Jays win opener of doubleheader
Bats are booming in 11-3 shellacking of Kansas City
TORONTO — Randal Grichuk belted a three-run homer to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a convincing 11-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday afternoon in the first game of a rare American League baseball doubleheader at home.
Grichuk anchored a six-run sixth inning by taking Blaine Boyer’s 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for his second homer of the season.
Four batters later, Yangervis Solarte drove in Devon Travis with a sacrifice fly before Kevin Pillar’s two-run single put Toronto ahead 11-3.
Jamie Garcia (2-0) earned the win, allowing three earned runs on eight hits over five innings, while fanning five and walking one.
Toronto (10-5), playing for the first time since Friday after having three straight games postponed, had won two straight five of its last six games. Kansas City (3-11) had dropped six consecutive contests.
Toronto took a 2-0 lead on Solarte’s two-run homer off Royals starter Eric Skoglund in the first. Paulo Orlando brought Kansas City’s first run home when his groundout into a double-play scored Lucas Duda.
But the Royals went ahead 3-2 in the third following consecutive solo homers from Mike Moustakas and Duda. Toronto countered with three in the fifth on RBI singles from Steve Pearce, Justin Smoak and Solarte, who finished 2-for-3 with four runs-batted in.
Skoglund (1-1) took the loss. He went five innings and allowed five earned runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking one.
Seunghwan Oh, Aaron Loup and John Axford combined to pitch four scoreless innings of relief for Toronto.
NOTES: Toronto recalled righthander Joe Biagini from Triple-A Buffalo to start the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. … Tuesday was just the third doubleheader in Rogers Centre history. The Blue Jays also played two on July 17, 1989, and Oct. 5, 2001.