Despite three home runs by slugger Brian Dozier, the Kansas City Royals took better advantage of those connected by Cubans Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales to defeat the Minnesota Twins on Monday in the Major Leagues with a score of 11×5.
On a Labor Day holiday afternoon, Morales and Hosmer struck a loud blow for the Monarcas, champions of the last World Series, to crush the coleros Twins.
The Royals continue to fight hard in their quest to make it to the postseason for the third consecutive time.
The victory went to starter Ian Kennedy (10-9) and the setback went to Puerto Rican José Barrios (2-5), who withstood Morales’ home run with two men on base.
For his part, Dozier, of the Twins and who reached 38 home runs, became the 18th player to achieve the difficult feat of three home runs in the same game. This year it has been done 19 times because slugger Mookie Betts (Red Sox) has done it twice.
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Dominican right-hander Ubaldo Jiménez gave away a pitching gem for his Baltimore Orioles to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7×3.
Jiménez (6-11) had just two hits for the Tampeños in his first complete game since 2011.
The Orioles now closed to within two games of the AL East leaders the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost to the New York Yankees on the day.
Jimenez gave up a three-run homer in the same first inning to Logan Morrison, but then had eight straight shutouts to complete his magnificent feat.
Star Chris Davis hit his 34th homer for the Orioles off Matt Andriese (6-7), who ultimately took the hit.
In New York, the Yankees came through with a 5×3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays thanks to three RBIs from Jacoby Ellsbury and good pitching from Japanese Masahiro Tanaka.
In the early meeting for the Labor Day holiday, Tanaka (12-4) finally got his first victory in the last five starts, while Ellsbury drove in three runs in his return from the disabled list.
The Yankees (71-65) closed to 3 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays (77-60), leaders of the American League East.
The disaster was for the knuckleballer RA Dickey (9-14), who allowed five runs and seven hits in just four innings and still hasn’t won at Yankee Stadium, where he has a negative balance of 0-6.
After the defeat, the Canadian team was caught up by the Boston Red Sox.
Dominican closer Dellin Betances, the sixth pitcher used by the Yankees, got the last three outs and scored his ninth save.
– Marlins still in the doldrums –
In Miami, the Marlins continued in a tailspin by losing 6×2 to the Philadelphia Phillies and saw how they moved further and further away from the postseason.
With about 24 regular-season games remaining and after owning that ticket in early August, the ‘fish’, between injuries, fatalities and bullpen errors, have seen their opportunities evaporate.
An executioner on this day for the Marlins was Venezuelan Freddy Galvis, who hit a two-run home run.
Miami, after being as many as six games over .500, is now down two games under that figure for the first time since April 27 and has lost seven in eight starts.
The win went to Jerad Eickhoff (10-13), who gave up two runs in the first inning but then posted six straight zeros, while the setback went to fellow starter Jake Esch (0-1), who has not still savored the honeys of triumph.
In other results, Chicago Cubs to Milwaukee Brewers 7×2 and New York Mets to Cincinnati Reds 5×0. (AFP).