KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Lorenzo Cain had a career-high five RBIs, Kendrys Morales drove in three more runs and the Kansas City Royals routed the New York Yankees 12-1 on Friday night.
The Royals scored six times in the sixth inning while knocking Yankees starter Michael Pineda from the game, then cruised the rest of the way to open a three-game set between division leaders by dealing New York its season-high fourth consecutive loss.
Chris Young (3-0) allowed just four hits and two walks over 5 2-3 innings, making another strong case for a permanent spot in the starting rotation. The 6-foot-10 veteran made his third spot start in place of Jason Vargas, who is on the disabled list with a hip flexor injury.
Pineda (5-1), coming off a masterful 16-strikeout performance against Baltimore, only struck out one while matching a career worst with 10 hits allowed. Pineda was responsible for five runs in 5 1-3 innings, matching a season high set in a win over the Orioles last month.
Pineda hung tough through the first five innings, the only damage an RBI single by Cain in the first inning and a sacrifice fly by the Royals outfielder in the fourth.
Brian McCann had a sacrifice fly for New York in the top of the fourth inning.
Everything unraveled for the AL East-leading Yankees in the fifth, though. The Royals sent 11 batters to the plate, pounded out six hits and churned through Pineda and two relievers.
Omar Infante and Paulo Orlando drove in runs to start the onslaught, and Cain added a two-run single off Justin Wilson later in the inning. By the time Morales and Alex Gordon drove in runs, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was probably getting fatigued walking to the mound.
Jose Ramirez, just recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, finally got the Yankees out of the inning. But by then, the AL Central-leading Royals had pushed their lead to 8-1.
The only drama left was whether Mike Moustakas would hit for the cycle.
The Kansas City third baseman tripled, doubled and singled his first three times at bat. He grounded out in the sixth, but brought a crowd of 34,584 to its feet when he sent a fly ball down the left-field line in the seventh that bounced just a few feet from the top of the wall.
He wound up with an RBI double, giving him four hits for the fourth time in his career.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: RHP Chase Whitley (elbow sprain) went on the DL. He will be evaluated again by team physician Christopher Ahmad on Monday before deciding whether to have Tommy John surgery. ... RHP Masahiro Tanaka (wrist tendinitis) threw 35 pitches in the bullpen before the game. The Yankees still have not set a date for a rehab assignment.
Royals: RF Alex Rios (fractured hang) continues to hit off a tee, though it's unclear when he will return. ... Vargas played catch before the game. He expects to throw a bullpen session soon.
UP NEXT
Yankees: LHP CC Sabathia (1-5) is coming off his first win of the season at Tampa Bay.
Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (2-2) tries to bounce back from two straight lousy starts.
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