Blue Jays 2 - 4 Royals
Final
  for this game

Royals turn to Ventura vs. Blue Jays

Apr 30, 2014 - 2:50 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Yordano Ventura will try to stay in the win column when he leads the Kansas City Royals into Wednesday's middle test of a three-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium.

Ventura is coming off eight scoreless innings of a 5-0 win at Baltimore last Friday and struck out eight batters to go along with two walks. Ventura lasted just four innings and gave up four runs in his previous start and is 2-1 with a 1.80 earned run average in four starts.

The young right-hander has never faced the Blue Jays and is 0-1 in two starts at home.

Kansas City had a six-run eighth inning thanks to a two-run double by Salvador Perez and a two-run single from Omar Infante. Jarrod Dyson and Norichika Aoki provided RBI hits in the big inning for the Royals, who have won two straight and three of four games.

"We never give up. That's the motto in here is to never give up and to always play like we're in it," Dyson said.

Perez also homered and finished with four RBI. Aaron Crow threw a scoreless eighth inning for the win and Jason Vargas was bailed out for the no-decision after he permitted five runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings.

The Blue Jays have lost five of their last six games and reliever Brett Cecil was dealt the loss after Kansas City's big inning. Sergio Santos allowed three runs in relief and starter Dustin McGowan was reached for three runs -- two earned -- in six innings.

"We just got hit tonight," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of his relievers.

Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion both homered for Toronto. Melky Cabrera, who was 2-for-5 with two RBI, has 41 hits this season, the most by a Blue Jays player before May 1 in team history.

Toronto will send Drew Hutchison to the mound Wednesday and he is 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in five starts. Hutchison has recorded three straight no-decisions and tossed six innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts in last Thursday's 11-4 loss to Baltimore.

Hutchison has been reached for just four runs in his past three starts and won his only career start against Kansas City on April 21, 2012. He gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 9-5 win.

Toronto won four of six games against Kansas City a year ago and is 10-5 in the past 15 matchups between the two clubs.






Related News