 threw six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits, to get the win against his former team.Oakland scored five runs in both the second and third, backed by Semien's big hits.Royals starter Brad Keller (7-14) lasted just 1 1/3 innings, exiting after Semien's bases-loaded triple put Oakland up 5-0. After retiring his first four hitters, Keller let six straight reach - including three consecutive walks that forced in two runs prior to Semien's triple.Brett Phillips curled his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, inside the right field foul pole in the bottom of the inning.Semien punctuated the five-run third with a two-out, three-run homer. And the A's kept right on scoring. Matt Olson ripped a two-run double in the fifth and Profar added a solo shot in the sixth to make it 15-3. Oakland scored in every inning except the first.Royals outfielder Alex Gordon made his first career appearance on the mound, throwing 1 1/3 innings giving up three runs on five hits. Gordon walked off to a standing ovation from Royals fans.Kansas City infielder Humberto Arteaga pitched the final 1 2/3 innings and allowed just a solo home run to Davis in the ninth.Bubba Starling had three hits for the Royals.CANHA EARNS AL HONOROakland outfielder Mark Canha hit .474 (9 for 19) with four home runs and seven RBIs in five games last week en route to being selected the American League player of the week. Canha has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball in August, batting .370 with five homers and 15 RBIs.HOME PLATE UMP LEAVES EARLYPlate umpire Chris Guccione left the game with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. He was hit in the mask by a foul ball earlier. First base ump Mike Everitt took over behind home plate.ROSTER MOVEThe Athletics placed OF Stephen Piscotty on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right ankle and called up Brown from Triple-A Las Vegas. Brown made his major league debut, starting in left field.The 27-year-old Brown was second in the minor leagues this season with 37 home runs and 104 RBIs.To make room on the 40-man roster, Oakland designated OF Nick Martini for assignment.TRAINER'S ROOMRoyals: Manager Ned Yost said LHP Danny Duffy will likely start on Saturday. Duffy has been on the injured list since Aug. 6 with a left hamstring strain. He threw five innings Sunday for Double-A Northwest Arkansas, allowing one run and four hits. ... Yost also said he expects SS Adalberto Mondesi to rejoin the team on Sept. 1, when the rosters expand. Mondesi hasn't played since July 16 because of a shoulder injury.UP NEXTThe teams play the second game of their four-game series Tuesday night. Mike Montgomery (3-6) pitches for Kansas City against Mike Fiers (12-3).---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
A's Bailey set for first game against RoyalsFLMWhen Oakland's Homer Bailey steps to the mound at Kauffman Stadium in the bottom of the first Monday to face the Kansas City Royals, he will be able to cross off one more team on an impressive list.The Royals will be the 29th MLB team that Bailey has faced in his 13-year career, leaving only the Cincinnati Reds, where Bailey spent the first 12 years of his career, on the list of teams he has yet to face.Bailey (11-8, 5.06 ERA) was part of the Royals' rotation for the first part of 2019, signing as a free agent in February. He was 7-6 with a 4.80 ERA in 18 starts for the Royals before being traded to the A's for minor league infielder Kevin Merrell. Since the trade, he's 4-2 with a 5.68 ERA in seven starts.In 21 interleague starts with the Reds, Bailey never faced the Royals.In his last outing Tuesday, in the first game of the A's three-game sweep over the New York Yankees, Bailey got the count to 0-2 against 18 of the 24 batters he faced. He allowed only one run -- a solo home run to Gary Sanchez -- on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings."I feel like this is a club that believes they can play with anybody," Bailey said following that game. "And we're showing it." Bailey went from a team vying for the top pick in next year's draft to a club that's in the thick of the playoff race. The A's are a half-game out of the second AL wild-card spot following Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Giants.Monday's game is the first of a four-game series, the first time the A's and Royals will face each other in 2019. They'll have another series in Oakland Sept. 16-18.The Royals come into the series after a wild 9-8 victory on Sunday in Cleveland. They led 8-3 going to the bottom of the eighth, gave up a run in the eighth and four in the ninth, then won it in the 10th on Ryan O'Hearn's second home run of the day. That snapped a strange four-game losing streak that included a fifth somber clubhouse after an abbreviated losing result on Thursday.The loss in the middle of the just-completed road trip, a 5-4 setback in Boston, was a continuation of a game suspended by rain in the 10th inning on Aug. 7. The loss was considered a part of the Aug. 2-11 road trip.Brad Keller (8-13, 3.95) will get the start for the Royals on Monday. He's tied for second in the American League with Baltimore's Dylan Bundy in losses, one behind Aaron Sanchez of the Astros, but he has pitched well. Keller has lost his last four decisions, and the Royals have lost his last five starts, but he has a 3.94 ERA over that span (14 earned runs in 32 innings).Manager Ned Yost said the Royals will be limiting Keller's pitches and innings through the remainder of the season, adding he will not exceed 100 pitches again this year. Keller is at 164 innings already this season. His previous professional high had been 142 innings in the minors in 2015.Keller is fine with that approach."Obviously going into the season, the goal was 200 innings," he said. "That's potentially still a goal, but I don't know if they'll let me. Health is a big thing. You want to get through the season healthy." Keller will be making his second start against the A's in his career. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits in a no-decision in June of 2018.--Field Level Media
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