 his third save opportunity of the season.Billy Hamilton led off with a single, Whit Merrifield walked and both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt before Alex Gordon tied it with a sacrifice fly. The blown save was Hudson's second.Giles rejoined the Blue Jays on June 19 after missing 10 games because of a sore elbow. He has yet to pitch on consecutive days since his return.Randal Grichuk drew a leadoff walk against right-hander Scott Barlow (2-3) in the bottom half. One out later, Jansen lined a two-run homer to left field, his fourth.Stroman left two pitches into the fifth with what the team called a left shoulder pectoral cramp.Guerrero homered in the third and fellow rookie Biggio hit a go-ahead slam in the fifth for his sixth home run. Guerrero's homer, his eighth, was his first since June 5, snapping an 18-game drought.Both drives came off right-hander Homer Bailey, who was making his first career start against the Blue Jays.A 12-year National League veteran, Bailey faced both Craig Biggio and Vladimir Guerrero Sr. earlier in his career, allowing just one hit in six at-bats to the two Hall of Famers.Stopping their sons proved more difficult.Bailey came in having won three straight starts but couldn't extend his streak. He allowed five runs and five hits in five innings.Stroman motioned to the dugout after missing high to Whit Merrifield in the fifth. Toronto trainer Nicky Huffman and manager Charlie Montoyo came to the mound and, following a brief discussion, Stroman walked off and went straight to the clubhouse.He allowed three runs and four hits in four-plus innings. The right-hander was replaced by Sam Gaviglio.Stroman is 5-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 18 starts and is expected to be traded to a contender before the July 31 deadline. He's eligible for arbitration for the final time next year and can become a free agent following the 2020 season.Merrifield doubled on Stroman's first pitch and scored when the pitcher made an errant throw to first on Nicky Lopez's bunt single. Lopez later scored on a two-out single by Lucas Duda.Guerrero's homer cut the deficit in half but Martin Maldonado made it 3-1 with a homer in the fourth, his second in two games.Hunter Dozier made it 4-1 with an RBI double off Gaviglio in the fifth. Biggio connected for a two-out drive in the bottom half, giving Toronto the lead.Toronto's Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had his second straight multihomer game in Friday's 6-2 win but was unable to prolong his power surge another day. Gurriel went 1 for 3 with a single and a walk.TRAINER'S ROOMBlue Jays: 2B Devon Travis (left knee surgery) has resumed light baseball activity. ... RHP Clay Buchholz (right elbow) has been throwing at 90 feet and will progress to long toss. ... OF Dalton Pompey (concussion) could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP Brad Keller (3-9, 4.32 ERA) is winless in his last six starts. He's 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA in four career games against Toronto.Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-10, 5.89) has lost nine straight decisions. Sanchez hasn't faced the Royals since 2016.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Struggling Jays, Royals seek better 2nd halfFLMThe Toronto Blue Jays started out the second half of their schedule in the right way if they intend to make up for a dismal first half.They defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-2 Friday night in the 82nd game of the season for each team. Both teams entered the four-game series, which continues Saturday, on a pace to lose more than 100 games each this year.The Blue Jays began a 10-game homestand that follows a 2-4 road trip. The Royals are 1-3 during their seven-game trip and are 12-29 on the road this season.Right-hander Homer Bailey (7-6, 4.61 ERA) will start Saturday for the Royals against Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman (5-9, 3.04).The Blue Jays continued to get hot hitting from left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on Friday night when he had his second straight two-homer game along with three RBIs. He has 14 home runs and 33 RBIs on the season."Awesome, he's doing great," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. "It's fun to watch. It's not easy to do what he is doing, offensively and defensively. He's on fire right now." Gurriel is batting .352 (44-for-125) with 14 homers and 26 RBIs in 32 games since being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on May 24.Gurriel was moved to left field from second base when he was in Buffalo, and he has become comfortable in the outfield.The Blue Jays also got home runs Friday from Eric Sogard and Randal Grichuk.Royals manager Ned Yost said that giving up long balls is not the norm for his team."We've been burned by the home run it seems like the last couple of games," Yost said. "You would think that we're really giving them up, but we're not. We're the fourth-lowest club in the American League for giving them up. It just seems like there have been a few lately that have hurt us." The Blue Jays regained a starting player Friday when first baseman Justin Smoak (left quadriceps strain) was activated from the injured list and outfielder Billy McKinney was optioned to Buffalo. Smoak was 1-for-3 with a walk and played some stellar defense.The Royals are getting closer to having shortstop Adalberto Mondesi return from a groin strain. He is scheduled to begin a rehabilitation assignment with Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Saturday. He has not played since June 18. There is no timeframe for his return."When he's ready, he's ready," Yost said.Bailey will be going for his fourth straight win Saturday. He allowed one run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings to earn the win when the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Sunday. Eddie Rosario's solo homer in the fourth inning ended Bailey's 16 2/3 innings scoreless streak -- the longest such streak by a Royals pitcher since 2015.Over his three-game winning streak, he has allowed just one run in 19 innings, leading the majors since June 13 with a 0.47 ERA. Bailey has never pitched against Toronto.Stroman continues to be the subject of trade rumors, although the Blue Jays' rotation is bare even with him.On Saturday, he will face the Royals for the first time since 2017. During his career, he is 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts against them.--Field Level Media
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