Baseball Roundup: Royals Shock White Sox

Kansas City, Mo. — Brett Eibner capped Kansas City’s seven-run ninth inning with a game-ending RBI single, lifting the Royals to a stunning 8-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Jarrod Dyson was walked intentionally before Eibner drove a full-count pitch from Tommy Kahnle (0-1) off first baseman Jose Abreu and into right field. Drew Butera, who replaced Salvador Perez after the All-Star catcher got hurt in a collision, scampered home as Eibner was mobbed by his jubilant teammates near first.

Chien-Ming Wang (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. White Sox closer David Robertson began the ninth inning, but was pulled with two outs and charged with six runs and four hits.

Perez was injured in the ninth when third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert slid with a forearm and elbow into the left thigh of the All-Star catcher, who called off Wang, settled under Adam Eaton’s foul popup about 30 feet from the plate near the third-base line and snagged the ball just before he was hit.

Dodgers 9, Mets 1

New York— Chase Utley hit a grand slam and a solo homer after Noah Syndergaard threw a 99 mph fastball behind his back, and Los Angeles went deep a season-high five times in routing New York .

In a scene that seemed inevitable since October, Syndergaard was immediately ejected following the third-inning pitch — almost certainly his shot at retaliation against Utley for the late takeout slide that broke the right leg of then-Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada in last year’s playoffs.

Plate umpire Adam Hamari tossed Syndergaard, sending Mets manager Terry Collins into a rage, but no trouble ensued between the teams. A longtime New York nemesis, Utley raised one hand slightly in the direction of the Dodgers’ bench to keep teammates calm — and later answered by doing all sorts of damage with his bat.

Rangers 5, Pirates 2

Arlington, Texas — Yu Darvish struck out seven in five strong innings in his first start in the majors in almost 22 months, and Texas beat Pittsburgh.

The Japanese right-hander allowed three singles with a walk in his return from last year’s Tommy John surgery, ending Pittsburgh’s five-game winning streak.

Cardinals 9, Nationals 4

Washington — Adam Wainwright pitched seven gritty innings and made an ample contribution at the plate, hitting a two-run double to help St. Louis defeat Washington.

Matt Holliday homered for the Cardinals, who took control with a four-run second inning highlighted by Wainwright’s fifth extra-base hit of the season.

Giants 10, Rockies 5

Denver — Buster Posey hit a pair of three-run homers, including a tiebreaking drive as part of a six-run eighth inning, and San Francisco rallied for the win.

The Rockies were limited to one run over six innings by Madison Bumgarner, but broke out in the seventh against five relievers for a 5-4 lead.

Rays 9, Yankees 5

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Evan Longoria homered and drove in four runs, powering Tampa Bay to the victory.

Longoria had a sacrifice fly during a three-run first, boosted the lead to 5-0 with a two-run homer in the second and chased Michael Pineda with an RBI single in the fourth that made it 6-1.

Pineda (2-6) allowed six runs and nine hits in 3 innings. His 6.92 ERA is the highest among 104 qualifying pitchers in the major leagues.

Reds 7, Brewers 6

Milwaukee — Joey Votto scored the go-ahead run in the ninth after an inning-ending double play was overturned, and Cincinnati snapped its 11-game losing streak.

Cubs 4, Phillies 1

Chicago — Former Dartmouth College pitcher Kyle Hendricks pitched a five-hitter for his second career complete game, leading the Cubs to their fourth straight win.

Hendricks (3-4) struck out seven and walked none. He was in line for his second career shutout before giving up a run in the ninth.

Athletics 12, Tigers 3

Oakland, Calif. — Billy Butler, Khris Davis and Danny Valencia homered, and Oakland stopped a three-game losing streak.

Indians 11, Orioles 4

Cleveland — Yan Gomes drove in three runs and Danny Salazar allowed two runs in six innings, leading the Indians to the victory.

Braves 7, Marlins 2

Atlanta — Gordon Beckham hit a three-run homer, Nick Markakis drove in two runs and Atlanta secured its first home series win of the season.

The Braves improved to a still-dismal 4-20 at Turner Field by winning the first two games of the three-game set. Atlanta rallied from a 2-0 deficit for the second straight day.

Notes Mets Add First Baseman

New York — The Mets have found help at first base following Lucas Duda’s injury, acquiring veteran James Loney from the San Diego Padres for cash.

Loney has spent this season in the minors, playing well for Triple-A El Paso. He was batting .342 with two home runs and 28 RBIs over 43 games in the Pacific Coast League.

Always a fine fielder, the 32-year-old Loney hit .280 with four homers, 16 doubles and 32 RBIs in 104 games with Tampa Bay last year. The Rays released him April 3 and he signed with the Padres on April 8.