Royals keep rolling

The sign advertising next month’s All Star Game hung from a party deck in Miller Park’s left field. The Royals have become synonymous with the Midsummer Classic in recent weeks as their fans overwhelm the voting system. In the fifth inning of a 8-5 battering of the Brewers on Monday, Lorenzo Cain sent a missile sizzling toward the signage.

Cain’s two-run blast soared over the fence. The blue-clad Kansas City fans along the third-base dugout rose to roar. The scene has become familiar in 2015. The Royals come into another club’s park, pack the stands with their fans and emerge victorious. After two tough outings in St. Louis, the team responded by thrashing one of the National League’s weakest units.

A troubling performance by Greg Holland put the game in doubt. Holland gave up three runs in the ninth and left with the two on and the tying run at the plate. But Wade Davis rescued the club with three quick outs to prevent a collapse.

The Royals, 35-25, scored more than four runs for just the second time in the last 13 games. During this cold spell, which manager Ned Yost likes to refer to as a “quiet bat period,” the team still maintained its lead in the American League Central. They can feast on these Brewers for the next three nights, including two at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday.

All eight regulars collected hits on Monday. Mike Moustakas walked three times and scored twice. Alcides Escobar scored the game’s first run and had two RBI singles. Alex Rios pocketed two hits, and so did Omar Infante. The productivity looked contagious.

Edinson Volquez, 6-4 with a 3.10 ERA, contributed five innings of work. He gave up six hits and walked two. The Brewers could only scratch two runs off him.

Yost stared across the diamond at the dugout he called home for nearly six full seasons. Milwaukee fired him with two weeks left in the 2008 season. Before Monday night, he had visited Miller Park twice in the intervening years: Once, in 2009, to return a car the club leased him through that year, and again for an exhibition series before last season.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin always felt remorse about axing Yost, and the two remain close. Melvin visited Yost at the Royals’ hotel after the team arrived in town on Sunday night. Yost walked into the ballpark the next day as the manager of the defending American League champions, the steward of the Central division leaders and the skipper of the upcoming All-Star Game.

The Royals pounced on Brewers starter Kyle Lohse in the first. Lohse opened the door when he clipped Escobar with a fastball. Escobar was running toward second when Moustakas laced a 90-mph fastball up the middle. The liner caught shortstop Hector Gomez flat-footed.

As Escobar reached third, third-base coach Mike Jirschele decided to send him home. Escobar beat the throw from center fielder Gerardo Parra. Umpire Laz Diaz disagreed. After a lengthy review, the call was overturned. Two at-bats into the game, the Royals had a lead they would not relinquish.

The first-inning scoring had just begun. Eric Hosmer punched a single into center field. Moustakas rolled home from second. A single by Salvador Perez advanced Hosmer to third. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Alex Gordon.

Volquez inherited a three-run lead. He granted the Brewers plenty of chances to crack him. Milwaukee flooded the bases with traffic all evening.

In the first, Volquez allowed singles to catcher Jonathan Lucroy and outfielder Ryan Braun. Then, with one out, he induced a double play from first baseman Adam Lind.

Lohse slipped a single through the infield two innings later. A double from Parra brought Lohse to third. He could not advance. Lucroy lined out to third. Braun tapped a hanging curveball toward Moustakas for an inning-ending groundout.

The coming innings brought more of the same. At last the Brewers broke through in the fifth, minutes after Cain’s blast cleared the fence. Volquez hit Gomez with a pitch and yielded a single to pinch-hitter Hernan Perez. Lucroy cracked a two-run double to erase any hope of a shutout.

Kansas City presented an immediate response. They strung together a trio of singles – from Gordon, Rios and Infante — to load the bases for Kendrys Morales. His double play netted one run. A flare from Escobar to left brought home a second. The lead returned to five runs.

This story was originally published June 15, 2015 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Royals keep rolling."