Royals 3, Orioles 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kendrys Morales homered and Danny Duffy scattered five hits as the Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 on Tuesday.
The Royals won their fourth straight and 14th of their last 18 to move 29 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 1980 season.
Duffy (7-6) struggled with his control, running several deep counts before running into trouble in sixth.
After surrendering a one-out single to designated hitter Matt Wieters and hitting left fielder Steve Pearce with a pitch, he induced second baseman Jonathan Schoop to bounce into a fielder's choice for the second out.
Right-hander Luke Hochevar relieved Duffy and escaped the jam when catcher Caleb Joseph's deep fly was run down on the right field track by Alex Rios.
The Orioles threatened again in the seventh when right fielder Gerardo Parra doubled with two out, driving Hochevar from the mound. Right-hander Kelvin Herrera met the challenge by striking out center fielder Adam Jones before delivering a scoreless eighth.
Right-hander Wade Davis collected his 12th save in 13 chances, striking out two while hurling a perfect ninth.
Baltimore's losing streak grew to a season-high six games and it has failed to score more than three runs in each of the six losses.
Right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (9-10) struggled through 4 1/3 innings, allowing solid hits in each inning. He gave up three runs on six hits and three walks with one strike out while throwing 92 pitches.
Four Orioles relievers combined for 3 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings, striking out two while allowing three walks.
The Royals got on the board first with Morales' long solo home run into the right field fountains in the bottom of the second. Third baseman Mike Moustakas followed with a drive off the top of the center field fence on the next pitch, but he was stranded at second as the Royals maintained a 1-0 lead.
Kansas City added two runs in the second. Left fielder Ben Zobrist walked with one out and went to third on center fielder Lorenzo Cain's hit-and-run single. Zobrist scored on Eric Hosmer's soft grounder when Cain escaped a rundown to avoid an inning-ending double play.
After Morales walked, Moustakas slashed a line drive to left, scoring Cain for a 3-0 lead.
Baltimore responded with two runs in the fourth. With two outs, Wieters walked and Pearce singled. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop's single to left-center scored Wieters. Joseph followed with a single to center, plating Pearce to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
Gonzalez failed to pick up his first win since July 25, throwing 92 pitches before leaving with one out in the fifth. Gonzalez allowed three runs on six hits and three walks while fanning one.
NOTES: Royals RF Alex Rios extended his hitting streak to seven games, his best run of the season. ... Orioles C Steve Clevenger's wife gave birth to a daughter Tuesday afternoon. Clevenger went on paternity leave Tuesday and is expected to rejoin the team this weekend in Texas. ... Baltimore recalled SS Paul Janish from Triple-A Norfolk and immediately inserted him into the lineup, batting ninth. Janish was hitting .235 with 21 RBIs in 95 games with Norfolk and led International League shortstops with a .990 fielding percentage (four errors in 407 total chances). ... Royals 2B Omar Infante had three triples in his past two games before Tuesday. His two-triple game Monday made him the 29th in club history to record two three-baggers in the same contest.