KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nicky Lopez and Whit Merrifield powered the Kansas City Royals offense to a nine-run scoring outburst in the first game post All-Star break.
The four-game losing streak that sent the Royals into the break seemed a long ways away as they beat up on the Baltimore Orioles to the tune of a 9-2 win on Friday night in front of an announced 23,763 in the first game of their three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.
Merrifield went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and two runs scored form the leadoff spot in the lineup, while Lopez went 2 for 4 with a career-high four RBIs and two runs scored out of the No. 9 hole.
In his first start since July 8 in Cleveland, Royals veteran left-hander Danny Duffy allowed one run on two hits in four innings. He struck out two and walked one. The lone run he allowed came in the fourth inning after he gave up an infield single and a walk to the first two batters of the inning.
Duffy threw just 54 pitches. He did take a comebacker off the lower leg on a ball hit by Trey Mancini. The ball hit back at Duffy came off the bat at 97.5 mph. The Royals recorded an inning-ending out on the play as the ball deflected off Duffy to the shortstop Lopez.
Duffy hopped around for a few seconds before he came off the field. He stopped in order for the umpire to check him for foreign substances, and then returned to the dugout while moving gingerly. Duffy returned for the second inning and retired the side in order.
The All-Star duo combined to give the Royals a one-run lead in the bottom of the first: Merrifield singled to center, and scored on a Salvador Perez broken-bat RBI single through the hole between first and second base.
The Royals expanded their lead in the second after a Jorge Soler walk and Hanser Alberto’s first double put runners on second and third. With one out, Lopez drove in both runners when he ripped a 1-2 fastball into right field for a two-run single. Lopez advanced to second on the play when Orioles right fielder Anthony Santander threw home.
Merrifield’s double up the left-field line scored Lopez for the third run of the inning. With two outs, Perez roped the first pitch of his second at-bat into left field for his second RBI single in the first two innings of the game.
The four-run inning gave the Royals a 5-0 lead and put the Orioles on their heels the rest of the night.
The lead reached six runs on Merrifield’s fourth-inning sacrifice fly.
The Orioles answered with a run in the top of the fourth, but the Royals’ lead never slipped to fewer than five runs the rest of the game.
Lopez added a two-run double in the seventh, and he scored on Merrifield’s fourth hit of the night.
Royals reliever Jake Brentz gave up a solo home run to Orioles catcher Pedro Severino in the eighth inning to close out the scoring.
