The Kansas City Royals placed left-hander Mike Minor on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to a shoulder injury and recalled right-hander Scott Blewett from Triple-A Omaha.Minor, 33, was diagnosed with a left shoulder impingement and the injury could mark the end of his season. Minor is 8-12 with a 5.05 ERA this season in 28 starts and is 79-78 over 10 career seasons with a 4.11 ERA for the Atlanta Braves (2010-14), Royals (2017, 2021), Texas Rangers (2018-20) and Oakland Athletics (2020). ... Continue Reading

Elvis Andrus went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs as the Oakland A's amassed a season-high 18 hits while defeating the Kansas City Royals 12-10 on Wednesday night.The Royals, who were down by seven heading into the bottom of the seventh, had the tying run on second with one out in the bottom of the ninth.Kansas City's Andrew Benintendi tied a career high with five hits and added four RBIs.Oakland's Sean Manaea (10-9) survived a shaky start to pick up the win. He allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Carlos Hernandez (6-2) took the loss, allowing seven runs on nine hits and four walks in four-plus innings. He fanned three.Andrew Chafin yielded a run in 1 1/3 innings but still emerged with his fourth save.The A's (78-67) remained 3 1/2 games behind the three teams tied for the two American League wild-card spots, the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.Oakland and Kansas City will play the rubber game of the three-game series on Thursday.The Royals (66-79), who finished with 17 hits, grabbed the lead in the first on an RBI single by Benintendi.The A's responded in the second with a two-out, two-run single by Andrus. The Oakland shortstop has 11 hits and seven of his 36 RBIs in six games against the Royals this season.Matt Olson walked leading off the third and eventually scored on a single by Mark Canha.The A's added two more runs in the fourth on a home run by Olson, giving him 101 RBIs for the season. It's the first time in his career he reached the century mark in RBIs. ... Continue Reading

Salvador Perez's three-run home run capped a furious Kansas City rally as the Royals defeated the visiting Oakland A's 10-7 Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series.The Royals trailed 6-0 going into the bottom of the third inning.Perez now has 109 RBIs, which leads the majors. Whit Merrifield, Nicky Lopez and Kyle Isbel each had three hits for the Royals, who earned their fourth win in five games.Jake Brentz (5-2) picked up the win after throwing one perfect inning in relief, and Scott Barlow worked around two walks in the ninth for his 13th save.Yusmeiro Petit (8-2) took the loss out of the Oakland bullpen, yielding four runs on four hits in one-third of an inning. The A's (77-67) dropped their third consecutive game and fell 3 1/2 games behind the two American League wild-card leaders, the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.Neither starter was effective. Oakland's Frankie Montas allowed four runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Jackson Kowar gave up five runs on three hits and four walks in one-plus inning.The A's scored twice in the first. Josh Harrison drew a leadoff walk, and Starling Marte doubled. Matt Olson and Jed Lowrie followed with sacrifice flies.Oakland added three more runs in the second off Kowar, but they could have had more. Kowar walked the first three batters of the inning and then gave up an RBI single to Elvis Andrus and a two-run single to Harrison.Ervin Santana replaced Kowar with runners on second and third and no outs, but he wiggled out of the jam without surrendering another run. ... Continue Reading

The Kansas City Royals are set to announce the promotions of Dayton Moore to president of baseball operations and J.J. Picollo to general manager Tuesday, according to reports.The Royals have an afternoon press conference scheduled to announce the moves.Moore was named general manager in June 2006 and Picollo was one of his first hires, joining the organization as director of player development. ... Continue Reading

Kyle Isbel drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-3 in the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.Adalberto Mondesi homered and Whit Merrifield had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and scored twice for Kansas City (65-78). Jake Brentz (4-2) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief while Scott Barlow notched his 12th save.Byron Buxton went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored and Brent Rooker had a two-run double for Minnesota (63-80).The game was tied 3-3 in the eighth when Andrew Benintendi led off with a single to right off reliever Jorge Alcala (3-6). He went to second on a walk by Carlos Santana, who was swapped out for pinch-runner Hunter Dozier.Mondesi sacrificed the runners to second and third, but Benintendi was then thrown out at the plate on a grounder by Ryan O'Hearn. Isbel, called up earlier Sunday from Triple-A Omaha when Michael A. Taylor was placed on the family medical emergency list, then drove in Dozier with a single to right.Benintendi added an insurance run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly to tie the Royals record for RBIs for a seven-game road trip (14) set by Jeff King in 1997 and equaled by Kendrys Morales in 2016. ... Continue Reading

