AROUND THE HORN
Royals:
Kris Bubic carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and the Royals beat the Cubs 4-2 on Saturday. Whit Merrifield had three hits and stole home as part of a double steal, helping the Royals win for the fifth time in six games. Nicky Lopez also had three hits and drove in a run, and Andrew Benintendi finished with two hits. Bubic (4-6) was working on a no-hitter when the game was delayed in the middle of the seventh because of an approaching storm. The heavy rain never materialized, and Bubic returned after a 34-minute delay. Frank Schwindel then led off with his second walk and Patrick Wisdom followed with a drive into the bleachers in left for his 20th homer. Bubic retired Matt Duffy before Domingo Tapia got the last two outs of the seventh. Josh Staumont worked the eighth and Scott Barlow finished the one-hitter for his eighth save. Bubic, who turned 24 on Thursday, struck out nine and walked two. He was roughed up in his previous start, allowing seven runs in 1 ⅓ innings against the Cardinals. The Cubs dropped its 12th straight home game, matching the franchise record. It has lost 20 of 24 overall.
Blue Jays: Hyun Jin Ryu cruised through seven innings, Randal Grichuk and Marcus Semien each homered and the Blue Jays beat the Tigers 3-0 on Saturday. Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera went 0 for 3 with a walk to remain at 499 career home runs. Ryu (12-6) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out five to snap a two-start winless stretch. The left-hander didn’t allow a runner past first base until Harold Castro hit a one-out double in the fifth. “Ryu was our ace today,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “His changeup was nasty today and you could see that early on.” With his 12th win, Ryu matched the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole and Athletics’ Chris Bassitt for the AL lead. “It felt like we turned it around today,” Ryu said through a translator, referring to the change in result after the Blue Jays lost 4-1 in 10 innings Friday. Semien credited Ryu’s pitch mix for keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard. “They couldn’t really key in on anything,” Semien said. “He’s got so many weapons.”
Yankees: Gerrit Cole struck out Josh Donaldson with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning and got through the sixth throwing shutout ball, and the Yankees beat the Twins 7-1 Saturday for their seasonhigh ninth straight win. Giancarlo Stanton had a two-run double during a five-run fifth and Luke Voit remained red hot as the Yankees moved to 21-5 since dropping three of four at Boston in late July. Bronxraised Yankees infielder Andrew Velazquez hit his first career homer in the eighth inning, bringing his family in the stands to tears. The 27-year-old journeyman has stayed with his parents since being promoted from Triple-A on Aug. 9.
Angels: Mike Trout says he is still aiming to return to the Angels lineup this season despite a lengthy and frustrating recovery from a calf injury that has sidelined him since May 17. The three-time AL MVP said Saturday before a game in Cleveland that he hasn’t given any thought to shutting down for the year. “I’m just trying to get back,” he said. “Obviously, we’re running out time here, but my main focus is to get back on the field no matter when it is.” The center fielder said he thought he’d already be back after injuring his right calf running the bases in May.