Royals hand Sanchez first loss since April in K.C. . . . Giovinco hat trick sparks Reds to fourth straight win.
Royals play small ball to hand AL ERA leader first loss since April 22
KANSAS CITY— A week ago this was shaping up to be Aaron Sanchez’s final start of the season, as the organization looked to limit the prized righty’s workload to protect him from injury by shifting him into the bullpen.
But as decision day loomed and the voices of those opposed to the plan grew louder, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins opted for a compromise, announcing Thursday that Sanchez will continue to pitch as a starter as part of an unconventional six-man rotation.
So Saturday was not the 24-yearold right-hander’s starting swan song.
It was, however, the end of his months-long winning streak, as the Kansas City Royals upended the Jays 4-2.
It was Sanchez’s first loss since April 22, and the first start in which he allowed more than two earned runs since June 12. But even with his ERA climbing to 2.85, he still leads the American League.
Sanchez cruised through his first four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth as the Royals and their assembly-line offence scored three runs on five singles, including three that never left the infield.
It was only the sixth time this season Sanchez allowed more than two earned runs in a game, let alone a single inning.
The Royals added to the lead in the sixth, when they kept the inning alive with another infield single — a shorthopped grounder by Paulo Orlando that Troy Tulowitzki couldn’t cleanly field — before Raul Mondesi, son of the former Blue Jay of the same name, smacked an RBI triple to the wall in right.
Meanwhile, the Jays couldn’t mount much offence against Royals lefty Danny Duffy, who, in his first start since he set a franchise record with 16 strikeouts on Monday, held the Jays to just a pair of runs on five hits.
For the second time in as many days, Jays second baseman Devon Travis opened the scoring with a leadoff homer, becoming the first Blue Jay to accomplish the feat in back-to-back games since Jose Cruz Jr. in 2000.
Travis also drove in the Jays’ second run with a fifth-inning single that scored Kevin Pillar.
Saturday’s loss notwithstanding — and it could hardly be laid at Sanchez’s feet — the Jays’ clubhouse believes they are better with Sanchez pitching six-plus innings every six games rather than a few innings ev- ery week. Catcher Russell Martin, who had been one of the more outspoken voices calling for Sanchez to stay in the rotation, was happy the organization changed course.
“He’s earned it. He deserves it,” Martin said Friday night. “He works hard, takes care of himself and it just seems like he keeps getting better, so let the young horse go.”