Jason Vargas held the American League’s best ERA at 1.01 entering Wednesday night’s game against the New York Yankees. When he left, it was up a full point…2.03 to be exact. Vargas gave up just as many runs in the fourth inning as he has in his first seven starts. The Yankees attacked Vargas and four relievers with 16 hits in an 11-7 final at Kauffman Stadium.
Aaron Hicks hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run fourth inning. Vargas ended his night allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks in only four innings. His home unbeaten streak ended at 10 games.
“He just wasn’t sharp. It’s one of those days where he got through the first three OK and then just really struggled to finish off his pitches,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
During their latest run, nobody can slow down New York. This was their fourth straight game scoring seven or more runs.
The Royals were down 6-2 after four innings and 10-3 after five. Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer and Whit Merrifield also went deep for Kansas City, which scored three times in the ninth to make the final score closer than what the game actually was.