Baltimore, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Yordano Ventura hurled eight scoreless innings to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 5-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a three-game set.
Ventura (2-1) scattered seven hits and two walks while fanning eight to earn the win. The hard-throwing righty has allowed just five runs over four starts this season to lower his ERA to 1.80.
"I think that's as good as I've seen him. He had everything going tonight," said Royals manager Ned Yost.
Billy Butler had two hits and two RBI while Alex Gordon, Omar Infante and Nori Aoki provided one RBI apiece for the Royals, who had dropped four of five entering the contest.
Ubaldo Jimenez (0-4) allowed all four runs on six hits and four walks over six-plus innings to remain winless on the season.
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis left the game between the fourth and fifth innings with a left oblique strain. The slugger grimaced following a swing in the third inning. He was 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
"We'll know more about it (Saturday)," Davis said. "I've never had an oblique strain or whatever you want to call it, but it doesn't feel so bad right now that I can't move or anything like that. So I think right now we'll just take it one day at a time."
Baltimore finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
The start of the game was delayed 55 minutes due to rain.
The Royals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Infante walked and Eric Hosmer singled to put two on with one out. Butler followed with a base hit to right field to score Infante and Gordon smacked a single through the hole on the right side to bring Hosmer around.
Kansas City tacked on two more in the seventh for a 4-0 lead. Alcides Escobar walked and Jarrod Dyson reached on a bunt before both runners moved up on Jimenez's wild pitch. Aoki then delivered a base hit to score Escobar, spelling the end of Jimenez's night.
Infante greeted reliever T.J. McFarland with an RBI single to left for a 4-0 edge.
With runners on the corners in the ninth, Butler laced a double off the wall in right to score Dyson to account for the final difference.
Game Notes
Ventura is the first KC rookie starter to throw eight shutout innings since Dan Reichert, who blanked the Yankees over eight frames in 2000 ... The O's were 5-for-15 with RISP ... Dyson finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored ... The Orioles had scored 10 runs in each of their last two games entering the series ... Jimenez lost to KC for the first time since Sept. 22, 2012 ... McFarland was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after the game.
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