blue Jays to 3rd straight loss
Brady Singer pitched five effective innings, MJ Melendez hit a two-run homer and the Kansas City Royals broke loose early at home to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-5 on Monday night for their first victory of the season.
Singer (1-0) allowed just two hits — doubles by Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman — with three walks and three strikeouts. He is 7-0 with a 1.68 ERA in his last 10 starts at Kauffman Stadium dating to June 26 last year.
Toronto (1-3), now mired in a three-game losing streak, mounted a fifth-inning charge, loading the bases with a double and a pair of walks, but Singer limited the damage with a double-play grounder that scored one run.
Kansas City was shut out twice at home by Minnesota last weekend while losing its first three games of the year. After entering with a major league-worst .133 batting average, the Royals greeted Berrios (0-1) with four first-inning hits, producing three runs and their first lead of the season.
On the board in a hurry.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WelcomeToTheCity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WelcomeToTheCity</a> <a href="https://t.co/KGyEIovb5L">pic.twitter.com/KGyEIovb5L</a>
Berrios went 5 2/3 innings in his season debut, allowing eight runs on nine hits and striking out seven.
Lopez's two-run triple highlighted a four-run fourth as Kansas City expanded its lead to 7-0. Melendez capped the scoring in the sixth with a two-run homer, his first of the year.
MJ’s headed for the fountains!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WelcomeToTheCity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WelcomeToTheCity</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q7O669YByx">pic.twitter.com/Q7O669YByx</a>
Four consecutive singles off Royals relievers led to a pair of seventh-inning runs, but the Blue Jays left
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