NEW YORK (AP) - Brandon McCarthy won for the second time in six starts, and the New York Yankees feasted on Kansas City's bullpen in a 6-2 win Saturday after Royals starter Danny Duffy left because of an injury following his first pitch.
A night after a 1-0 loss in the series opener dropped them 4½ games back for the AL's second wild card, the weak-hitting Yankees scored as many as six runs for the first time since Aug. 29.
McCarthy (6-4) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings with four strikeouts and a walk. He was 3-10 with a 5.01 ERA in 18 starts before the Yankees acquired from Arizona on July 6.
Shawn Kelley, Dellin Betances and David Robertson combined for hitless relief. New York relievers have thrown 11 innings of scoreless, three-hit relief in their last four games with 14 strikeouts and no walks.
Martin Prado, obtained from July 31, played for the first time since straining his left hamstring Tuesday and had three hits, raising his average to .309 with the Yankees. He hit .270 with the Diamondbacks.
Kansas City, which had won four in a row, remained two games ahead of Detroit in the AL Central. The Royals are in first place in September for the first time since 1985 - when they won the World Series in their last postseason trip.
Duffy, 8-11 and third in the AL with a 2.42 ERA, threw a ball to Jacoby Ellsbury and walked around the mound in discomfort, causing catcher Salvador Perez to motion toward Kansas City's dugout.
Manager Ned Yost went to the mound with training staff. After a brief discussion, Duffy handed the ball to Yost and walked off the field. It was the first time in Royals history a starting pitcher failed to complete facing at least one batter and the first time a Kansas City starter didn't get any outs since Rick Reed against Boston on July 22, 1992.
Duffy was relieved by Liam Hendriks (1-1), who retired Ellsbury and Derek Jeter, then allowed Prado's double and Mark Teixeira's RBI single. Hendricks lasted four innings, giving up four runs - three earned - and seven hits in a defeat that dropped his career big league record to 3-14 over four seasons.
Brandon Finnegan made his major league debut for the Royals in the sixth and pitched two perfect innings, becoming the first player from June's amateur draft to appear in the major leagues. The left-hander from Texas Christian was the 17th pick overall and signed for a bonus of $2,200,600.
After Alex Gordon's RBI bloop single tied the score in the third, the Yankees went ahead for good in the bottom half on Ellsbury's RBI triple and Derek Jeter's sacrifice fly.
Chase Headley make it 4-1 in the fourth when he scored from third after Perez overthrew third base for an error on a pickoff attempt. Carlos Beltran doubled in a run in the fifth and scored on a single by pinch-hitter Ichiro Suzuki.
Mike Moustakas had a sacrifice fly in the seventh, ending McCarthy's day.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: RHP Greg Holland was missed his second straight game due to a tight right triceps. "Hopefully a day or two or three recovery and be ready to go," Yost said. . DH Josh Willingham returned Saturday after missing six games because of a sore back and went 1 for 4.
Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka threw a 34-pitch bullpen session. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the club needs to see Tanaka pitch in a game this season to know whether he can pitch without surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. . C Francisco Cervelli missed the game because of a migraine.
UP NEXT
Yankees RHP Shane Greene (4-2) opposes Royals RHP Yordano Ventura (11-9) in the series finale after a pregame ceremony on Derek Jeter Day.
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