NEW YORK — In his first at bat at Yankee Stadium, Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas jacked a two-run home run, en route to a 6-0 win over the New York Yankees on Monday night.
Moose’s first inning two-run bomb was all the padding Royals starter Felipe Paulino would need to put on another pitching clinic against the Yankees.
Paulino became the first pitcher in Royals history to shutout the Yankees in two consecutive starts of at least 6 innings or more. In 6 2/3 innings, Paulino (2-1, 1.42 ERA) gave up six hits, walked two, and struck out eight.
The Bronx Bombers went 0-13 with runners in scoring position.
Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda (3-6, 4.56 ERA) gave up three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking three. In the seventh frame, right fielder Jeff Francoeur crushed his second HR of the season, a two-run blast off reliever Freddy Garcia (0-2, 8.22 ERA) that put the Royals up 5-0.
Relievers Tim Collins (1-0, 2.91 ERA) and Aaron Crow (0-1, 3.10 ERA) helped seal the victory for Kansas City. In 2 1/3 innings, they gave up one hit, struck out three, and walked one.
The Yankees (21-21, 12-11 home) are 3-7 over their last 10 games and are now tied with Boston for last place in the American League East. The Royals (17-24, 12-7 away) are now five games over .500 when playing on the road.
Luke Hochevar (3-4, 7.02 ERA) takes the mound Tuesday night against Yankees starter Phil Hughes (3-5, 5.23 ERA) for game two of this series at Yankee Stadium.
