Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics on Monday in Kansas City.
Yordano Ventura outpitched Sonny Gray in a matchup of talented young starters Monday, and Escobar drove in the go-ahead run as Kansas City beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 to take over the AL Central lead from Detroit with its eighth consecutive victory.
"You want to be in first place. Our goal was to get back to first place,’’ Royals manager Ned Yost said. ‘’Now our goal is to stay in first place.’’
The Royals trailed the Tigers by eight games on July 21, but their 16th win in 19 games wiped away the deficit and gave them the lead at the latest point in a season since 2003.
"We’re playing great,’’ said Alcides Escobar, who drove in a run in the second inning before his two-out single off Gray (12-6) in the seventh gave Kansas City the lead for good.
Ventura lasted through sixth innings before giving way to Kelvin Herrera (3-2), who tossed a spotless seventh. Wade Davis breezed through the eighth and Greg Holland worked the ninth for his 35th save, though it didn’t come without a little drama.
Josh Donaldson led off the ninth with a single, the first hit by the Athletics since the second inning, and Brandon Moss drew a walk. But after a brief conference on the mound, Holland got Derek Norris to bounce into a double play and Stephen Vogt to fly out to end the game.
"He has the ability to focus pitch to pitch, which good closers can do,’’ Yost said. ‘’You get first and second with his stuff, you just have a feeling he’s going to get out of it.’’
Elsewhere, Chris Davis, Nelson Cruz and Jonathan Schoop all homered, and Adam Jones drove in two runs as the Baltimore Orioles scored a commanding 11-3 victory over the New York Yankees.
Davis was not in the starting lineup but came in to play third base when Manny Machado sprained his knee in the third inning. He will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
The first-place Orioles improved to 68-50 while the Yankees fell to 61-57.
Travis Snider had the third two-home run game of his career to go with three hits, three runs scored and four RBIs to power the Pittsburgh Pirates past Detroit as Tigers starter Justin Verlander left early with shoulder soreness.
On a day Pittsburgh (63-55) placed All Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen on the 15-day disabled list with injured ribs, they came alive for a big offensive day.
Verlander (10-11) exited after allowing five runs - four earned - after just one inning for the Tigers (63-53).
Right-hander Yovani Gallardo scattered six hits and struck out six as he helped lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Milwaukee (66-53) snapped a 1-1 tie in the seventh when left fielder Khris Davis singled down the left-field line off Jake Arrieta, driving in second baseman Scooter Gennett with two outs.
Arrieta (6-4) departed with one out in the eighth and a runner on first after throwing 95 pitches for the Cubs (50-67).
Newly acquired pitcher Kevin Correia allowed just two runs over six innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Atlanta 6-2.
Correia, picked up from the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, also went 2-for-2 and scored a run, making for a memorable Dodgers debut against the Braves (60-58).
Dodgers (68-52) left fielder Carl Crawford had three hits and drove in two runs, while center fielder Yasiel Puig added two hits, a walk, and two runs.
Giancarlo Stanton homered twice, drove in three runs and made an impressive catch in the fifth inning to lead the Miami Marlins to a 6-5 win over the St Louis Cardinals.
With his two blasts, Stanton tied Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox for the major-league lead with 31 homers.
Matt Holliday went 4-for-4 for the Cardinals (62-55) who fell three games behind first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central.
The Tampa Bay Rays continued their mid-season surge with a pasting of the Texas Rangers.
Drew Smyly pitched 7 2/3 strong innings, and designated hitter Matt Joyce drove in two runs for Tampa Bay, which is 34-18 since July 11.
The Rays (58-60) are closing in on the remarkable feat of reaching .500 after being 18 games below at one point.
Last-place Texas fell to 46-72.