KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer, Eric Hosmer also went deep and the Kansas City Royals cruised to an 8-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday night.
Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Nori Aoki drove in a run apiece as the Royals bounced back from an offensively inept performance in a 4-2 series-opening loss Friday night.
Aaron Crow (3-1) retired one batter in the sixth in relief of starter Danny Duffy, and breezed through the seventh to earn the victory. Kelvin Herrera and Michael Mariot finished it off.
David Phelps (1-4) allowed seven runs on 10 hits and two walks in 5 2-3 innings.
Yangervis Solarte drove in a pair of runs for New York, and Carlos Beltran — who’s been bothered by an ailing elbow — got an RBI with his first hit since coming off the disabled list Thursday. Brian Roberts drove in a run off Mariot in the ninth inning.
The Royals struck first when Billy Butler and Gordon led off the second inning with back-to-back doubles. Perez added a single and Cain had an RBI single to make it 2-0, and Escobar got the fifth hit off Phelps in the inning for a three-run lead.
It took the Yankees until the sixth to answer.
Derek Jeter started the rally with a single and Mark Teixeira kept it going with a two-out walk. Beltran followed with an RBI double against his former team, and Solarte tied the game 3-all when his sinking liner to center field dropped just beyond Cain’s outstretched glove.
Duffy, who appeared bothered by lengthy waits for television breaks between innings, was eventually removed after allowing three runs on five hits and three walks in 5 2-3 innings.
The Royals made sure to pick him up.
Butler and Gordon worked walks to start the bottom half of the sixth, earning Phelps a visit from Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild. It didn’t do any good. Two pitches later, Perez sent a no-doubt homer into the bullpen in left field to restore the Royals’ three-run lead.
Cain tripled later in the inning, and Aoki’s RBI single knocked Phelps from the game.
It was another poor outing by the Yankees right-hander, who moved from the bullpen into the rotation last month. Phelps has lost four straight decisions, allowing 16 runs in the last three.
Hosmer’s homer leading off the seventh was his first since May 5, a span of 130 at-bats.