Hammel helps Kansas City beat Red Sox

ROYALS 4, RED SOX 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whit Merrifield drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer and the Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Monday night for their eighth win in nine games.

Jason Hammel (4-6) pitched seven sharp innings before turning it over to Mike Minor, who loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth. No. 9 hitter Christian Vazquez proceeded to send a slow bounder toward third base that Cheslor Cuthbert fielded cleanly and fired to first to end the threat.

Kelvin Herrera worked around Andrew Benintendi's triple in the ninth for his 16th save.

Red Sox reliever Blaine Boyer (01), who wriggled out of a jam in the sixth, gave up Merrifield's bouncing RBI single in the seventh. Boyer was lifted after Lorenzo Cain added an insurance run with a single, the second straight night Boston's stingy bullpen has allowed a pair of runs.

Red Sox relievers had thrown 26 straight scoreless innings before the slump.

Hammel scattered seven hits without a walk, stranding seven along the way, and the only damage against him came in the fourth inning. That's when he gave up a leadoff single to Hanley Ramirez, and hot-hitting Jackie Bradley Jr. sent a 1-0 pitch over the bullpen in right field for a two-run homer that tied the game.

It was the third straight start in which Hammel pitched into the seventh.

Boston right- hander Hector Velazquez was nearly as good as Hammel in his second career start, carefully navigating a bunch of baserunners during the first two innings. Hosmer finally dinged him in the third with an estimated 446-foot shot to center, a line drive that cleared the seats and landed in the fountains.

BLUE JAYS 7, TEXAS 6 Kendrys Morales hit a go-ahead single after a tying single by Josh Donaldson in the ninth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers 7-6 on Monday night in a matchup of AL Division Series opponents the past two seasons. The Blue Jays won despite blowing a 5-1 lead in their first visit to Texas since last postseason, when they won the first two games in a best-of-five sweep that was their second straight ALDS victory over the two-time defending AL West champs.