BALTIMORE -- The two newest members of the Baltimore Orioles did exactly what they were brought in to do: help the team win.
Baltimore fans can only hope Jeremy Hellickson and Tim Beckham do that consistently enough to carry the Orioles into the postseason.
Hellickson threw seven outstanding innings in his Baltimore debut, Beckham had two extra-base hits and two RBI and the Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep.
The Orioles' five-game winning streak is their longest since early May, and they now stand just 2 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the second AL wild-card slot.
Hellickson (1-0) was obtained Saturday from Philadelphia, the first of two significant trades by the Orioles to fortify the roster for a potential playoff run. The right-hander paid immediate returns, limiting Kansas City to five hits, issuing one walk and allowing only one runner to reach third base.
"I've been traded before, just not in season to a team that is playing as well as we are, that has a chance to make the playoffs," Hellickson said. "It's always good to throw a good one your first time out with a new team."
After going 6-5 with the Phillies, Hellickson turned in his best performance of the season to earn his second win in 12 starts since May 19.
He received offensive backing from Beckham, acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay on Monday just before the non-waiver trade deadline expired.
"I'm happy to be here, happy they believe in me," the shortstop said. "We got a great club here, man, great club, love the energy, love the team camaraderie. It's going to be a fun ride."
The Royals had won 10 of 11 before coming up flat at Camden Yards, scoring only three runs in 27 innings.
"We definitely didn't hit the ball well in this series," said Mike Moustakas, who came in with 30 home runs. "They pitched the ball great and we just didn't have any offense going."
The Royals showed their frustration in the ninth inning, when Moustakas was tossed after complaining about a third-strike call and manager Ned Yost was ejected for joining the argument.
"That pitch was nowhere close to being a strike," Yost insisted.
Baltimore went up 3-0 in the second inning against Jason Vargas (13-5) when Beckham doubled in a run and Caleb Joseph followed with a two-out drive into the left-field seats.
After Hellickson retired the first two batters in the third, a sudden rain shower forced a 35-minute delay. When play resumed, Hellickson gave up a single and hit a batter before retiring Eric Hosmer on a fly ball.
It would be the only time until the sixth inning that Kansas City got a runner to second base.
In the sixth, Melky Cabrera drew a leadoff walk and went to third on a double by Hosmer. Hellickson then caught a popup by Salvador Perez, struck out Moustakas and retired Jorge Bonifacio on a weak grounder to first.
Baltimore made it 6-0 in the eighth when Chris Davis doubled in two runs and scored on a triple by Beckham .
HOUSE OF PAIN
Kansas City was swept in three games at Camden Yards last year, too, and has dropped seven straight in Baltimore since Aug. 26, 2015.
MUST BE THE SHOES
After being traded from Tampa Bay to Baltimore, Beckham had to be fitted for a uniform Tuesday. His shoes, however, were already taken care of.
"It's funny. I don't care how many times a guy gets moved, the shoe company will catch up with him," manager Buck Showalter said. "There were about four or five boxes there, and I'm thinking, `Wow, that's pretty quick.' God forbid, you go out there in blue shoes on an orange and black team."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: CF Lorenzo Cain was excluded from the starting lineup after tweaking his hamstring running for a ball in the gap Tuesday night.
Orioles: INF Ryan Flaherty (shoulder) went 2 for 4 with a walk for Class A Frederick against Myrtle Beach on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Trevor Cahill makes his second start since being acquired in a July 23 trade with San Diego, facing Seattle at home Thursday night. He allowed five runs over four innings in his debut vs. Boston last Saturday.
Orioles: Chris Tillman (1-6, 7.65) helps open a four-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers. He's winless in 13 consecutive starts.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Baltimore fans can only hope Jeremy Hellickson and Tim Beckham do that consistently enough to carry the Orioles into the postseason.
Hellickson threw seven outstanding innings in his Baltimore debut, Beckham had two extra-base hits and two RBI and the Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0 Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep.
The Orioles' five-game winning streak is their longest since early May, and they now stand just 2 1/2 games behind Kansas City for the second AL wild-card slot.
