Nathan Lukes hit a three-run homer Wednesday night and the host Toronto Blue Jays snapped the Kansas City Royals’ nine-game winning streak with a 3-0 victory.
Seven Toronto pitchers combined to hold the Royals to six hits, two coming from Carter Jensen, who also had a walk and a stolen base.
Chad Dallas (2-1) pitched 2 2/3 clean innings to earn the win in the middle meeting of the three-game series.
Louis Varland pitched 1 1/3 innings to pick up his 30th save despite allowing Nick Loftin’s two-out double followed by John Rave’s single in the ninth.
The Blue Jays had lost their two previous games and remained three games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the crowded race for the American League’s third wild-card spot.
The Royals threatened in the third. Toronto opener Spencer Miles allowed an infield single to start the inning. Miles was replaced by Brendon Little, who wedged two walks (one intentional after a double steal) between a groundout and a strikeout before Dallas struck out Salvador Perez with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Toronto took the lead against Randy Dobnak (2-2) in the fourth. George Springer and Jesus Sanchez started the rally with soft singles. Kazuma Okamoto’s grounder down the third-base line retired Springer before Lukes smashed a 1-0 changeup to right for his ninth home run.
Dobnak allowed three runs, six hits and one walk while recording five strikeouts in six innings.
Dallas retired all eight batters he faced and had four strikeouts. Mason Fluharty replaced him with one out in the sixth and retired the three batters he faced before Paul Sewald came in to finish the seventh.
Mason Black replaced Dobnak and pitched a perfect seventh and eighth.
Toronto’s Tyler Rogers entered in the eighth and allowed Jensen’s two-out single to end a string of 16 Royals hitters retired in a row. Bobby Witt Jr. was given credit for a single that skipped between the legs of first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
With runners at the corners, Varland was summoned from the bullpen and he ended the threat on a first-pitch groundout
