Yordano Ventura sprains ankle, Royals lose 7-2 to Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies' Ryan Howard, left, is tagged out at third base by Kansas City Royals' Cheslor Cuthbert during the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 3, 2016, in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Phillies' Ryan Howard, left, is tagged out at third base by Kansas City Royals' Cheslor Cuthbert during the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 3, 2016, in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Yordano Ventura got a costly hit.

He sprained his right ankle running the bases in a short outing as the Kansas City Royals lost 7-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Ventura (6-6) exited in the third inning following his second career hit. He lined a single to right but got hurt running to second on Alex Gordon's double-play grounder.

"It feels better right now than it did before," Ventura said after the game through an interpreter. "It seems like the swelling is getting better. It's still too early to tell. It'll be a couple days before we know."

Ventura went out to the mound in the bottom half of the inning and left after Cody Asche hit a shot into the second deck in right field with two outs.

"He had trouble pushing off," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Ventura gave up four runs and four hits in 2 2/3 innings. He allowed seven runs in 5 13 innings in his previous start.

"We've been trying to get him to stay within himself and control his emotions," Yost said. "He did a good job with that."

Cameron Rupp hit a three-run homer and Vince Velasquez threw six effective innings for the Phillies. Cody Asche and Maikel Franco also went deep to help Philadelphia win two of three against the defending World Series champions.

Velasquez (7-2) allowed two runs and five hits, striking out seven in his second start since returning from the disabled list. It appeared Velasquez was hurt in the first inning when manager Pete Mackanin and a trainer visited the mound after he threw just five pitches. But Velasquez stayed in, his velocity increased and he threw 96 pitches.

Rupp gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the first when he hit a 1-2 pitch the opposite way into the right-field seats for his eighth homer.

"I wanted a fastball on the outside and the pitch was up," Ventura said.

Gordon's two-run homer off Velasquez cut it to 4-2 in the fifth. Maikel Franco's infield single drove in a run in the bottom half. He hit a solo homer off Brian Flynn in the eighth.

STANDINGS

The Royals fell to 43-38 with their 13th loss in their last 18 road games. The Phillies (37-46) have won five of six.

STREAKING

Royals SS Alcides Escobar hit a single in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. It's the longest of his career in a single season. He had an 18-game streak that stretched over two seasons in 2014-15). Escobar is batting .371 (23 for 62) during his current streak. ... Kansas City's Kendrys Morales was 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts, ending his eight-game hitting streak.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez (7-7, 4.60 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game series at Toronto. RHP Aaron Sanchez (8-1, 3.08) goes for the Blue Jays.