KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alcides Escobar is a maestro with his glove, making the kinds difficult of plays at shortstop that has helped to make the Kansas City Royals one of the best defensive teams in baseball. On Wednesday night, Escobar showed he can swing the bat a bit, too. His two-run double in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in a tense 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. "Hes been very consistent," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Hes always been an important part of our club because of his defence. He saves runs in the field. But when you add offence to that, he becomes a very special player." Eric Hosmer drove in the other two runs for the Royals, whose bullpen blew a 2-0 lead for young starter Yordano Ventura before holding on to beat Toronto with a late rally for the second straight night. Kansas City won the series opener 10-7 behind a six-run eighth inning. Kelvin Herrera (1-1) stranded runners on second and third in the seventh, and Wade Davis struck out Jose Reyes to leave the bases loaded in the eighth. Greg Holland worked around a double in the ninth for his seventh save in seven tries. "You play 162 games. Youre going to see a lot of things happen," Holland said. "The mark of a good bullpen is when you have guys pick each other up when they get in jams." Drew Hutchison (1-2) allowed all four runs on five hits in seven innings for Toronto. The 23-year-old right-hander, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, kept the Royals mostly off balance until Escobar guided his double down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. Jimmy Paredes and Salvy Perez scored easily to give Kansas City the lead. "I got ahead of him. I went right at him. I thought I made a good pitch," Hutchison said. "Thats a situation where I expect myself to thrive and get the job done, but I didnt." The Royals improved to 14-0 when scoring at least four runs -- they remain 0-12 falling short of that mark. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays lost for the sixth time in their last seven games. Toronto also lost outfielder Melky Cabrera in the sixth inning when he was hit in the left shin by a pitch from Danny Duffy. Cabrera needed to be helped off the field, though X-rays taken at the ballpark came back negative and a team spokesman said he was day to day. The Royals manufactured a 1-0 lead through driving rain in the first inning with a double by Nori Aoki, a sacrifice bunt and Hosmers sacrifice fly. They tacked on another run in the fourth when Hosmer followed a double by Omar Infante with one of his own. As long as Ventura was pitching, it seemed that would be enough. The Blue Jays struggled to catch up to the 22-year-olds triple-digit fastball, managing just two hits over five innings. But they were more successful at avoiding stuff off the plate, driving up his pitch count and forcing him from the game after five innings and 92 pitches. "It was cold out there," Ventura said through a translator, fellow starter Jeremy Guthrie. "Naturally, it was a little more difficult to command." Thats when Royals manager Ned Yost called on Duffy, who hit Cabrera in the left shin with his first pitch. Cabrera dropped to the grass in foul territory and stayed there several minutes, eventually getting helped through the dugout and to the clubhouse by the Blue Jays trainers. Duffy proceeded to walk Jose Bautista on five pitches and was yanked for Aaron Crow, who gave up singles to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco that tied the game 2-all. Crow finally escaped the inning, and the Royals bullpen held Toronto down the rest of the way. "Its frustrating, but at the end of the day I need to do a better job to give us a chance to win after we came back and scored two runs," Hutchison said. "I was in complete control going into the seventh. It comes down to that its on me and I need to get the job done." NOTES: Toronto left 11 runners on base. ... Bautista finished with 30 walks in April, matching Fred McGriffs club record for a single month. ... Blue Jays INF Brett Lawrie (sore back) was held out of the lineup. Manager John Gibbons called him day to day. ... RHP Jeremy Guthrie starts the series finale Thursday night for Kansas City. LHP Mark Buehrle starts for Toronto. Bruce Matthews Womens Jersey .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. Curley Culp Jersey . -- Phil Hughes ended a personal losing streak that dated to last July, pitching into the seventh inning Sunday and helping the Twins top the Kansas City Royals 8-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-99-Jurrell-Casey-Womens-Jersey/ .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. Jurrell Casey Titans Jersey . Wheeler said Kane was just making a joke that was misunderstood and misinterpreted by "Winnipeg folks" and the media once again. Wheeler repeated that he believes Kane is a player who has the ability to help the Jets get to the next level as they try once again to reach the playoffs in 2014. He made the comments initially in an interview, when asked how the Jets could compete in the Central Division with teams that have made some high-profile off-season signings. Jeffery Simmons Titans Jersey . Both sides of the deal have formally announced acquisitions: TFC introduced Jozy Altidore as a designated player on Friday, while their counterparts announced a three-and-a-half-year deal with Jermain Defoe.LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Frank Mason added 14 points and nine assists to help No. 10 Kansas beat Lafayette 96-69 on Saturday. Wayne Selden Jr. finished with 12 points, all in the second half for Kansas (9-1). Freshman Svi Mykhailiuk and Jamari Traylor each had 11 points, and freshman Cliff Alexander had 10. Seth Hinrichs led Lafayette (7-3) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Kansas played without freshman Devonte Graham because of a toe injury, and junior Perry Ellis was limited to seven minutes in the first half. Kansas pulled away with a 10-0 run in the first half with the help of a couple 3s and a back-to-back dunks by Alexander and Oubre. Lafayette tried to regain some footing, but couldnt manage to chip away at the deficit. At the end of the first half, Mykhailuk hit three straight 3--pointers to extend Kansas lead to 17.dddddddddddd It was raining jumpers after intermission, but it wasnt by Kansas. Senior Dan Trist had six straight points and the Leopards made eight shots in a row, cutting Kansas halftime lead in half. Mason wasnt about to let Lafayette pull a Utah and come back within striking distance -- and neither was Traylor. The two combined for 11 points in Kansas 15-4 run. That run electrified Kansas and the Jayhawks ran with it and led by 34 before the bench was cleared. TIP-INS Kansas: Junior Hunter Mickelson scored eight points, the most hes scored since he played for Arkansas. Lafayette: The Leopards are 0-3 against Big 12 opponents since coach Fran OHanlon took over in 1995. UP NEXT Kansas visits Temple on Monday. Lafayette hosts the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Dec. 28. ' ' '