Game Summary
On Wednesday night at Rogers Centre, Nathan Lukes drove in three runs with a home run, and seven Toronto pitchers combined to limit Kansas City to six hits in a 3-0 shutout. The win ended the Royals' nine-game winning streak, which had been their longest since a 10-game run in June 2014.[S1][S2]
Chad Dallas picked up the victory, fanning four batters across 2 2/3 hitless frames, while Louis Varland secured the last four outs to notch his 30th save in 31 opportunities. Toronto's ninth shutout of the season helped them recover from back-to-back losses for the first time in a month.[S1][S2]
Key Moments
The Blue Jays broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when George Springer and Jesus Sanchez singled, and after Kazuma Okamoto hit into a fielder's choice, Lukes homered off starter Randy Dobnak. It was Lukes' ninth home run of the season and Toronto's first since his go-ahead blast against the Yankees the previous Saturday.[S1][S2]
In the eighth, Kansas City put runners at the corners, but Varland induced a first-pitch out. In the ninth, Nick Loftin doubled and John Rave singled, but Varland struck out Isaac Collins to seal the win. Dallas also worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third by striking out Salvador Perez.[S1][S2]
Context and Next Up
Toronto improved to 65-69, winning 17 of their last 28 games to stay three games behind Cleveland in the wild-card race. The Royals fell to 59-75, having won their last four series against Toronto, with a three-game set scheduled next week at Kauffman Stadium.[S2]
The teams play the rubber game Thursday, with Spencer Arrighetti (7-6, 4.73 ERA) starting for Toronto against Noah Cameron (8-8, 4.02) for Kansas City. Royals infielder Michael Massey did not play after leaving Tuesday's game following a fall.[S1][S2]
