By Canadian Press

Perez homers as KC beats Blue Jays 2-1 in game called after 5 innings, 3 1/2-hour rain delay

Apr 25, 2024 | 4:46 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer in the first inning, Cole Ragans held Toronto in check long enough for the rain to arrive, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Blue Jays 2-1 on Thursday in a game called after five innings and a long weather delay.

Ragans (1-2) allowed the lone Toronto run on three hits and three walks while striking out four.

José Berrios (4-1) had his streak of 22 1/3 scoreless innings snapped when Perez, following Vinnie Pasquantino’s two-out walk, deposited the first pitch he saw into the left-field bullpen to give Kansas City the lead in the first inning.

When the fifth ended, and an early drizzle had turned to steady rain, umpire chief Chris Guccione called for the tarp to cover the infield. Blue Jays manager John Schneider came out to argue, wanting another opportunity to tie or take the lead, and apparently he convinced Guccione to have the grounds crew roll the tarp back and attempt to get the field in shape.

After about 10 minutes, Guccione again summoned the tarp. The field was covered for about 2 hours, and when the rain stopped, the grounds crew spent another hour-plus working on it. At that point, the game was called after a delay of 3 hours, 38 minutes.

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Ragans had to work around plenty of trouble early, including a runner-on-the-corners situation in the second, when he got Alejandro Kirk to fly out. In the fourth, the Blue Jays bookended Davis Schneider’s walk with hits by Justin Turner and Ernie Clement to cut the Royals’ lead in half, but Daulton Varsho and Kirk could not get across the tying run.

The Blue Jays had another try in the fifth, when center fielder Kyle Isbel made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch of Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s drive to the warning track. Isbel also raced down George Springer’s blooper. Then, after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drew a walk, Bo Bichette popped foul to end what turned out to be the Blue Jays’ final at-bat.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: RHP Alec Marsh (bruised right elbow) went on the injured list Thursday after taking a 91 mph line drive off his elbow the previous night. RHP Will Klein was recalled from Triple-A Omaha to take his spot on the roster.

Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (right forearm tendinitis) was placed on the IL after pitching two scoreless innings Wednesday night. LHP Brendon Little was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take his spot in the bullpen.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: Start a six-game homestand that includes a visit by Kansas City next week. Up first are the Los Angeles Dodgers with RHP Chris Bassitt (2-3, 3.90 ERA) getting the nod against them in Friday night’s series opener.

Royals: Begin a six-day trip against the Tigers on Friday with a rare 12:10 p.m. CDT start so that it any minimizes interference with the NFL draft in Detroit. RHP Seth Lugo (3-1, 2.03) is on the mound for the series opener.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press