Baseball: Mariners thrashes Royals in major league

Edwin Encarnacion hit a pair of home runs in the sixth inning and the visiting Seattle Mariners scored eight times in the frame to earn a 13-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night to open a four-game series. The Mariners have scored five or more runs in 11 of their first 12 games and became the first team in the major leagues to win 10 games.

Encarnacion became the first major leaguer to hit two home runs in an inning in almost three years. Mark Trumbo of the Los Angeles Angels did in on April 15, 2016, at Texas. The last Mariners players to do it were Bret Boone and Mike Cameron, who did it in the same game at the Chicago White Sox on May 2, 2002. Cameron went on to hit four home runs that game, tying the major league record. Roenis Elias (1-0) picked up the win for the Mariners. The left-hander pitched three scoreless innings of relief, giving up no hits and one walk.

Homer Bailey (0-1) took the loss for Kansas City, giving up seven runs on eight hits, including three home runs, in five-plus innings. The Royals' Whit Merrifield led off the bottom of the first with an infield single to extend his hitting streak to 29 games. It's the second-longest streak in Royals history, trailing only George Brett's 30-game streak from 1980, the year Brett batted .390.

Mariners starter Felix Hernandez left the game after one inning with "virus-like symptoms." He gave up two runs on three hits. Daniel Vogelbach's leadoff home run in the second inning gave the Mariners a home run in each of their first 12 games, becoming the fourth American League team since 1908 to accomplish that feat. They finished with five home runs Monday, giving them 32 for the season, the most in major league history through the first 12 games. Seattle grabbed its first lead on Encarnacion's third home run of the year leading off the sixth. The Mariners sent 12 batters to the plate in the sixth. 

(With inputs from agencies.)