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Yanks hope to avoid rare home series loss to Royals

May 12, 2011 - 2:32 PM (Sports Network) - New York Yankees All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano is expected to be fine after getting hit in the helmet by a pitch in last night's extra-inning loss to the Kansas City Royals.

Cano is listed as day-to-day for the Yankees, who will close out their three- game set with the Royals this evening in the Bronx. Results of Cano's CT scan at a local hospital were negative, according to a team spokesperson. The slugging infielder went down in the fifth inning of a 4-3 loss in 11 innings and was 1-for-2 with a run scored before being hit by the pitch.

"It just got away," Royals reliever Nate Adcock said. "I went two pitches to the outside corner, and you've got to pitch in to pitch in the big leagues. But there was no purpose to hit him in the head or anything like that."

Curtis Granderson hit his major league-leading 12th home run of the season and tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th for New York, which entered last night's game with three wins in four tries before losing for the fifth time in eight games. Team captain Derek Jeter finished 0-for-6 and starting pitcher A.J. Burnett had a solid outing go to waste, as he tossed seven innings of one-run ball. Buddy Carlyle was dealt the loss for giving up two runs in an inning of work.

"Right now we're struggling offensively," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We're better than this."

The Yankees, who will host Boston for three games over the weekend, are hoping Ivan Nova can pitch them to a series win when he takes the mound Thursday. Nova has won back-to-back outings and is coming off Friday's 4-1 victory at Texas in which he allowed one unearned run and two hits through 7 1/3 innings, improving to 3-2 in seven games (6 starts) with a 4.08 ERA.

The Dominican right-hander has never faced the Royals in his career.

Kansas City took the lead for good last night on prized prospect Eric Hosmer's sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, while the youngster collected the first home run of his career.

"It's funny how things happen," Hosmer said on the team's website. "You get called up, and the first road trip is Yankee Stadium, the first stadium I've ever been to, and the first big league home run. The sweetest thing is we came out with a win."

Jeff Francoeur, the victim of a bean ball by Burnett after Cano was drilled, and former Yankee Wilson Betemit both knocked in runs for the Royals, who snapped a seven-game road slide and won for the seventh time in their previous 11 contests.

Joakim Soria allowed an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th to Granderson but still picked up the win. Louis Coleman retired the side in order in the bottom of the 11th for his first save, while starter Vin Mazzaro lasted four innings and permitted two runs on six hits and four walks.

Kansas City will visit Detroit for three games after tonight's series finale against the Bronx Bombers.

Sean O'Sullivan draws the assignment for KC tonight and he is 1-2 with a 3.41 earned run average in six games (4 starts) this season. O'Sullivan was a tough-luck loser in his previous outing on Friday versus Oakland and allowed three runs in eight innings of a 3-2 setback.

The right-hander has made three starts in his career against the Yankees, going 1-2 with a less desirable 6.06 earned run average.

The Yankees won five of their eight matchups with the Royals last season, including three of the four meetings as the host. Kansas City hasn't won a series in the Bronx since the 1999 campaign.