Hellickson (1-0) was obtained Saturday from Philadelphia, the first of two significant trades by the Orioles to fortify the roster for a potential playoff run. The right-hander paid immediate returns, limiting Kansas City to five hits, issuing one walk and allowing only one runner to reach third base.
"I've been traded before, just not in season to a team that is playing as well as we are, that has a chance to make the playoffs," Hellickson said. "It's always good to throw a good one your first time out with a new team."
After going 6-5 with the Phillies, Hellickson turned in his best performance of the season to earn his second win in 12 starts since May 19.
He received offensive backing from Beckham, acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay on Monday just before the non-waiver trade deadline expired.
"I'm happy to be here, happy they believe in me," the shortstop said. "We got a great club here, man, great club, love the energy, love the team camaraderie. It's going to be a fun ride."
The Royals had won 10 of 11 before coming up flat at Camden Yards, scoring only three runs in 27 innings.
"We definitely didn't hit the ball well in this series," said Mike Moustakas, who came in with 30 home runs. "They pitched the ball great and we just didn't have any offense going."
The Royals showed their frustration in the ninth inning, when Moustakas was tossed after complaining about a third-strike call and manager Ned Yost was ejected for joining the argument.
"That pitch was nowhere close to being a strike," Yost insisted.
Baltimore went up 3-0 in the second inning against Jason Vargas (13-5) when Beckham doubled in a run and Caleb Joseph followed with a two-out drive into the left-field seats.
After Hellickson retired the first two batters in the third, a sudden rain shower forced a 35-minute delay. When play resumed, Hellickson gave up a single and hit a batter before retiring Eric Hosmer on a fly ball.
It would be the only time until the sixth inning that Kansas City got a runner to second base.
In the sixth, Melky Cabrera drew a leadoff walk and went to third on a double by Hosmer. Hellickson then caught a popup by Salvador Perez, struck out Moustakas and retired Jorge Bonifacio on a weak grounder to first.
Baltimore made it 6-0 in the eighth when Chris Davis doubled in two runs and scored on a triple by Beckham .
HOUSE OF PAIN
Kansas City was swept in three games at Camden Yards last year, too, and has dropped seven straight in Baltimore since Aug. 26, 2015.
MUST BE THE SHOES
After being traded from Tampa Bay to Baltimore, Beckham had to be fitted for a uniform Tuesday. His shoes, however, were already taken care of.
"It's funny. I don't care how many times a guy gets moved, the shoe company will catch up with him," manager Buck Showalter said. "There were about four or five boxes there, and I'm thinking, `Wow, that's pretty quick.' God forbid, you go out there in blue shoes on an orange and black team."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: CF Lorenzo Cain was excluded from the starting lineup after tweaking his hamstring running for a ball in the gap Tuesday night.
Orioles: INF Ryan Flaherty (shoulder) went 2 for 4 with a walk for Class A Frederick against Myrtle Beach on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Trevor Cahill makes his second start since being acquired in a July 23 trade with San Diego, facing Seattle at home Thursday night. He allowed five runs over four innings in his debut vs. Boston last Saturday.
