KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Edinson Volquez pitched seven effective innings, Alcides Escobar had two hits, scored a run and drove in a run and the Kansas City Royals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 to open a six-game homestand Friday night.
The World Series champion Royals had dropped 12 of their previous 16 games, while the Braves, who have the worst record in the National League, lost for the 17th time in 25 games.
Volquez (4-3) picked up his first victory since April 21, snapping a three-game winless streak. Erick Aybar’s sacrifice fly in the seventh scored Jeff Francoeur, who led off the inning with a single, for the only run Volquez allowed.
Volquez, who threw 55 strikes in 83 pitches, allowed one run on six hits, walked none and struck out two.
Julio Teheran (0-4) is winless in eight starts this season, the longest winless streak of his career, despite a 1.48 ERA in his past five starts. Teheran held the Royals to two runs, one unearned, and four hits over seven innings.
Escobar led off the Royals’ first with a single to right and advanced to third on Francoeur’s two-base fielding error. Escobar scored on Lorenzo Cain’s groundout to Aybar.
Escobar’s two-out single in the second inning scored Cheslor Cuthbert, who has hit in all seven games he has played since being called up from Triple-A Omaha.
Braves rookie left-hander Hunter Cervenka, who had retired the past 30 hitters he had faced and not allowed a run in his first 15 major league appearances, gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in the eighth. Salvador Perez’s two-run single off Alexi Ogando was the key hit of the inning, while Kendrys Morales drove in the other run.
RARE GORDON ERROR
Royals LF Alex Gordon’s 188-game (187 of them starts) errorless streak ended in the fourth inning when he dropped Freddie Freeman’s fly. Gordon’s last error was Aug. 2, 2014, at Oakland.
YOST’S SLIM BOBBLEHEAD
There will be a Royals giveaway of 20,000 Ned Yost bobbleheads on Saturday. “There are two major features and they’re both wrong. My hair is way too gray and it’s got me skinny. I like that part of it,” the Royals manager said with a laugh.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: 3B Mike Moustakas (fractured left thumb) played catch for the first time since going on the disabled list May 5.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz, who struck out eight and walked none in seven innings in a no-decision against Arizona on Sunday, will make his third start since being recalled May 3.
Royals: RHP Dillon Gee will make his first start since last June 14 while with the Mets. Yost said Gee, who threw 5 1/3 innings in relief Monday against the Yankees, will be on a 90-95 pitch count. “A lot depends on how stressful those innings are, too,” Gee said. “What kind of situations you are in can affect how you feel. I’m in a mindset how deep I can get within 75-80 pitches and go from there.”