ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon hit solo home runs and the Kansas City Royals picked up their fifth consecutive victory, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 7-2 on Thursday night.

The streaking Royals have been getting it done with power, clubbing 14 homers in this unbeaten stretch. Cain hit a line drive that barely cleared the wall in left center in the third inning, and Gordon followed it up with a shot to center in the fourth, his third of the year.

That was more than enough support for Matt Strahm (2-3), who won his first career start after making 41 appearances as a reliever over the past two seasons. Strahm went five innings, striking out three while giving up three hits and one walk.

Ricky Nolasco (2-8) dropped his sixth straight start, giving up five runs and 10 hits in six innings, while the Angels failed to pick up their first three-game winning streak since Mike Trout’s thumb injury.

[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Current Hutchinson Community College baseball player Shane Cooper and former Blue Dragon Tanner Raiburn became the 32nd and 33rd Hutchinson players to be selected in the Major League Baseball Player Draft.

Raiburn, a left-handed pitcher who played with the Blue Dragons in 2014 and 2015, was the first Blue Dragon to go during Day 3 of the three-day draft. Raiburn was a 33rd-round pick of the Boston Red Sox with the 1,001st overall selection.

Cooper, a freshman All-American and two-time all-conference selection, was taken in the 37th round with the 1,115th overall pick by the Detroit Tigers.

Raiburn and Cooper are the fifth and sixth players drafted in the Ryan Schmidt era.

 

SHANE COOPER

Cooper will go down as one of the best shortstops in Blue Dragon Baseball history.

During his freshman All-America season, Cooper set a Hutchinson single-season record for hits with 96 in the 2016 season.

This past season, the sophomore from O’Fallon, Missouri, hit .342 and had a .433 on-base percentage. He had 80 total hits with 12 doubles, four triples and eight home runs. Cooper scored 78 runs and drove in 54 from the lead-off spot. He drew a team-high 37 walks.

Defensively, Cooper made a huge improvement, committing only nine errors this season in 150 chances for a .961 fielding percentage.

Cooper wound up with a .371 career batting average with 176 career hits, 147 career runs scored, 35 career doubles, six career triples, 19 career home runs and 280 career total bases. Cooper is listed in the top five in nine Blue Dragon career categories, including a school-record 324 assists in his two seasons with the Blue Dragons.

Cooper is the fifth Blue Dragon to be drafted by the Tigers, joining Logan Hoch (2010), Andy Dirks (2008), Thad Weber (2008) and Noah Krol (2007).

 

TANNER RAIBURN

A product of Wichita Bishop Carroll High School, the left-handed Raiburn was primarily a starter for the Blue Dragons in 2014 and 2015.

As a sophomore at Hutchinson, Raiburn started 11 games and made 13 appearances and posted a 4-2 record with a 5.79 ERA. He had 45 strikeouts and 37 1-3 innings, allowing 43 hits, 26 runs and 20 walks.

As a freshman, Raiburn made 17 appearances and six starts with a record of 4-2 and a 5.96 ERA. Raiburn struck out 39 in 45 1-3 innings with the Blue Dragons.

This past season at Grambling State, Raiburn was 4-2 with a strong 3.76 ERA in eight starts. He worked 76 2-3 innings and allowed 74 hits and 91 runs while striking out a career-best 84. Raiburn struck out 16 in a single game on March 3 against Arkansas Pine-Blue.

Raiburn is the first Blue Dragon to be selected by the Red Sox.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mike Moustakas hit his 18th home run leading off the second inning, Jorge Bonifacio and Lorenzo Cain followed with back-to-back shots in the third and the Kansas City Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 7-2 on Wednesday to complete a two-game sweep.

Bonifacio finished with two hits and three RBIs, Whit Merrifield added three hits and three runs while Alcides Escobar singled three times to help Jason Hammel end an eight-game winless stretch on the road that dated to 2016.

Hammel (3-6) allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings to beat the Giants for the first time in 12 starts. The right-hander gave up eight hits, struck out four and walked one.

Moustakas, one of Kansas City’s top hitters over the past two weeks, stayed hot with his home run off former Royals pitcher Johnny Cueto (5-6) that landed in the waters of McCovey Cove. It was the fifth homer in 12 games for Moustakas, who is already just four shy of his career-high.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alcides Escobar hit a two-run double as part of a six-run sixth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 8-1 on Tuesday night.

Jorge Bonifacio drove in three runs and snapped an 0-for-13 drought, Alex Gordon added two hits and two runs, while Whit Merrifield had a bases-loaded triple to help Kansas City to a win in its first appearance at AT&T Park since the 2014 World Series.

Jason Vargas (9-3) allowed one run over seven innings to outpitch Ty Blach in a battle of left-handers. Vargas gave up five hits with six strikeouts and one walk for his fourth straight win overall and second against the Giants this season.

Buster Posey had two hits and scored San Francisco’s run. The Giants have lost 10 of 14.