 picked up his first win in eight starts with the Orioles since being claimed on waivers from Oakland on July 6. He allowed one run and seven hits with four strikeouts over five innings. It was also his first win since April 11.The last team Brooks beat? The Orioles.''For me coming over to a new organization, I wanted to show positive movement forward and competitiveness,'' Brooks said. ''I feel like I'm finally moving towards that part of my game again. It feels good.'' Villar put the Orioles ahead 2-0 in the second with his homer off Mike Montgomery (3-6), whose streak of 14 consecutive scoreless innings was snapped. Stevie Wilkerson later hit an RBI double. He finished with a career-high three hits.''Credit them,'' Montgomery said. ''They had a good game plan, they did a good job of making me work, chasing pitches that I wanted them to chase. I wasn't executing pitches as well as I have the last few weeks, but that happens. They did a good job, just trying to battle.'' Santander and Nunez, who hit his 28th homer, made it 5-1 in the fifth, and Alberto increased the margin in the sixth.''It feels good when you're on the winning side,'' Alberto said.The Royals fell to 1-11 in rubber games this year.QUIET BATSThe Royals have scored one or zero runs in 25 games this season, third most in the majors.TRAINER'S ROOMRoyals: SS Adalberto Mondesi (shoulder) was fine after a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Omaha. Mondesi, who served as DH, was scheduled to play 3-to-5 innings in the field on Wednesday. ... Manager Ned Yost hasn't decided whether LHP Danny Duffy (left hamstring strain) will return to the rotation this weekend. Duffy threw 65 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday. ''We could either have him do a live rehab or put him back in the rotation,'' Yost said.Orioles: OF Dwight Smith Jr. (left calf strain) started in left field at Triple-A Norfolk on a rehab assignment Wednesday after serving as the DH the prior two games.UP NEXTRoyals: Resume a suspended game Thursday in Boston with a 2-1 count on catcher Meibrys Viloria in the top of the 10th inning. The teams were tied 4-4 before the game on Aug. 7 was interrupted by rain. Zach Plesac (6-4, 3.53 ERA) starts the opener Friday in Cleveland against Jakob Junis (8-11, 4.78).Orioles: RHP Asher Wojciechowski (2-6, 4.78) has lost his last three decisions and will match up against Tampa Bay LHP Ryan Yarbrough (11-3, 3.34) on Thursday.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Struggling Royals, Orioles hope to end series on high noteFLMCelebrations have been few and far between for both the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals this season.The struggling teams will look to secure a series victory at the other's expense on Wednesday in the rubber match of their three-game set in Baltimore.Hanser Alberto belted a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning as the Orioles snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Royals on Tuesday."It's been tough. It's not a secret, so we go out there and want to win the game, but at the end of the night, we got the same result," Alberto said."Hopefully, things changed from (Tuesday), and (Wednesday) we can win the game and win the series and continue putting some Ws on the board." Rookie right-hander Hunter Harvey, who recorded his first career win, was elated upon seeing Alberto's ball leave the park."It was awesome," the 24-year-old Harvey said of Alberto's homer. "When Hanser hit that home run I kind of got little chill bumps and a little wave went over me for a second because it didn't even feel real." Alberto carries a nine-game hitting streak into the series finale for Baltimore, which has won just twice in its last 15 games.The 26-year-old Alberto will test his mettle against left-hander Mike Montgomery (3-5, 4.63 ERA), who will look to record his third straight win when he takes the nod on Wednesday.Montgomery followed up scattering four hits with 12 strikeouts over seven innings in a 7-0 romp at Detroit on Aug. 10 by permitting one unearned run in six frames of a 4-1 victory versus the New York Mets.Jonathan Villar is just 2-for-12 against the 30-year-old Montgomery, who has yet to record a decision to go along with a 4.91 ERA in three career appearances (one start) versus Baltimore.Kansas City manager Ned Yost had no qualms with his starting pitcher, Brad Keller, on Tuesday, although he called into question the collective performance of the bullpen."Other guys are going to have to pick up the slack," Yost said. "Other guys are going to have to come in and get a job one. We're giving everybody plenty of opportunity." Kansas City will vie for its first series win since a two-game sweep in Atlanta on July 23-24 when it faces right-hander Aaron Brooks (2-7, 6.49).Brooks will bid for his first win with the Orioles since being acquired from Oakland prior to the trade deadline.The 29-year-old Brooks fell to 0-4 with a 9.22 ERA in seven starts with Baltimore after allowing five runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 9-1 setback at Boston on Friday.Brooks, who made four appearances with Kansas City in 2014-15, will make his first career start against the Royals.Alex Gordon has three hits in the series after going 4-for-55 in his previous 14 games.Whit Merrifield has hit safely in three consecutive contests and 12 of his last 14 games.--Field Level Media
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