KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ When the Royals completed the trade in January that sent a fan favorite to the Seattle Mariners for pitcher Nathan Karns, general manager Dayton Moore was resolute.
"Pitching, as we know, is so important," Moore said at the time. "Power pitching is hard to get."
Some scoffed, believing that the Royals had not received a big enough return in that deal that sent outfielder Jarrod Dyson to the Mariners.
But on Saturday night, Karns looked the part of a power pitcher, albeit one who got most of strikeouts with a curveball. Karns fanned 12 Orioles in five innings, the first Royals pitcher who has ever accomplished that feat. Despite the strong start, Karns didn't get a decision in the Royals' 4-3 win over Baltimore at Kauffman Stadium.
It was the Royals' third straight win and their fifth in their last six games as their record improved to 15-21.
Karns' impressive start Saturday continued a recent hot streak. In his last three starts, Karns has 29 strikeouts and four walks in 171/3 innings, while allowing four runs and 12 hits. That's a 2.08 ERA.
The only Orioles player to give Karns trouble was a former Royal. Catcher Francisco Pena hit two solo home runs to left field. Both were no-doubters and traveled a combined 835 feet.
Pena's second round-tripper came in the top of the fifth inning and gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead. But the Royals took the lead in their half of the innings, thanks to a bit of Esky magic.
Alcides Escobar and Mike Moustakas singled against Orioles starter Chris Tillman. A wild pitch moved both runners up a base, and Lorenzo Cain's sacrifice fly to center field tied the game.
After Eric Hosmer walked, the Orioles brought on Alec Asher, who hit Salvador Perez with a pitch and loaded the bases. Rookie left fielder Jorge Bonifacio lifted a fly to left field and Moustakas scored to make it 3-2.
That lead vanished in a hurry. Seth Maness made his Royals debut in relief of Karns in the sixth inning, and the first batter he faced, Orioles slugger Chris Davis, hit a home run that barely cleared the wall in left field.
Maness, who was back in the majors after undergoing the new "primary repair" surgery last year, also allowed a two-out walk, but escaped further damage.
That tie vanished in a hurry. In the bottom of the sixth, Brandon Moss lined a laser to right field for his second home run in as many nights. It traveled an estimated 420 feet.
The Royals bullpen took it from there.
Mike Minor continued to be a strong force in the bullpen as he tossed two scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to 2.25. In his last eight outings, Minor has allowed one run in 142/3 innings (0.61 ERA).
Kelvin Herrera pitched the ninth and got his seventh save of the season.