Orioles: Chris Tillman (1-6, 7.65) helps open a four-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers. He's winless in 13 consecutive starts.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Kansas City - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Hellickson pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| Merrifield flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Cabrera singled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Hosmer grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Cabrera out at second. | 0 | 0 |
| Pérez grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | KC | BAL |
| Jones grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Machado grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Schoop struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Hellickson pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| Moustakas fouled out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Bonifacio singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Escobar grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Bonifacio out at second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | KC | BAL |
| Mancini reached on infield single to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Davis grounded out to first, Mancini to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Beckham doubled to deep right, Mancini scored. | 0 | 1 |
| Rickard lined out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Joseph homered to left (391 feet), Beckham scored. | 0 | 3 |
| Gentry grounded out to third. | 0 | 3 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Hellickson pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| Gordon struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| Torres flied out to left. | 0 | 3 |
| Merrifield singled to center. | 0 | 3 |
| Cabrera hit by pitch, Merrifield to second. | 0 | 3 |
| Hosmer flied out to left. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | KC | BAL |
| Jones walked. | 0 | 3 |
| Jones to second on wild pitch by Vargas. | 0 | 3 |
| Machado grounded out to second, Jones to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Schoop popped out to first. | 0 | 3 |
| Mancini intentionally walked. | 0 | 3 |
| Davis struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Hellickson pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| Pérez flied out to right. | 0 | 3 |
| Moustakas flied out to left. | 0 | 3 |
| Bonifacio grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | KC | BAL |
| Beckham struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| Rickard popped out to shortstop. | 0 | 3 |
| Joseph struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 | 3 | |
| 0 | 3 | |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Hellickson pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| Escobar singled to center. | 0 | 3 |
| Gordon struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| Torres popped out to shortstop. | 0 | 3 |
| Merrifield flied out to right. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | KC | BAL |
| Gentry struck out looking. | 0 | 3 |
| Jones grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 3 |
| Machado singled to center. | 0 | 3 |
| Schoop struck out looking. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Hellickson pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| Cabrera walked. | 0 | 3 |
| Hosmer doubled to right, Cabrera to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Pérez popped out to pitcher. | 0 | 3 |
| Moustakas struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| Bonifacio grounded out to first. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Mike Minor pitching for Kansas City | KC | BAL |
| Minor relieved Vargas. | 0 | 3 |
| Mancini grounded out to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Davis flied out to left. | 0 | 3 |
| Beckham struck out looking. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Hellickson pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| Escobar grounded out to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Gordon flied out to center. | 0 | 3 |
| Torres fouled out to first. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Peter Moylan pitching for Kansas City | KC | BAL |
| Moylan relieved Minor. | 0 | 3 |
| Rickard grounded out to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Joseph grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 3 |
| Gentry walked. | 0 | 3 |
| Jones lined out to right. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Mychal Givens pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| Givens relieved Hellickson. | 0 | 3 |
| Merrifield grounded out to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Cabrera grounded out to second. | 0 | 3 |
| Hosmer grounded out to second. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Brandon Maurer pitching for Kansas City | KC | BAL |
| Maurer relieved Moylan. | 0 | 3 |
| Machado flied out to left. | 0 | 3 |
| Schoop walked. | 0 | 3 |
| Mancini doubled to left, Schoop to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Davis doubled to right, Schoop and Mancini scored. | 0 | 5 |
| Beckham tripled to right center, Davis scored. | 0 | 6 |
| Rickard struck out swinging. | 0 | 6 |
| Joseph popped out to shortstop. | 0 | 6 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Darren O'Day pitching for Baltimore | KC | BAL |
| O'Day relieved Givens. | 0 | 6 |
| Pérez flied out to right. | 0 | 6 |
| Moustakas struck out looking. | 0 | 6 |
| Kansas City's M Moustakas ejected by J Tumpane in the 9th. | 0 | 6 |
| Manager N Yost ejected by J Tumpane in the 9th. | 0 | 6 |
| Bonifacio walked. | 0 | 6 |
| Escobar grounded into fielder's choice to second, Bonifacio out at second. | 0 | 6 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City Royals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Merrifield 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .294 | .333 | .477 |
| Cabrera LF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | .292 | .336 | .432 |
| Hosmer 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | .322 | .378 | .499 |
| Pérez C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .283 | .311 | .518 |
| Moustakas DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .271 | .302 | .550 |
| Bonifacio RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | .258 | .328 | .444 |
| Escobar SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .230 | .253 | .314 |
| Gordon CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | .202 | .294 | .304 |
| Torres 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .242 | .299 | .290 |
| Totals | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 133 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Hosmer (22, Hellickson) GIDP: Escobar Royals RISP: 0-4 (Moustakas 0-1, Hosmer 0-1, Pérez 0-1, Bonifacio 0-1) Team LOB: 7 | ||||||||||
Game Notes
| The game has resumed after a 35 minute delay. |
| MGR YOST EJECTED TOP 9TH (ARGUING BALLS & STRIKES) |
| DH MOUSTAKAS EJECTED TOP 9TH (ARGUING BALLS & STRIKES) |
Game Information
| Stadium | Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD |
| Attendance | 14,984 (32.6% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:47 |
| Weather | 72 degrees, rain |
| Wind | 5 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - John Tumpane, First Base - Sean Barber, Second Base - Ted Barrett, Third Base - Angel Hernandez |
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