Andrew Benintendi, right, gets a fist bump from Manager Mike Matheny, left, after Benintendi hit one of his two home runs in the Royals’ 11-3 win over the Twins in Minneapolis. Jim Mone/Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — Andrew Benintendi hit two homers, Salvador Perez homered and drove in three runs, and the Kansas City Royals cruised to an 11-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Danny Duffy (4-1) continued his strong start to the season in helping the AL Central-leading Royals bounce back from Friday night’s 9-1 loss. He allowed one run and two hits in seven innings, striking out seven.
Matt Shoemaker (1-3) couldn’t sustain Minnesota’s momentum after back-to-back wins. He gave up nine runs and eight hits in just 3 1/3 innings.
YANKEES 6, TIGERS 4: Jameson Taillon earned his first win in exactly two years, Aaron Judge had three hits and three RBI, and New York won at home.
Gleyber Torres also drove in three runs as the Yankees won for the sixth time in seven games and improved to 13-14.
In a big league season when hitting is in short supply, 11 of the 18 batters in the starting lineups for the Tigers and Yankees finished the game hitting .198 or below. Detroit began the day with a majors-worst .199 team batting average — former Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera went 0 for 5 and fell to .125, one of the five Tigers under .200.
Taillon (1-2) allowed one run, three hits and struck out eight over five innings. The Yankees had lost in each of his four previous starts.
Taillon’s previous win came on May 1, 2019, for Pittsburgh in his last outing before having Tommy John surgery. The Pirates traded him to the Yankees before this season.
WHITE SOX 7, INDIANS 3: Tim Anderson hit a grand slam, Leury García drove in three runs from the No. 9 spot in the lineup and Chicago won at home.
Lance Lynn allowed three runs over five innings in his return from the injured list for the White Sox, who have won seven of nine.
Austin Hedges homered and Josh Naylor had two hits for the Indians, who have dropped eight of 13.
Lynn, sidelined since April 17 because of a right trapezius strain, allowed four hits and struck out a season-low two. He also issued two walks, doubling his season total after four starts.
ASTROS 3, RAYS 1: Jose Urquidy scattered four hits over seven shutout innings and Houston made an early lead stand up, winning in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Jose Altuve doubled on the first pitch of the game, leading to a three-run inning. Houston got three hits in the first inning and only one more the rest of the game.
Urquidy (2-2) walked one and struck out five in winning his second straight start. He retired 11 in a row in one stretch and allowed only one runner to get as far as second base.
Brooks Raley and Ryan Pressley pitched the final two innings for Houston. Pressley earned his fifth save in five tries after giving up a run on Yandy Diaz’s groundball.
ORIOLES 8, ATHLETICS 4: Matt Harvey won his third straight start and Baltimore took advantage of Oakland’s sloppy play to score six runs in the third inningto win in Oakland, California.
The Athletics made two errors and threw a pair of wild pitches to help Baltimore break loose. DJ Stewart added a two-run home run in the sixth for the Orioles.
Harvey (3-1) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking three with one strikeout. It marked the first time since 2018 with Cincinnati that the former All-Star ace had won three starts in a row.
NATIONAL LEAUE
NATIONALS 7, MARLINS 2: Patrick Corbin ended his 10-game losing streak, pitching seven solid innings and leading Washington to a win at home.
Josh Bell hit a bases-loaded double and drove in four runs, Yan Gomes had a two-run homer and Josh Harrison had three hits as Washington won its third in a row.
Corbin (1-3), who opened the season on the COVID-19 injured list, began the afternoon with a 10.47 ERA in four starts. He limited the Marlins to two runs and four hits, striking out four and walking four.
Corbin posted his first win since last August. A two-time All-Star with Arizona, the 31-year-old lefty signed a $140 million, six-year deal with the Nationals before the 2019 season and was a key member of their staff as they went on to win the World Series.
The Nationals helped Corbin by turning three double plays, and he exited with an 8.10 ERA.
CUBS 3, REDS 2: Nick Hoerner hit a go-ahead single in the sixth inning and Chicago’s’ bullpen shut down the Reds in Cincinnati.
Hoerner drove in Javier Báez with one of his three hits, a two-out single to center field off reliever Sean Doolittle to complete Chicago’s rally from a 2-0 deficit.
Rex Brothers (1-0) struck out all three batters he faced in the sixth, the first three of eight strikeouts piled up by five Cubs relievers over five innings.
The first two batters reached against Craig Kimbrel in the ninth before he regrouped to get the next three for his fifth save.
METS 5, PHILLIES 4: Michael Conforto hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the ninth inning and New York benefited from a very questionable call by the second base umpire to win in Philadelphia.
Conforto also had a two-run double in a four-run first inning against former teammate Zack Wheeler. New York squandered the 4-0 lead but recovered to win for just the fourth time in 12 games – even after center fielder Brandon Nimmo and third baseman J.D. Davis exited with hand injuries.
Alec Bohm hit a two-run homer for the Phillies, who have alternated wins and losses in their last 10 games. Philadelphia hasn’t won consecutive games since a three-game sweep of Atlanta to open the season.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, second base ump Jose Navas ruled Andrew McCutchen ran out of the baseline to avoid an attempted tag by shortstop Francisco Lindor on what became an inning-ending double play. Replays showed McCutchen ran in a straight line from first to second.
“That was about as straight of a line as you can run,” Phillies Manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s a terrible call. The sad thing about it is, not reviewable. I’m sorry, that’s as clear as it can be and it might have cost us the game.”
CARDINALS 12, PIRATES 5: Jack Flaherty pitched six solid innings to keep his record perfect and Paul DeJong hit a three-run homer in the first inning to send St. Louis to a win Pittsburgh.
Flaherty (5-0) struck out nine while winning his fifth straight start. He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks and improved to 7-1 in 10 career starts against the Pirates.
DeJong’s drive off Trevor Cahill (1-3) capped a four-run first.
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