Saunders leads Blue Jays to sweep with 3-2 win over Royals

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin looks on as Kansas City Royals' Brett Eibner scores on an Alcides Escobar triple during the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 6, 2016, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin looks on as Kansas City Royals' Brett Eibner scores on an Alcides Escobar triple during the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 6, 2016, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

TORONTO (AP) - Michael Saunders hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and singled home the winning run in the eighth as the Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of Kansas City, beating the Royals 3-2 on Wednesday.

Toronto won its fifth straight, while its 2015 ALCS opponent dropped its fourth in a row.

Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-out double off Kelvin Herrera (1-2) in the eighth and scored when Saunders lined a single to center. Russell Martin followed with an RBI double.

Marcus Stroman (7-4) pitched eight innings to win for the first time in four starts. Roberto Osuna finished for his 17th save.

Saunders, one of five AL candidates for the All-Star Final Vote, opened the scoring with a one-out drive off Ian Kennedy in the fourth, his 16th.

The homer was the 21st allowed by Kennedy this season, tied for second-most in the majors. Kennedy has allowed at least one homer in seven consecutive starts, giving up 13 in that span.

Stroman was perfect through five innings, throwing 44 pitches. Kansas City didn't hit a ball out of the infield until Paulo Orlando flied to center to end the fifth.

Brett Eibner broke Stroman's streak when he walked on a 3-2 pitch to begin the sixth. The next batter, Alcides Escobar, broke up the no-hitter and ended Stroman's shutout bid with an RBI triple.

Toronto led 2-1 on Ezequiel Carrera's RBI single in the fifth, but Eibner tied it 2-all when he connected off Stroman in the eighth.

Kennedy allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out 10, one shy of his season high.

The retractable roof was open when the game began but started to close during the top of the sixth. It was still sliding shut when a light rain began falling in the bottom of the seventh. Play was not interrupted.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Royals: DH Kendrys Morales (back) was held out of the starting lineup.

Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada was placed on the 15-day DL, one day after being named to the All-Star team for the first time. Estrada will still attend the game in San Diego but won't be able to pitch. RHP Drew Hutchison will start for Toronto in the opener of a four-game series against Detroit on Thursday. RHP Bo Schultz was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (4-1, 3.11) starts as Kansas City returns home for a four-game series against Seattle. He's 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five games against the Mariners, including three starts. LHP James Paxton (2-3, 4.24) starts for Seattle.

Blue Jays: Hutchison is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two games, one start. He went 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA in 15 starts at Buffalo. RHP Justin Verlander (8-6, 4.11) starts for Detroit.

GAME VIDEO

Royals vs. Blue Jays highlights