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Blue Jays score seven in 1st to rout Royals

Jun 1, 2014 - 12:02 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcus Stroman spun six strong innings in his first career start to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 12-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Stroman (2-0), who was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo prior to the game, conceded just one run on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks.

"It was a pretty unbelievable game to be a part of. The offense is just so special," said Stroman.

Adam Lind went 3-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI, while Juan Francisco supplied three hits and drove in four runs for the Blue Jays, who used a seven-run first inning to take their 10th win in their last 12 games.

Aaron Brooks' (0-1) first major-league start did not go as well. The Kansas City right-hander recorded just two outs and was shelled for seven runs on five hits with three walks.

"I just couldn't control the zone," said Brooks. "I was just trying to do a little too much I guess."

Nori Aoki and Brett Hayes both drove in a run for the Royals, who entered the game with wins in each of the first two matchups of this four-game series.

The Blue Jays took an early lead in the first. Brooks walked Jose Reyes and hit Melky Cabrera with a pitch before Jose Bautista's line drive to right brought Reyes around. Brooks also walked Edwin Encarnacion to load the bases with no outs.

Lind's sharp grounder to right brought home Cabrera and Brett Lawrie was hit by a pitch to force in another run. Francisco stroked a two-run ground-rule double to center, keeping the rally alive.

Dioner Navarro walked and two batters later, consecutive RBI singles from Reyes and Cabrera made it a 7-0 game and ended Brooks' outing. Michael Mariot took the mound and need just one pitch to induce an inning-ending foul pop up off the bat of Bautista.

Kansas City got one back in the second. Alex Gordon doubled with one out and was brought home on Hayes' single to left.

Lind got aboard with a one-out ground-rule double in the home half and crossed home on Lawrie's single to left to make it 8-1.

Bautista and Encarnacion hit back-to-back singles to lead off the fourth before Lind's double off the center-field wall plated Bautista. Lawrie's deep sacrifice fly to center allowed Encarnacion to score and Francisco's RBI single made it an 11-1 game.

The Royals loaded the bases off Todd Redmond with one out in the seventh. Redmond plunked Aoki to usher in a run. After Alcides Escobar struck out, Eric Hosmer popped up to end the threat.

Francisco drove in his fourth run of the afternoon on an eighth-inning double to right, staking the Blue Jays to a 12-2 advantage.

Game Notes

Lawrie finished 2-for-3 with three RBI ... Gordon extended his hitting streak to nine games ... Toronto's seven-run first is the second most amount of runs they have scored in an inning this season ... Brooks is the first pitcher to allow the first eight batters to reach base in a first career start since Yankees pitcher Mike Buddie in 1998 ... Bautista has hit in each of his last seven games.