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Jays outslug Royals

Jun 8, 2011 - 6:58 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Adam Lind and J.P. Arencibia each blasted a home run and combined for five RBI to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to an 8-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the second of a four-game set from Kauffman Stadium.

Lind finished with three RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Jayson Nix and Mike McCoy -- who replaced the injured Yunel Escobar in the fifth -- each drove in a run.

Kyle Drabek (4-4) earned the win despite allowing five runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings for Toronto, which has won two of three,

"I know it wasn't a perfect night for [Drabek]," said Blue Jays manager John Farrell. "Tonight isn't what this is going to end up being. I actually complimented on him continuing to grind through it."

KC starter Vin Mazzaro (0-1) allowed six runs on eight hits in five innings to take the loss.

Jeff Francoeur was 2-for-5 with three RBI for the Royals, who snapped a four- game losing streak with an 11-inning victory over the Blue Jays in Monday's series opener.

Escobar began the game with a single up the middle. He then stole second and came around to score on the same play following consecutive throwing errors by Matt Treanor and Melky Cabrera.

Lind's two-run shot to right gave the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead heading into the home half of the first.

"That's going to happen," said Mazzaro of the errors. "You've just got to go out there and stop the damage. Get the control back in your hands. Go out there and keep battling. Try to keep the team in the ballgame."

The Royals answered in their first at bat, as Francoeur's soft liner to right scored Alex Gordon.

Edwin Encarnacion lifted a catchable pop up to right-center to begin the second, but neither Cabrera or Francoeur made a play on the ball and Encarnacion hustled into second with an opportunistic leadoff double. He came around to score two batters later on Nix's double down the left field line.

Eric Hosmer generated a two-out spark in the third, reaching with a single to right and advancing to third on a pair of wild pitched by Drabek. Francoeur's single to center brought home Hosmer and pulled Kansas City within two, at 4-2.

McCoy's double in the fifth, which just cleared the glove of Gordon, plated Nix. McCoy advanced to third on a sac bunt by Corey Patterson and came around on a Lind sac fly, making it 6-2 Blue Jays.

The Royals refused to go quietly, adding two in the fifth on run-scoring groundouts by Francoeur and Billy Butler and cutting the deficit to one with an RBI Cabrera single in the sixth.

Arencibia's two-run shot in the eight again gave the Blue Jays breathing room.

Jon Rauch worked a perfect ninth to record his seventh save of the season.

Game Notes

Despite leading the league with 20 home runs, Jose Bautista has not gone deep in his last nine contests...Mazzaro made his third appearance and second major league start of the season after being recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday. In his last appearance -- a May 16 relief stint against Cleveland -- Mazzaro allowed a club-record 14 runs on 11 hits in 2.1 innings, becoming the first pitcher sine 1900 to allow 14-plus runs in less than 3.0 innings...Drabek had never faced the Royals previously...Hosmer, a rookie, has hit safely in all nine games of this current homestand...Blue Jays had lost four of their last five in Kauffman Stadium.