Royals’ Bailey stops Yankees in another fine start

Homer Bailey won consecutive starts for the first time in nearly two years and the Kansas City Royals recorded a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium. Bailey (2-1) held the Yankees to one run on three hits in six innings. He won consecutive starts for the first time since July 4-9, 2017, when he earned victories at Colorado and Arizona while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds. He had gone 6-22 since then before Thursday.

Bailey followed up seven scoreless innings against the Cleveland Indians by keeping the Yankees off balance with a mix of four-seam fastballs, splitters and sliders. He used his splitter and slider to get each of his six strikeouts. The veteran right-hander, who was 1-14 last season for Cincinnati, allowed one hit after the first inning, when the Yankees scored their lone run on a sacrifice fly by Gleyber Torres. He retired 15 of the final 18 hitters he faced in an efficient 86-pitch outing.

Richard Lovelady pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the Royals. Former Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy struck out Aaron Judge to end the eighth and finished up. Jorge Soler and Ryan O'Hearn hit solo homers off Yankees starter Domingo German (3-1) as the Royals won for the fifth time in seven games since losing 10 in a row.

Alex Gordon and Whit Merrifield contributed RBI doubles while Adalberto Mondesi lifted two sacrifice flies, and scored on Gordon's double in the first. Mondesi also had two hits after entering the game 0-for-20 on the road this year. The Yankees were unable to reach .500 after sweeping a two-game series against the Boston Red Sox, and dropped to 8-10. New York lost for the sixth time in nine games since it was last over .500 at 5-4 following a 15-3 romp at Baltimore on April 7.

German allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. He struck out nine but also matched a career high by allowing two homers. The Royals went ahead three batters in when Gordon doubled to the base of the right field fence. After the Yankees tied it, Soler tucked a 1-1 breaking ball inside the left field foul pole leading off the second and O'Hearn drove a 1-0 fastball over the left-center field fence to lead off the fourth.

The Royals added two insurance runs in the seventh off Jonathan Holder and Zack Britton on Merrifield's double and Mondesi's flyball. Mondesi lifted another sacrifice fly in the ninth off Joe Harvey. --Field Level Media

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