KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alcides Escobar is a maestro with his glove, making the kinds difficult of plays at shortstop that has helped to make the Kansas City Royals one of the best defensive teams in baseball. On Wednesday night, Escobar showed he can swing the bat a bit, too. His two-run double in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in a tense 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. "Hes been very consistent," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Hes always been an important part of our club because of his defence. He saves runs in the field. But when you add offence to that, he becomes a very special player." Eric Hosmer drove in the other two runs for the Royals, whose bullpen blew a 2-0 lead for young starter Yordano Ventura before holding on to beat Toronto with a late rally for the second straight night. Kansas City won the series opener 10-7 behind a six-run eighth inning. Kelvin Herrera (1-1) stranded runners on second and third in the seventh, and Wade Davis struck out Jose Reyes to leave the bases loaded in the eighth. Greg Holland worked around a double in the ninth for his seventh save in seven tries. "You play 162 games. Youre going to see a lot of things happen," Holland said. "The mark of a good bullpen is when you have guys pick each other up when they get in jams." Drew Hutchison (1-2) allowed all four runs on five hits in seven innings for Toronto. The 23-year-old right-hander, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, kept the Royals mostly off balance until Escobar guided his double down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. Jimmy Paredes and Salvy Perez scored easily to give Kansas City the lead. "I got ahead of him. I went right at him. I thought I made a good pitch," Hutchison said. "Thats a situation where I expect myself to thrive and get the job done, but I didnt." The Royals improved to 14-0 when scoring at least four runs -- they remain 0-12 falling short of that mark. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays lost for the sixth time in their last seven games. Toronto also lost outfielder Melky Cabrera in the sixth inning when he was hit in the left shin by a pitch from Danny Duffy. Cabrera needed to be helped off the field, though X-rays taken at the ballpark came back negative and a team spokesman said he was day to day. The Royals manufactured a 1-0 lead through driving rain in the first inning with a double by Nori Aoki, a sacrifice bunt and Hosmers sacrifice fly. They tacked on another run in the fourth when Hosmer followed a double by Omar Infante with one of his own. As long as Ventura was pitching, it seemed that would be enough. The Blue Jays struggled to catch up to the 22-year-olds triple-digit fastball, managing just two hits over five innings. But they were more successful at avoiding stuff off the plate, driving up his pitch count and forcing him from the game after five innings and 92 pitches. "It was cold out there," Ventura said through a translator, fellow starter Jeremy Guthrie. "Naturally, it was a little more difficult to command." Thats when Royals manager Ned Yost called on Duffy, who hit Cabrera in the left shin with his first pitch. Cabrera dropped to the grass in foul territory and stayed there several minutes, eventually getting helped through the dugout and to the clubhouse by the Blue Jays trainers. Duffy proceeded to walk Jose Bautista on five pitches and was yanked for Aaron Crow, who gave up singles to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco that tied the game 2-all. Crow finally escaped the inning, and the Royals bullpen held Toronto down the rest of the way. "Its frustrating, but at the end of the day I need to do a better job to give us a chance to win after we came back and scored two runs," Hutchison said. "I was in complete control going into the seventh. It comes down to that its on me and I need to get the job done." NOTES: Toronto left 11 runners on base. ... Bautista finished with 30 walks in April, matching Fred McGriffs club record for a single month. ... Blue Jays INF Brett Lawrie (sore back) was held out of the lineup. Manager John Gibbons called him day to day. ... RHP Jeremy Guthrie starts the series finale Thursday night for Kansas City. LHP Mark Buehrle starts for Toronto. Yeezy China . For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Discount Yeezy Store . They signed their first kicker. 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They were thoroughly beaten by something they have nothing of – genuine world class ability.SAN DIEGO -- At the end of the longest nine-inning game in San Diego Padres history, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle summed it up best Monday night. "Its time to go home," he said. Jordy Mercer homered and matched a career high with four of Pittsburghs 16 hits in a 10-3 romp over the Padres. Neil Walker added three hits and three RBIs, and Josh Harrison also had three hits to help Pittsburgh win for the ninth time in 13 games. The Pirates are enjoying their West Coast swing so far. After taking three of four at Dodger Stadium, they headed south and won again in a game that took 4 hours, 4 minutes. "It was a long one, thats for sure," Mercer said. "But it is always good when you score a lot of runs." Charlie Morton (2-7) tied a career best with nine strikeouts in five innings. He allowed two runs and three hits in winning for the first time in five road starts this year. Three relievers finished the five-hitter after Mortons curveball baffled the Padres. "He was still dealing with baserunners," Hurdle said. "But he was able to compete and get outs when he needed to. He gave us five solid innings." Mercer scored four times from the No. 8 spot in the batting order and went 4 for 5 to raise his average 20 points to .219. He entered with one home run and seven RBIs in 146 at-bats. "The people believe in me here," Mercer said. "Having that support, having that confidence every time, its nice." Hurdle talked about how dangerous this Pirates lineup can be. Mercer agreed. "I think when we all get hot theres no telling what we can do," Mercer said. "The skys the limit for us because we can hit the ball out of the ballpark, we can run, we can do all sorts of stuff. Its just a matter of us all clicking together." Tim Stauffer (2-2) lasted only 2 2-3 innings, his second consecutive disappointing start since being inserted into the rotation because of elbow injuries to Andrew Cashner and Robbie Erlin. "The first two innings were pretty good, then he seemed to lose the feeling for his pitches," San Diego manager Bud Black said. The PPadres threw 249 pitches, the most ever by their staff in a nine-inning game.dddddddddddd. "It was just unfortunate it unraveled the way it did," Stauffer said. The Pirates broke open the game with three runs each in the seventh and eighth. The big blow was Walkers two-run double in the seventh, propelling Pittsburgh to its sixth win in the last nine road games. Four times in the previous six innings the Pirates loaded the bases but scored only one run. They stranded a season-high 16 runners. The teams combined for 12 walks and six hit batters. Through the first four innings, Morton didnt allow a run or hit -- although the Padres reached on an error, two walks and two hit batters. But in the fifth, Everth Cabreras double drove in Alexi Amarista after he opened the inning with a single. Seth Smith drove in Cabrera with a single, trimming the Pirates lead to 3-2, but pinch-hitter Tommy Medica struck out with the bases loaded. Pittsburgh had extended its advantage to 3-0 on Mercers RBI single in the fourth. Starling Marte scored after he was hit by a pitch from reliever Alex Torres. Mercer snapped a scoreless tie with a home run to start the third inning, a 414-foot shot into the second deck beyond the left-field fence. Ike Davis sacrifice fly scored Harrison for a 2-0 lead. NOTES: Cashner threw a four-inning simulated game and didnt report any discomfort. Cashner, on the DL since mid-May with a sore right elbow, could start this weekend. "That was a good step forward," Black said. Cashner said hes adjusted the grip on his slider to take pressure off his elbow. ... Erlin hasnt been cleared to resume throwing. Hes on the DL with a sore left elbow. ... Pirates RHP Stolmy Pimentel (right shoulder inflammation) made a rehab start at Class-A Bradenton, throwing two scoreless innings. ... Harrison has batted leadoff 15 straight times, the longest stretch by a Pirates player this season. ... RHP Gerrit Cole (5-3, 3.80 ERA) faces Padres RHP Jesse Hahn on Tuesday. It will be Hahns major league debut after appearing in 10 games with Double-A San Antonio, where he was 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA. ' ' '