Jorge Polanco went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs to lead a five-homer attack for the Minnesota Twins, who cruised to a 9-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night in Minneapolis.Byron Buxton, Nick Gordon and Max Kepler also homered for Minnesota (63-79) which evened the series at a game apiece and presented manager Rocco Baldelli with his 200th career victory. Buxton, Kepler and Ben Rortvedt each had two hits.All five home runs by Minnesota came against Royals starter Brady Singer (4-10) who had allowed just nine home runs in 116 innings entering the contest and no more than two in a game.Michael Pineda (6-8), making his first start since Aug. 13 following a stint on the injured list with a mild left oblique strain, picked up the win, allowing one run on five hits over five innings. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter.Hunter Dozier had two doubles and an RBI, Andrew Benintendi had two hits including a double and an RBI, and Nicky Lopez and Hanser Alberto each had two hits and a run scored to lead Kansas City (64-78).Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on back-to-back home runs by Buxton, a 444-foot drive into the second deck above the bullpen in left-center, and Polanco. It was the 13th homer of the season for Buxton, who also had a 457-foot tape measure home run in the first inning of a 6-4 loss to the Royals on Friday night.Gordon, making his first major league start at shortstop, made it 3-0 in the second with his second home run of the season off the facing of the second deck in right-center. ... Continue Reading

Andrew Benintendi hit two home runs, including a two-run shot in the top of the 11th inning that proved to be the game-winner as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-4 on Friday night in Minneapolis.Benintendi lined Juan Minaya's first pitch to open the 11th into the front row of the left-field bleachers for his 15th homer of the season, breaking a 4-4 tie by also driving in designated runner Salvador Perez.Benintendi finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBIs, while Nicky Lopez extended his on-base streak to 20 games with two hits, including a double, for Kansas City (64-77).Ervin Santana (2-2) picked up the win with one inning of scoreless relief, and Greg Holland retired the Twins in order in the bottom of the 11th to notch his eighth save.Byron Buxton and Josh Donaldson both homered and Andrelton Simmons had two hits to lead Minnesota (62-79). Minaya (2-1) picked up the loss, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits and two walks over two innings. He struck out two.Kansas City jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first off Twins starter Griffin Jax on Benintendi's home run deep into the right field bleachers, following Lopez's double and a walk to Perez. ... Continue Reading

Nicky Lopez had a home run and an RBI single for the first two Kansas City RBIs as the Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 to earn a split of the four-game series in Baltimore.Carlos Hernandez (6-1) picked up the win. He allowed just three hits with six scoreless innings. Domingo Tapia (two innings) and Scott Barlow kept the Orioles (45-94) off the board with three scoreless innings, one night after the bullpen allowed nine runs in the eighth inning.John Means (5-7) took the loss with the lack of run support. He allowed two runs (one scored after he left the game) on five hits in seven-plus innings. He struck out five and walked two.Lopez put the Royals (63-77) on the scoreboard with a one-out home run in the first. It was Lopez' second home run of the season, and it extended his on-base streak to a career high 19 games.The Orioles had a chance to tie the score in the bottom of the second with three straight singles. But they got a little greedy and catcher Pedro Severino was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Andrew Benintendi. It was Baltimore's last hit of the night.Hernandez struggled with his control, walking three in six innings. But he kept the Orioles off the board, stranding five runners in the second through fourth innings. ... Continue Reading

Austin Hays extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a two-run homer and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the visiting Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Tuesday night.Cedric Mullins hit his 27th home run of the season and DJ Stewart also went deep for the Orioles, who earned their third victory in four games. Anthony Santander had two hits and scored twice.Mike Baumann, recalled from Triple-A Norfolk earlier in the day, allowed only an unearned run in 3 2/3 innings of relief for the win in his major league debut. The 25-year-old allowed two hits, walked one and struck out one.Carlos Santana homered for the Royals, who had won three of four. Kansas City's Nicky Lopez and Edward Olivares had two hits apiece.Jackson Kowar (0-3) allowed six runs on five hits and four walks in six innings for the Royals. He struck out seven.Orioles starter Alexander Wells gave up two runs on five hits over four innings. He fanned two and walked two.Trailing 7-2 entering the eighth inning, the Royals got the tying run to the plate. Salvador Perez led off with a single and Andrew Benintendi walked with two outs. After Dillon Tate replaced Baumann, Olivares reached on an infield single, loading the bases.Third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez couldn't handle Michael A. Taylor's grounder and a run scored, but Tate struck out pinch hitter Ryan O'Hearn to end the threat. ... Continue Reading

Salvador Perez's bloop single keyed a two-run, eighth-inning rally as the visiting Kansas City Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Monday.Perez had hit eight home runs in his last 11 games, but his game-winning hit barely traveled 100 feet.Domingo Tapia (2-0) retired all five batters he faced in relief to earn the victory. Scott Barlow picked up his 11th save.Cole Sulser (4-4) took the loss.Zac Lowther pitched well enough to earn his first major league win, but he took a no-decision. He came in with an ERA of 10.80 in five career appearances (one start). He held the Royals to one run on three hits in six innings.Kris Bubic also pitched well but wasn't involved in the decision. He allowed two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.Austin Hays extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games with an RBI single in the third that gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead. He drove in Austin Wynns, who reached on a one-out single.Former Oriole Hanser Alberto tied the game in the top of the fifth with a lead-off home run. It was Alberto's first game in Baltimore after spending 2019-20 with the Orioles. ... Continue Reading