KANSAS CITY, Mo._The wait for a spot in an MLB rotation lasted six years in the minor leagues, stints with eight teams and a busted Rule 5 selection. So it's only fitting that Kansas City Royals right-hander Glenn Sparkman was forced to wait a couple of additional hours Thursday.
Worth it.
After a 2-hour, 14-minute rain delay, the Royals outlasted Toronto 6-2 in a game that started late Thursday and ended early Friday at Kauffman Stadium, backing Sparkman's first career start with a victory.
Sparkman fell one inning shy of qualifying for the win on his record _ on a pitch count, he lasted four innings _ but the Royals had grabbed a 4-2 lead by the time he was replaced on the mound.
Brian Flynn, Kevin McCarthy and Brandon Maurer preserved the lead until the ninth, and Wily Peralta closed out the ninth. The bullpen combined for five shutout innings.
A package of storms impeded the start of the game. Sparkman's threw the first pitch at 9:29 p.m.
The offense broke out in support early and often. Lucas Duda homered in the second. The Royals (37-84) synced together four consecutive two-out hits in a three-run fourth _ Rosell Herrera, Jorge Bonifacio, Ryan O'Hearn and Hunter Dozier.
Herrera had three hits. Dozier, Bonifacio and Whit Merrifield had two each.
Sparkman, 26, is the Royals' 11th starting pitcher this season, a fill-in after left-hander Danny Duffy was put on the disabled list with left shoulder impingement earlier this week.
Working out of the bullpen, Sparkman threw 4 1/3 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals six days earlier. He was initially sent back down the minor leagues before Duffy was injured, prompting his return to the big leagues.
"We sent him down to get his innings up (with the plan) to bring him back in September," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Then when Danny got hurt, we could accomplish that right here."
Sparkman's first start included a mostly positive outing. The Blue Jays scored one in the second inning with the aid of Kevin Pillar's check-swing double that blooped down the right-field line. They earned the run in the fourth with three singles.
Sparkman completed four innings with three strikeouts, allowing two earned runs on four hits and one walk.
The Royals drafted Sparkman in 2013. He cycled through the minor-league system before Toronto plucked him in the Rule 5 Draft ahead of the 2017 season. An injury derailed those plans, and he was eventually returned to the Royals.
