Yeonis Cespedes hit a leadoff homer in the eighth inning and the A’s beat the Royals 4-3 to move back over .500. It was the third straight, one-run loss by the Royals in Oakland this weekend.
Derek Norris hit a leadoff single and raced to third when the ball skipped over David Lough’s glove and rolled to the wall. One batter later Coco Crisp’s sacrifice fly tied the game at 3-3 in the 7th. It’s those little plays that come back to haunt.
Alex Gordon matched his career high of four hits for Kansas City. The Royals have lost 10 of 13 and fallen back to .500. Â Gordon hit an RBI single in the third, scored in the fifth and doubled in the seventh. Since moving to the third spot in the lineup on May 9, Gordon is batting .450 (18 for 40).
The Royals, who scored just two runs and stranded 11 baserunners in the first two games of this series, went up 2-0 when Chris Getz singled in Hosmer in the fourth. Hosmer added an RBI double in the fifth.
