Chris Young, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas lead Royals over Yankees 12-1

Half of the pitching duel expected in the Royals-Yankees game materialized.

Chris Young, who entered the rotation two weeks ago, had been stunningly good in his first two Royals starts, allowing one unearned run in 11 innings.

Michael Pineda has been sensational, a 5-0 record and coming off a 16-strikeout performance, the second best in Yankees history.

Young continued his mastery, and Royals bats turned it into a walkover in a 12-1 decision.

“Tremendous job again,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Pineda was chased during a six-run sixth inning that blew open a game that matched the teams as division leaders for the first time since 2003.

Eleven Royals batted in the sixth, with Alex Gordon collecting two hits. An Omar Infante triple and Paulo Orlando single drove in runs, and Lorenzo Cain brought home two with a base hit.

Mike Moustakas didn’t drive in a run that inning but was involved in all of the other scoring innings for the Royals and missed hitting for the cycle by about a foot.

Moustakas had scored after a double to left in the first and a triple up the right-field line in the third. He added a single in his third plate appearance, making a home run the final requirement in the quest to become the first Royals player since George Brett in 1990 to accomplish the rarity.

He barely missed history.

In the seventh, Moustakas lofted a ball to the left-field corner. It banged off the top of the wall, and he finished with a four-hit game, matching his career best.

“I hit it pretty good, but I didn’t think it was going to go as far as it did,” Moustakas said. “The wind was blowing out to left. I thought I’d give it a shot. It came up a little short.”

Cain didn’t settle for matching a career best. He established one, with five RBIs. The first two scored Moustakas and marked the seventh time in seven plate appearances that Cain delivered a runner from third with fewer than two outs.

Cain’s early heroics staked the Royals to a 2-0 lead after three innings, which the Yankee halved in the fourth.

“Five RBI, that’s definitely a great night,” Cain said.

The Young-Pineda duel endured through five innings.

Pineda recorded only one strikeout against the team that fans the fewest of any in the American League, but he was keeping the Yankees close.

“We got pitches up,” Cain said. “It allowed us to drive pitches. We laid off sliders in the dirt. As a team we did a great job of that tonight.”

Turned out, neither starter finished the sixth inning, but only one left on happy terms.

Young opened the sixth by striking out Alex Rodriguez. Mark Teixeira then dropped a single to center.

Brian McCann’s shot seemed destined to land for extra bases, until Cain outraced it just short of the wall in right-center.

After the defensive play of the game, Yost excused Young for the evening. Young’s pitch count stood at 91, surpassing his season high by eight.

Franklin Morales was charged with keeping the Royals’ 2-1 lead. Switch-hitting Carlos Beltran, batting right-handed, laced a first-pitch double that put runners at second and third.

But Morales got Chase Headley to ground out to first, ending the threat.

Young, who joined the Royals in March as a free agent, again delivered a solid start.

Yost knew Young’s numbers, his 6-foot-10 frame and had firsthand knowledge of his pitching repertoire after Young surrendered two runs against the Royals in 15 innings while pitching for the Mariners last year.

What Yost didn’t know was Young’s makeup, and that’s been a revelation.

“He’s competitive more than anything else,” Yost said before the game. “He’s a big tall gangly, mild-mannered looking guy. He is far from that. He’s one guy, if I can bottle his attitude, you could make a lot of money selling it.”

Long relief was the intention when Young was acquired, and he gave up two runs in 9 2/3 innings in that role.

But when Edinson Volquez served a suspension and Jason Vargas went on the disabled list, the Royals needed another starter. Young has filled that role admirably. His updated totals as a starter: 16 2/3 innings, one earned run, four walks and a 2-0 record (3-0 overall), with the Royals winning all three games.

“What we needed tonight was a good start by Chris Young and some offense,” Yost said. “The bullpen was short, and they provided enough runs that we didn’t have to use our key guys. That was huge.”

Royals 12, Yankees 1

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 10:36 PM with the headline "Chris Young, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas lead Royals over Yankees 12-1."