Royals power past Blue Jays

Jose Berrios made just one mistake in an otherwise impressive outing as he continues to dominate on the mound to start the season.

Michael Massey’s two-run homer gave Kansas City a lead it never relinquished as the Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Tuesday. After Massey’s blast Berrios settled down, facing just 17 more batters.

“I’ve been feeling healthy, strong, mentally, really stronger and more mature,” said Berrios. “I want to keep building on top of this by knowing myself, feeling where I’m at, and trying to recover myself the best way I can to be ready every five days.”

Berrios (4-2) gave up five hits and a walk, striking out three over seven innings. Despite giving up the two runs, his earnedrun average is still at 1.44, third best among starting pitchers in Major League Baseball.

It’s also the third-lowest ERA in franchise history after seven starts, behind only Jeff Musselman (1.43 ERA, 1988) and Dave Stieb (1.26 ERA, 1983).

“He’s been like that for his whole career,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I think right now just with where he is with his confidence in his stuff, I think that’s what we can expect from Jose.”

Erik Swanson, Genesis Cabrera and Zach Pop of Brampton, Ont., came out of the Blue Jays bullpen, with Swanson giving up two runs.

Bobby Witt Jr., and Vinnie Pasquantino had back-to-back RBI doubles in the eighth inning to give Kansas City (18-13) some insurance.

Cole Ragans (2-2) struck out nine, allowing a run on four hits and three walks over

6 2/3 innings.