Voit lifts Yankees to win over Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Luke Voit had a two-run single in the first inning and the New York Yankees beat Kansas City 5-2 on Wednesday for their 12th straight series victory over the Royals.
Chad Green (6-5) got the victory in relief as New York took two of three from Kansas City. Zach Britton earned his first save of the season.
The game-time temperature was 93 degrees with a heat index of 102, the third straight game with a heat index above 100.
Brady Singer (3-8) took the loss. He allowed five runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Yankees starter Lucas Luetge made his first career start after making 152 career appearances as a reliever. He allowed one run on two hits in two innings. According to Elias, Luetge was just the sixth pitcher in franchise history to start a game after making his first 152 appearances out of the bullpen.
Voit's two-run single capped a three-run first inning. Singer walked D.J. LeMahieu leading off. With one out, Aaron Judge singled and Joey Gallo walked. After Voit singled in LeMahieu and Judge, Rougned Odor singled in Gallo.
The Royals answered with one in the bottom of the first. Whit Merrifield led off with a single, then had his major league-leading 33rd stolen base. He went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Salvador Perez.
Merrifield tied the Royals' record with his 33rd consecutive steal (Carlos Beltran, 19992001). Merrifield was caught stealing on his first attempt this season and hadn't been caught since. The streak was snapped in the seventh when he over-slid second.
The Yankees extended the lead in the fourth.
Tyler Wade led off with a double and stole third. He scored on a single by LeMahieu, who scored on a single by Judge, the final batter to face Singer.
The Royals scored their second run in the fifth. Cam Gallagher led off with a double and went to third on a flyout. He scored on slow roller to short by Nicky Lopez.
TWINS 1, WHITE SOX 0 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rookie Bailey Ober shut out the White Sox into the sixth inning, Jorge Polanco homered and the last-place Twins took another series from a playoff contender, beating Chicago.
Minnesota took two of three from AL Centralleading Chicago after winning three of four at Houston, which leads the AL West.
Caleb Thielbar (4-0), Juan Minaya and Alex Colomé worked 3 2/3 hitless innings in relief of Ober, with Colomé getting the last three outs for his seventh save in 11 chances.
José Ruiz (1-2) allowed Polanco's homer in the sixth, his lone inning of relief. Reynaldo López threw three scoreless innings as an opener after the White Sox placed left-hander Carlos Rodón on the 10-day injured list before the game and altered their rotation.
Chicago started the day with a 10 1/2-game lead in the Central built largely from their results against Minnesota and the rest of the division. The White Sox went 13-6 against the Twins this season and are 37-25 in divisional play.
After losing the series opener 11-1 the Twins bounced back with a pair of strong starts from rookies. Griffin Jax struck out 10 batters on Tuesday. Starting against Chicago for the fifth time in 13 starts this season, Ober allowed six hits and one walk with six strikeouts.