KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Brad Keller kept up his recent pitching surge with another strong outing.
Keller gave up a home run to the first batter of the game Cedric Mullins but quickly settled in to pitch eight strong innings in the Kansas City Royals 9-2 win over the Baltimore Royals in a matchup of the teams with the worst records in the majors.
Every time he takes the mound, you expect him to keep you in the ballgame, Royals manager Ned Yost said. He just did what he does so well. He keeps the ball on the ground and did a nice job doing that.
Keller (7-5) gave up two runs and four hits with two walks and four strikeouts to improve to 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in his last four starts.
I was just trying to get in a groove and throw strikes, he said. I just made a mistake (to Mullins). Youve got a long game after that. Youve got to flush it and lock it back in.
Ryan OHearn homered among his three hits and drove in four runs, Whit Merrifield scored three runs, and Hunter Dozier and Cam Gallagher also went deep to help the Royals win for the fifth time in six games on their current homestand.
Theyre not exactly household names yet, OHearn, Dozier and Gallagher, Yost said. But theyre doing okay. You watch Dozier who looks totally comfortable now. OHearn has always been a guy with a lot of confidence that he can hit. Its nice to see Cam get off to a good start too.
With the scored tied 1-1 in the fourth, Andrew Cashner (4-13) gave up a sacrifice fly to Merrifield after loading the bases on two walks and a single. Dozier led off the fifth inning with a 423-foot home run to left field to make it 3-1.
(Cashner) was having trouble gripping his breaking ball, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. He never really got a feel for it. Hed throw a couple and its just hard to go through that many hitters, especially lefthanders, without a feel for a breaking ball. I think the last home run is the one thats going to stick with him. He could have come out of that with three runs, not being able to do the things he normally does.
The Orioles pulled within a run in the sixth when Mullins led off with a double just beyond the reach of Dozier at third, advanced to third on a fly ball and scored on Trey Mancinis sacrifice fly to the wall in right.
The Royals answered in the bottom of the inning as Gallagher hit his first home run of the season, ending Cashners night.
I think he was trying to get it out over the plate but it backed up on him, said Gallagher, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha Friday after the Royals traded catcher Drew Butera to the Colorado Rockies. He just left it middle-in and I was able to get a good swing on it.
Cashner, who has given up a career-high 21 homers, allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out one.
That was probably some of the worst stuff Ive carried into a game, Cashner said. My sinker was not there tonight. (My) offspeed pitches were not there. (I) didnt really command anything for a strike.
OHearn added a two-run single off Ye-fry Ramirez later in the sixth to push Kansas Citys lead to 6-2. Doziers RBI single in the eighth drove in Merrifield for his third run scored of the game, and OHearn added a two-run homer off Ryan Meisinger to cap the scoring.
