KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Salvador Perez tapped his bat twice on the plate to make sure it wasn’t cracked, then sent the next pitch he saw from Toronto reliever T.J. Zeuch into the left-field fountains, breaking open a scoreless game and sending the Kansas City Royals to a 2-0 victory over the Blue Jays on Sunday.
Brady Singer kept the Blue Jays off the board through six innings. Kyle Zimmer (1-0) and Josh Staumont worked a perfect inning, and Greg Holland finished off the two-hitter for his second season save.
Kansas City has won a major league-leading 55 consecutive games when ahead after seven innings.
In the seventh inning, Perez’s two-run shot off Zeuch (0-2) came one day after his two-out, walk-off homer gave the Royals a 3-2 win and split their doubleheader. That homer soared an estimated 459 feet, the one Sunday a mere 441. Kansas City also won the opener Thursday night to take a series from Toronto for the first time since September 2017.
Sunday’s game was scoreless through six, but it wasn’t so much a pitcher’s duel as an exercise in offensive ineptitude. The Royals used a pair of walks each of the first two innings to load the bases against Robbie Ray, but he left them that way each time. They worked two more hikes in the third, stranded those runners, and left runners standing on second base each of the next two innings to run their total to 10 through five.
A singer must be wondering whether his teammates like him.
The Royals did not score a single run with him on the mound in his first two starts, and they failed to gain despite a solid job against the Blue Jays. Singer allowed just two hits and walked three while striking out six. At least he rendered the Blue Jays equally ineffective with runners on base. They left two aboard in the second, runners on the corners in the third, and two more in the fourth, keeping the game scoreless even with busy base paths.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pitching coach Pete Walker said that Blue Jays RHP Jordan Romano (elbow) threw a side session and could return when his 10-day IL stint is up until April 24. RHP Tyler Chatwood (triceps) threw a bullpen session and will throw live batting practice Tuesday, and RHP Nate Pearson (groin) also will throw live BP early in the week.
COVID CONCERNS
Blue Jays OF Teoscar Hernandez, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, is no longer experiencing symptoms and could return on April 23 against Tampa Bay. Toronto general manager Ross Atkins told MLB Network he’s “ready for baseball,” and the club is ensuring “he’s safe to enter our environment.”
UP NEXT
Blue Jays RHP Hyun Jin Ryu (1-1, 1.89) will make his fourth season when Toronto plays the first of two games in Boston on Tuesday night. Royals LHP Danny Duffy (2-0, 0.75) will start a three-game set against Tampa Bay on Monday night needing six strikeouts to reach 1,000 and pass Tom Gordon for sixth-most in club history.
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