Michael Taylor hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning after a pair of two-out Baltimore errors, giving the Kansas City Royals a 6-4 win over the Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader. With the score 4-all, Jorge Lopez retired the first two batters in the ninth. Nicky Lopez then reached when second baseman Rougned Odor misplayed a sharp grounder and took third on a wild pickoff throw by the Orioles reliever. Taylor’s single put the Royals ahead and Salvador Perez provided an insurance run with another RBI single off Cionel Pérez.
Bruce Zimmermann threw six effective innings and Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 to earn a doubleheader split on Sunday. In the second game, Zimmermann (2-1) allowed two runs and five hits with five strikeouts and no walks. The Orioles pounced early, scoring three runs in the first off Daniel Lynch (2-2) on a passed ball, an RBI single by Ryan Mountcastle and a sacrifice fly by Ramón Urías. The Royals pulled to within 3-1 when Hunter Dozier hit a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Whit Merrifield. Tyler Nevin added an RBI single in the fourth that boosted the Orioles’ lead to 4-1. Dozier cut the margin to 4-2 with a run-scoring single in the sixth.
Keegan Akin pitched two scoreless innings for the Orioles and Dillon Tate closed out the ninth to pick up his first save and fourth of his career. Orioles outfielder Austin Hays went 5 for 7 over the two games and leads the team with nine multi-hit games.