Royals 11, Yankees 5
Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler combined for seven hits to lead the Kansas City Royals to an 11-5 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night and their first series win in the Bronx since 1998.
A hard-hitting 21-year-old first baseman who was called up last week, Hosmer delivered a home run in his second straight game and opened the flood gates for a six-run second inning off New York’s Ivan Nova. Hosmer’s hot bat came at the right time for Kansas City, which had dropped seven straight road games before picking up the last two of this series.
Former Yankee Melky Cabrera also went deep for Kansas City, which built an 8-0 lead after Butler’s RBI single in the fourth. That was the final run charged to Nova (3-3), although only four were earned on 10 hits in just three innings.
Sean O’Sullivan (2-2) gave up four earned runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings for Kansas City, which limited the high-powered Yankees to just three solo shots all series.
Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez each went deep Thursday, and although they barely made a dent in the lead, it was a promising sign for A-Rod who had gone 16 games without a long ball.