None of that stopped Kansas City from doing what it's done for 5 straight games now — find a way to win. The Royals took this one 5-3, extending a run that has nothing to do with the standings and everything to do with playing spoiler down the stretch. Toronto, treading water at 64-68, had dropped 3 of its previous 5 games coming in and couldn't find the separation it needed against a lineup that keeps producing in big spots.
Salvador Perez did what Salvador Perez does, delivering the go-ahead RBI single that put Kansas City in front for good. Lugo turned in his best look in weeks, working deep into the game before handing off to a bullpen trio — Schreiber, Thomas and Pearson — that didn't allow a run the rest of the way. Toronto got one last scare when Nathan Lukes, who's been nearly automatic late in games all season, ripped a two-run single in the ninth that turned a comfortable margin into a nervy final out. It wasn't enough.
The night wasn't without its scary moments. Michael Massey went down awkwardly fielding a ground ball and left the game with a head injury, though the club said afterward he was doing well. Jac Caglianone, dealing with a sore ankle, didn't play at all — a reminder that even a team on this kind of streak isn't doing it at full strength.
None of this changes the bigger picture for Kansas City — a 58-74 club playing for pride and audition innings the rest of the way. For Toronto, dropping a home game to a team going nowhere while the rotation keeps losing pieces is exactly the kind of night an underachieving club can't afford in the closing stretch of August.