Kansas City Royals Mike Moustakas celebrates his grand slam home run in the dugout against the Toronto Blue Jays during seventh inning MLB action in Toronto Monday July 2, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
July 02, 2012 - 9:56 PM
TORONTO - Mike Moustakas had five RBIs and his first career grand slam and Everett Teaford pitched seven strong innings as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 11-3 on Monday.
The Royals reached Toronto left-hander Ricky Romero for 11 hits, including a two-run homer by Salvador Perez, three walks and eight runs in six-plus innings to snap a three-game slide.
Right-handed reliever David Pauley allowed the grand slam to Moustakas in the Royals' five-run seventh.
Jose Bautista and Colby Rasmus homered for the Blue Jays who have lost two in a row to drop to .500.
It was the second successive loss for the struggling Romero (8-3), as his earned-run average swelled to 5.35. He allowed nine runs (eight earned) in three innings in his loss to the Boston Red Sox last Wednesday at Fenway Park when he walked six.
The loss to the Royals was Romero’s first of the season at home after five wins.
Teaford (1-1) held the Blue Jays to five hits and two walks in his second start since being recalled from triple-A Omaha on June 27. It was his first major-league win since last Sept. 17.
The Blue Jays (40-40) turned a leadoff double by Brett Lawrie into a first-inning run. Lawrie took third on a long fly to centre by Rasmus. Bautista walked and Edwin Encarnacion was hit by a pitch for the eighth time this season to load the bases. Lawrie scored on a groundout by Yunel Escobar.
Perez hit his third homer of the season after Romero walked Jeff Francoeur with two out in the second.
The Royals (36-42) scored two more in the third after a one-out single by Eric Hosmer and two-out doubles by Yuniesky Betancourt and Moustakas.
Bautista hit his major-league leading 27th homer with two out in the third to cut the lead to 4-2.
But the Royals scored twice more in the fourth.
Perez singled, Jason Bourgeois doubled and Alex Gordon singled in one run. A wild pitch scored the second run of the inning. Romero caught a break when Gordon was doubled up at second on Billy Butler’s lineout to right.
Rasmus crushed his 16th homer of the season in the fifth to reduce the Royals lead to 6-3.
Romero departed after giving up a walk to Alcides Escobar and a double to Hosmer to open the seventh.
Pauley took his place and hit Butler with a pitch to load the bases. Betancourt singled in a run and Moustakas followed with his 14th homer of the season and his first slam.
Notes: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 17,127. ... Romero has allowed at least one walk in each of his 17 starts this season and has allowed more than one walk in 14 of them with a season-high of seven on May 23. ... The Royals had consecutive winning months in June (14-13) and May (15-13) for the first time since 2007. ... The Blue Jays will start left-hander Brett Cecil (1-1, 6.06 earned-run average) on Tuesday against Vin Mazzaro (3-2, 4.74 ERA).
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012