(TSX / STATS) — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jason Vargas pitched seven innings and allowed three hits to help lead the Kansas City Royals to a 6-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon.
Whit Merrifield homered and drove in two runs and Salvador Perez also knocked in two for the Royals, who took three of four from the Rays in the series and have won 15 of the last 19 meetings.
Vargas (5-1) entered the game as the major-league leader in ERA. He struck out four and walked one while lowering his ERA to 1.01. It was his fourth start of at least six scoreless innings.
Rays starter Jake Odorizzi (2-2) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked two in a 114-pitch outing.
Tampa Bay wrapped up a nine-game homestand with a 3-6 record.
Rays left fielder Corey Dickerson took a home run away from Eric Hosmer in the first inning. Hosmer hit a fly ball down the left-field line and Dickerson made a grab over the short wall.
Merrifield left no doubt with his fly ball to left off Odorizzi in the fourth with his third home run of the season.
Odorizzi has allowed home runs in 11 of his last 12 starts.
The Royals blew open the game in the eighth with five runs on four hits for a 6-0 lead. Perez started the scoring with a two-run double off Diego Moreno for a 3-0 lead and Jorge Bonifacio immediately followed with a double scoring Perez.
Merrifield lined a single up the middle to score Bonifacio and came home to score on the play when the ball rolled past center fielder Kevin Kiermaier. It was the third error in the series for the two-time defending Gold Glove Award winner, who allowed three ground balls to roll by him.
Conversely, Kansas City veteran Alex Gordon looked like a natural in his first career start in center field. The four-time Gold Glove Award winner in left field started in center for Lorenzo Cain, who was given the day off, and made a diving catch to his left taking a hit away from Tim Beckham in the sixth.
Gordon also made an impressive catch in center as a defensive replacement in Wednesday’s game.
Tampa Bay’s Peter Bourjos and Logan Morrison each hit two-out doubles in the third and fourth innings, but were left stranded on fly outs.
NOTES: Royals C Salvador Perez went 8-for-14 in the series and is a career .308 (28-for-91) hitter at Tropicana Field, where he made his major-league debut on Aug. 10, 2011. … Rays OF Steven Souza Jr. (right thumb contusion) missed his third consecutive game and is considered day-to-day. … Royals LHP Jason Vargas has a career record of 72-71 and is over .500 for the first time since 2005 when he was 5-4. … Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier already has four errors after making two all of last season. … Royals RHP Al Alburquerque made his season debut by pitching the ninth.
Photo credit – Steve Nesius / Associated Press / St. Petersburg, FL
