Duffy halts Jays’ winning run
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Danny Duffy outpitched Aaron Sanchez, stopping a 10-game winning streak by the Toronto ace and leading the Kansas City Royals over the Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday.
Sanchez (11-2) hadn’t lost since April 22 against Oakland. He allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings.
Duffy (8-1), who struck out a teamrecord 16 and permitted just one hit over eight innings at Tampa Bay in his previous start, won his seventh straight decision. He held the Blue Jays to two runs and five hits over 62⁄3 innings.
Kelvin Herrera picked up his fourth save in six chances, working a perfect ninth.
Devon Travis led off the game with a home run for the second straight night. He also had an RBI single in the fifth after Kevin Pillar doubled.
Eric Hosmer hit a two-out, two-run single in a three-run fifth that made it 3-2.
Sanchez still leads the AL with a 2.85 ERA. The Blue Jays opted last week to go with a six-man rotation instead of putting the 24-year-old Sanchez in the bullpen to limit his innings.
The All-Star righty pitched only 102 innings last year, including 9 2-3 in the minors on a rehab assignment after a shoulder injury. He has thrown 1451⁄3 innings this season.
Alcides Escobar’s infield single scored Kansas City’s first run.
Raul Mondesi had an RBI triple in the sixth for his first extra-base hit in his 11th game in the majors.
The Royals scored more than three runs in a game for the first time in 10 games. ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Chris Archer had one of those days that have been rare for him this season — almost everything went his way.
Evan Longoria, Bobby Wilson and Logan Forsythe all homered to back Archer’s six strong innings as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 on Saturday.
Archer (6-15) won for the third time in his last 15 starts, giving up one run and three hits and striking out seven to regain the American League lead in strikeouts with 168.
“I feel lately I’ve been pretty efficient, even when I’m not getting a lot of strikeouts,” Archer said. “Tonight, the sixth inning got away from me a little bit, but I’m not even worried about it. Six was all the team needed tonight.”