David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior Writer 8y

Five things we learned Sunday: Royals move into first

The New York Yankees won even though they got only one hit (a Starlin Castro two-run home run in the seventh that broke up Jake Odorizzi’s no-hit bid), the Chicago Cubs have won five in a row after sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies, Johnny Cueto pitched another gem, and Carlos Correa came off the bench to deliver a 13th-inning home run for the Houston Astros. What we learned on Sunday:

1. The Kansas City Royals had a great weekend. With Mike Moustakas out for the season, Alex Gordon on the disabled list and Salvador Perez out for a week or so with a quad contusion, the Royals have been forced into a makeshift lineup featuring the likes of Whit Merrifield, Brett Eibner, Cheslor Cuthbert and Drew Butera. All they did was sweep the Chicago White Sox with three come-from-behind wins. They won 7-5 on Friday after trailing 5-1 entering the bottom of the sixth; they won 8-7 on Saturday with the miracle seven-run rally in the ninth; and then won 5-4 on Sunday after trailing Chris Sale 4-2 through seven innings. They didn't beat Sale, but they did force him out after he threw 118 pitches in seven innings. They hit 24 foul balls, including 14 with two strikes, as Sale ran up his highest pitch count of the season.

Against Nate Jones, Lorenzo Cain homered with one out, and with the bases loaded, the no-namers delivered: Eibner walked to tie the game, and Cuthbert's infield single against Matt Albers scored the go-ahead run. The Royals had a reputation as a come-from-behind team in 2015, but that was really only true in the postseason. In the regular season, they were 8-57 when trailing after six innings, a .123 winning percentage nearly identical to the MLB average of .118. Sunday's win was already their fifth when trailing after six.

Oh, the Royals are in first place. The tumbling White Sox peaked at 23-10, but have gone 4-14 since.

2. The Seattle Mariners had a lousy weekend. The Mariners had a dramatic walk-off home run on Tuesday, won 13-3 on Wednesday and had the hapless Minnesota Twins coming into Safeco. So of course the Twins swept the series. Joe Mauer, who entered the weekend with three home runs, hit three long balls in the series, all to the opposite field. Mariners starters Felix Hernandez, Wade Miley and Taijuan Walker gave up 16 runs in 14 1/3 innings, with Walker unable to get past the fifth on Sunday. Walker gave up just one home run in his first five starts and posted a 1.80 ERA; he's allowed nine in his past five starts and has posted a 5.18 ERA. The home runs Mauer and Miguel Sano hit on Sunday both came off splitters, a pitch Walker is throwing a lot more this season (19 percent of the time compared to 11.5 percent last year). It's a good complement to his fastball, which he throws up in the zone, as it changes the eye level for the batters. They are 5-for-51 against it (.098) -- but three of those hits have been home runs.

3. You can't predict baseball. Well, OK, we know that. But how about what happened in the Texas Rangers’ 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates? The biggest problem for the Rangers has been the lack of production from first baseman Mitch Moreland (.221, five home runs, .671 OPS entering Sunday) and designated hitter Prince Fielder (.196, two home runs, .559 OPS). Both homered on Sunday -- off Pittsburgh lefty Francisco Liriano, who hadn't allowed a home run to a left-handed batter all season and has allowed just nine since 2009. Both homered off fastballs in the fourth inning instead of Liriano's signature slider -- Fielder on a 1-0 pitch and Moreland on the first pitch, a three-run blast measured at 440 feet. The Rangers moved a half-game ahead of the Mariners.

4. Stephen Strasburg continues to roll. The Washington Nationals starter is 9-0 with a 2.69 ERA after allowing one run in six innings in a 10-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. It was 3-1 when Strasburg exited after throwing 104 pitches, and if we're going to nitpick, it's worth pointing out that he's failed to pitch more than six innings in his past four starts and has completed eight innings just once this season. To be fair, he is fifth in the majors in innings, as he's gone at least six in every start, but I'd still like to see a few more outings in which he goes a little deeper into the game.

5. Circle game of the day. Our colleague Tim Kurkjian likes to reference "circle games," those games you circle on the calendar to remember late in the season, because it's one that might be the difference between making the playoffs and not making the playoffs. The Royals' comeback for the ages on Saturday is an obvious circle game, especially since it came against a team it's potentially fighting for the AL Central title. You could say the same for Sunday's win, but how about the Boston Red Sox’s 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings? The Jays were going for the sweep and tied it in the bottom of the eighth, and the Sox didn't have Craig Kimbrel available after he threw 39 pitches in blowing Saturday's game. Boston scored twice in the 11th off Gavin Floyd, with the awful Drew Storen giving up the go-ahead double to Dustin Pedroia. Clay Buchholz, exiled to the bullpen, got the win.

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