 was removed after 97 pitches and five innings, allowing three runs, six hits and three walks while striking out three. Reid-Foley is only the second player in major league history to be born in Guam. He was 12-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 23 minor league starts this season.O'Hearn, a rookie who entered hitting .130 with three RBIs, hit an opposite-field homer on Reid-Foley's first pitch with Brett Phillips aboard with two outs in the second.O'Hearn walked with the bases loaded in the fourth to bring home Lucas Duda, who led off the inning with a single.Brad Keller (5-5) yielded one run and four hits to pick up his third victory in his past four decisions.Wily Peralta worked around Justin Smoak's walk leading off the ninth for his seventh save.Devon Travis homered in the first for Toronto. It was his fourth home run in 26 at-bats at Kauffman Stadium.Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen singled to left in the second in his first big league at-bat, but Alex Gordon threw out Russell Martin trying to score from second to end the inning. Gordon picked up his ninth assist and leads the majors with 91 outfield assists since 2010 when he was moved from third base to left field.Whit Merrifield had three of Kansas City's seven hits. The Royals got their second victory in 11 games.The Blue Jays dropped 31 games behind AL East leader Boston, the furthest they have been out of first since ending 2004 33 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees.RARE DUO DEBUTINGReid-Foley and Jansen became the first batterymates to make their major league debuts at the same time in the American League since LHP Billy Rohr and C Russ Gibson on April 14, 1967 for Boston at Yankee Stadium. It has occurred five times in the past 25 years in the National League.ROYALS DEFENSE SHINESThe Royals played their 13th straight errorless game, extending their club record. They have not committed an error in 120 innings.''One thing we've consistently done this year is play defense,'' Royals manager Ned Yost said. ''The same tune we were playing in the championship years. I'm pleased with the way we've played defensively. It's a real struggle when you're not winning games and playing sloppy defense. At least defensively, we're giving ourselves a chance.'' Their last error was July 29 in the first inning at Yankee Stadium.TRAINER'S ROOMBlue Jays: 3B Josh Donaldson (left calf tightness) will begin running the bases this week. Manager John Gibbons is hopeful that Donaldson will play again this season. ... An MRI revealed IF Yangervis Solarte (oblique) has a Grade 2 strain. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks.Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (shoulder impingement) was placed on the disabled list. RHP Glenn Sparkman was recalled from Triple-A Omaha and will start on Thursday in Duffy's place.UP NEXTBlue Jays: LHP Ryan Borucki is 2-2 with 2.81 ERA in his first eight starts.Royals: RHP Heath Fillmyer pitched seven scoreless innings against the Cubs to win his previous start.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
StubHubStubHubBlue Jays, Royals open 4-game series 4h ago• 3 min read KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Brad Keller is not exactly jumping from kindergarten to college, but he is making the leap from the Double-A Jackson Generals and the Southern League to the American League's Kansas City Royals.Keller went 10-9 with a 4.68 ERA in 26 starts last season with Jackson.The Royals picked Keller, who turned 23 on July 27, in the Rule Five draft last December from the Arizona Diamondbacks.Keller has turned out to be a diamond in the rough for the struggling Royals, who view him as a solid rotation piece for the future when the club could be a contender again.He'll start on Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a four-game series at Kaufman Stadium. This will be Keller's 13th start after beginning the year in the bullpen."You still got to go out and compete," Keller said. "You still want to win. It's a bigtime learning curve. Every game something new pops up. Every pitch you've got to learn from and every start you've got to keep going on top of." Keller is 3-4 with a 4.09 ERA in a dozen starts. His 3.57 ERA ranks tops among American League rookie pitchers with a minimum of 80 innings.The most surprising thing Keller said of facing big league hitters is how quickly they adjust."Even throughout the game, they change their approach," Keller said. "They know what you did the first two ABs. They're trying to jump on that same pitch that you got them out on the first two ABs or vice-versa. Here they make adjustments and it's kind of surprising on how quick they do to me. That's something I learned early on and I'm getting better at now." Keller said pitching coach Cal Eldred and catchers Salvador Perez and Drew Butera are tutoring him how to adjust back."Just noticing when they start changing their approach, that's when we start attacking their other weaknesses," Keller said.Keller faced the Blue Jays twice in April in Toronto while he was still in the bullpen."I came in the first time with the bases loaded and no outs and I ended up giving a double, got an out and then ended up giving up another run," Keller said. "And then the next night, I gave up a double and then got out of the inning."It was kind of a rough little series against them coming out of the bullpen, so I'm looking to rebound on this one." The Royals assured themselves of a losing record with an 8-2 defeat Sunday to the St. Louis Cardinals. That dropped them to 35-82."It's still a dream come true, honestly," Keller said to be in the majors. "Every day I come to the ballpark, I can't believe I'm here. I just come in with a smile and a good attitude and try to go out and help the team win. It's definitely happened fast. When you sit back and realize what's going on around you, it's been awesome." The Toronto Blue Jays concluded a homestand Sunday with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. They are 14-11 against AL Central clubs and 24-32 on the road.The Blue Jays will recall righty Sean Reid-Foley from Triple-A Buffalo to start Monday. This would be Reid-Foley's MLB debut. Toronto optioned RHP Danny Barnes to Buffalo to make roster space for Reid-Foley.Reid-Foley was a 2014 second-round pick out of Jacksonville, Florida Sandalwood High. He was a combined 12-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 23 starts for Double-A New Hampshire and Buffalo. He went 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA in eight starts in the Eastern League. He was 7-4 with a 3.50 ERA in 15 starts in the International League.The Royals have lost eight of nine and have been swept 11 times in three-game series after losing all three to the Cardinals over the weekend.They are 16-42 at home, their most losses since 2012 when they lost 44. They are on pace to lose a franchise-record 59 home games.
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Toronto Blue Jays
Kansas City Royals
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (8/13/2018)
BettingLeverage
