Lind's HR caps big inning; Blue Jays top Royals
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adam Lind capped a six-run fourth inning with a three-run home run and the Toronto Blue Jays topped the Kansas City Royals, 6-3, in the second test of a four-game series.
Rajai Davis added a two-run single and Edwin Encarnacion knocked in a run with an infield hit for the Blue Jays, who snapped a two-game slide. Brett Lawrie added two hits and a run scored in the victory.
Brett Cecil (2-1) allowed three runs on five hits and a walk over six-plus solid innings with three strikeouts to pick up the win. Jason Frasor and Darren Oliver each worked one scoreless inning and Casey Janssen collected his 10th save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jason Bourgeois clubbed a two-run triple and Alex Gordon added an RBI on a sacrifice fly for the Royals, losers in four of their last five contests.
Vin Mazzaro (3-3) allowed six runs on 13 hits in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss. He struck out three and did not issue a walk.
Kansas City opened the scoring with three runs in the third. Jeff Francoeur and Salvador Perez slapped consecutive singles and Bourgeois brought both runners home with a triple before scoring on Gordon's sac fly.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Toronto took control of the game in the fourth after sending 11 men to the plate for six runs.
Lawrie and Colby Rasmus reached with singles to start the frame. After Jose Bautista flied out, Encarnacion beat out an infield hit to score Lawrie. Yunel Escobar reached on another infield hit two batters later to load the bases and Davis came up with a two-run single up the middle to tie the game at three.
"Groundball, base hit, bunt and it just kind of built up on him," said Royals manager Ned Yost about Mazzaro in the fourth.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lind came up next and delivered the big blow in the frame -- a monster three- run homer off the facing of the second deck in right to give the Blue Jays the 6-3 advantage.
"They got two leadoff guys on and I was able to get out of that after giving up three in the third," remarked Cecil about the momentum shift. "I had my team come in and get six runs and give up a shut down inning after that and I think, for me, those were the two most important innings."
Kansas City had a chance to cut into the deficit in the seventh when Mike Moustakas led off the frame with a double. He moved to third on a groundout by Francoeur. Perez then lofted a fly ball to Bautista, who made the catch and fired home to cut down Moustakas trying to score, keeping the lead at three.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Blue Jays' pitching allowed just one hit the rest of the way and Janssen set down Billy Butler, Yuniesky Betancourt and Moustakas in order to finish off the victory.
Game Notes
Toronto swept a four-game set against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium from April 20-23 and improved to 5-0 against KC this season...The Blue Jays plated six runs in an inning for the fourth time this season...Kansas City went 1- for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded three.