By Julian Linden
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Kansas City Royals knocked down Robinson Cano then pushed past the rest of his New York Yankees team mates to defeat the pinstripes 4-3 in the 11th inning on Wednesday.
Cano left the game early after he was struck on the side of his helmet by a 93-mph (150 km/h) fastball from Kansas City pitcher Nate Adcock.
The Yankees' second baseman collapsed to the dirt but got back on to his feet after being treated by a trainer. He smiled as he made his way back to the dugout by was taken to nearby hospital for precautionary tests.
"We had a ton of opportunities," the manager added, referring to the 15 baserunners stranded by his team. "We just never cashed in. The bottom line is, we're better than this. We're just struggling offensively."
The Yankees, professional baseball's richest team, were leading 2-1 when Cano departed in the fifth, courtesy of Curtis Granderson's major league-best 12th home run, but could not close out against the Royals, who have the smallest payroll in the league.
The Royals tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning, then took the lead in the 10th when Jeff Francoeur, who was struck by a wayward pitch from Yankees starter A.J. Burnett just after Cano was felled, doubled right-center field.
"Adcock's a rookie. No way was he throwing at Cano. That was absolutely an accident," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
"I don't think Burnett hitting Francoeur was an accident."
"I'm glad he got the one here," Yost said. "We think a lot of his capabilities. He got the job done for us."
(Editing by Larry Fine)
