Royals 12, Yankees 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Center fielder Lorenzo Cain drove in a career-high five runs, and right-hander Chris Young provided the Kansas City Royals with another solid start in a 12-1 victory over the New York on Friday night.
Third baseman Mike Moustakas stroked four hits and scored three runs, both equaling career bests. Three of his hits went for extra bases. The Royals' dozen runs matched a season high, while their 17 hits was one shy of their 2015 best.
Young (3-0), who was making just his third start after beginning the year in the bullpen, limited the Yankees to four hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out two, which was double the total of Yankees starter Michael Pineda (5-1).
The Royals sent 11 men to the plate in a six-run sixth to blow the game open and chased Pineda. It took four Yankees pitchers to record three outs.
The inning included a two-out, two-run single by Cain. Second baseman Omar Infante, who had three hits, and right fielder Paulo Orlando each drove in a run.
Infante tripled home left fielder Alex Gordon, who had doubled, with the first run of the inning. Orlando, who was in a 1-for-13 skid, singled home Infante and sent Pineda to the showers.
Designated hitter Kendrys Morales, who owns a 10-game hitting streak, and Gordon, on his second hit of the inning, also punched run-producing singles.
Pineda, who struck out 16 Orioles in his previous start, struck out only one – Cain in the fifth. Pineda was charged with five runs on 10 hits and lost for the first time in 10 starts, dating to last September.
The Royals added four more runs in the seventh with Cain's single scoring Moustakas for his final RBI. Morales contributed a two-run double in the inning.
Moustakas and Cain figured in the Royals' first two runs.
Moustakas doubled the opposite way with one out in the first and scored when Cain doubled off the wall in left center.
Moustakas, who had only one triple the past two seasons, stroked a one-out third-inning triple down the line and into the right field corner. Cain's sacrifice fly to center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury brought Moustakas home.
The Yankees got a run back in the fourth, which designated hitter Alex Rodriguez led off with a double, his 526th career two-bagger. He advanced to third on first baseman Mark Teixeira's infield single and scored on catcher Brian McCann's fly out to right fielder Paulo Orlando.
Pineda, who struck out 16 Orioles in his previous start, did not register a strikeout until he fanned Cain for the second out in the fifth inning.
Young held the Yankees to one run and three hits over the first five innings. He was filling in for left-hander Jason Vargas, who is on the disabled list with a strained right elbow flexor.
Young permitted a triple to left fielder Brett Gardner with one out in the first, but stranded him.
First baseman Eric Hosmer singled in the fifth, extending his hitting streak to a dozen games, the longest by a Royals player this season.
NOTES: The Yankees placed RHP Chase Whitley on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow sprain, but manager Joe Girardi is not ruling out possible Tommy John surgery. They recalled RHP Jose Ramirez, who was 1-0 with five saves and a 2.95 ERA with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... LHP Chris Capuano, strained right quad, will be activated Sunday and take Whitley's place in the rotation. ... Yankees OF Chris Young was not in the lineup Friday against Royals RHP Chris Young. The Yankees outfielder is 0-for-18 with eight strikeouts against his namesake. ... Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka, who went on the DL April 29, threw a 35-pitch bullpen Friday. ... Royals Hall of Famer George Brett celebrated his 62nd birthday Friday.