KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Eighty-two days into the 2017 season, the Royals surpassed the .500 mark for the first time Saturday, collecting a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium.
Alex Gordon roped a go-ahead triple into the right-field corner in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Alcides Escobar from first. Jason Vargas notched his league-leading 11th victory while allowing two runs in seven innings. One day after a stunning comeback on Friday night, the Royals recorded their fifth straight series victory.
For the second straight day, the bottom of the Royals' lineup offered some unexpected production. Escobar finished 3 for 3 and scored two runs. He tripled off Toronto starter Marco Estrada on a fly ball to right-center in the third inning and scored on a shallow sacrifice fly from Whit Merrifield.
The run tied the game at 1-1 and set up Eric Hosmer's go-ahead homer in the bottom of the fourth. Hosmer lifted a 1-0 changeup high into the air in right field. With some help from the wind, it carried just over the right-field wall, a projected 381 feet from home plate. It was his ninth homer of 2017.
The Blue Jays would tie the game on a solo homer in the seventh. But the Royals would strike right back. Escobar reached on a one-out bloop single to left. And Gordon ripped an 0-1 changeup into the right-field corner. Toronto right fielder Jose Bautista gave chase, slowly playing the carom in the corner. It gave Escobar plenty of time to score from first base.
Vargas was the beneficiary of the late run. After striking out two across seven innings, he became the first pitcher in baseball to reach 11 wins. In all, he made just two costly mistakes.
Vargas' first miss came in the top of the second. On a 1-2 pitch, he sought to go up and in with a fastball to Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The pitch stayed over the plate, and Tulowitzki lined a solo homer into the seats in front of the Royals Hall of Fame in left field. The blast traveled an estimated 422 feet and gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.
The second _ and final _ mistake came in the top of the seventh. As Vargas protected a 2-1 lead, he left a fastball over the plate to Toronto's Kevin Pillar with two outs. Pillar clubbed a 406-foot homer to left-center field, knotting the game at 2-2.
In between the solo homers, Vargas worked four scoreless frames. The bottom of the Royals' offense would have his back.
