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Blue Jays take first game of doubleheader against Kansas 11-3

Kansas City Royals third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert puts the tag on Toronto Blue Jays' Justin Smoak for the out at third base in the sixth inning in the first game of their American League MLB baseball doubleheader in Toronto on Tuesday April 17, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Thornhill

TORONTO – Randal Grichuk belted a three-run homer to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a convincing 11-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader.

Grichuk anchored a six-run sixth inning by taking Blaine Boyer’s 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for his second homer of the season. Four batters later, Yangervis Solarte drove in Devon Travis with a sacrifice fly before Kevin Pillar’s two-run single put Toronto ahead 11-3.

Jamie Garcia (2-0) earned the win, allowing three earned runs on eight hits over five innings while fanning five and walking one.

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Toronto (10-5), playing for the first time since Friday after having three straight games postponed, has won two straight five of its last six games. Kansas City (3-11) has dropped six consecutive contests.

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Toronto took a 2-0 lead on Solarte’s two-run homer off Royals starter Eric Skoglund in the first. Paulo Orlando brought Kansas City’s first run home when his groundout into a double play scored Lucas Duda.

But the Royals went ahead 3-2 in the third following consecutive solo homers from Mike Moustakas and Duda. Toronto countered with three in the fifth on RBI singles from Steve Pearce, Justin Smoak and Solarte, who finished 2-for-3 with four runs-batted in.

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