KANSAS CITY -- A pinch-hitter for Alcides Escobar?Perish the thought. At least any such thoughts must have perished instantly in the sixth inning when Escobar belted a bases-loaded double to push Jason Vargas and the Royals toward a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Kauffman Stadium.Vargas held the Rays scoreless for eight innings on three hits and went out for the ninth. But when Ben Zobrist opened the inning by sending his second pitch over the left-field wall for his first home run, closer Greg Holland was brought into the game. Vargas struck out two and walked one. It was his first victory for the Royals, with whom he signed as a free agent last winter. 
Escobar's clutch blow, with two outs, came after he'd had gone just 1-for-19 this season.Alex Gordon got a one-out single off left-hander Cesar Ramos, who was promptly relieved by right-hander Heath Bell. Salvador Perez singled before Mike Moustakas struck out to go 0-for-17. But Lorenzo Cain hustled to an infield single, filling the bases.Up came Escobar and, on a 1-0 pitch, he hit a liner low off the fence in left field. A three-run double. Pinch me.With one swing, he'd matched his career high for RBIs in one game.The Royals broke away fast against left-hander Matt Moore. Nori Aoki opened their first inning with a triple that sailed past left fielder Sean Rodriguez. After Omar Infante popped out, Eric Hosmer punched a single into left field for a 1-0 lead.Moore, despite a couple of walks in the second inning and two singles in the third, kept the Royals off the plate. Then after getting one out in the fifth, there was a gathering at the mound and Moore left the game with an apparent injury. Ramos, also a left-hander, came out of the bullpen to take over.The Rays announced that Moore left with a sore left elbow.Meantime, Vargas was even more fastidious with his pitching. There was Evan Longoria's leadoff double in the second inning but that came to absolutely nothing. Desmond Jennings walked with two out in the third but was also stranded. Vargas also breezed past a dropped throw by first baseman Hosmer in the fifth with no ill effect. Then a pair of two-out singles by Zobrist and Longoria yielded nothing in the sixth.Infante was taken out of the game after being struck in the face by Bell's pitch in the seventh inning.Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
Escobar's clutch blow, with two outs, came after he'd had gone just 1-for-19 this season.Alex Gordon got a one-out single off left-hander Cesar Ramos, who was promptly relieved by right-hander Heath Bell. Salvador Perez singled before Mike Moustakas struck out to go 0-for-17. But Lorenzo Cain hustled to an infield single, filling the bases.Up came Escobar and, on a 1-0 pitch, he hit a liner low off the fence in left field. A three-run double. Pinch me.With one swing, he'd matched his career high for RBIs in one game.The Royals broke away fast against left-hander Matt Moore. Nori Aoki opened their first inning with a triple that sailed past left fielder Sean Rodriguez. After Omar Infante popped out, Eric Hosmer punched a single into left field for a 1-0 lead.Moore, despite a couple of walks in the second inning and two singles in the third, kept the Royals off the plate. Then after getting one out in the fifth, there was a gathering at the mound and Moore left the game with an apparent injury. Ramos, also a left-hander, came out of the bullpen to take over.The Rays announced that Moore left with a sore left elbow.Meantime, Vargas was even more fastidious with his pitching. There was Evan Longoria's leadoff double in the second inning but that came to absolutely nothing. Desmond Jennings walked with two out in the third but was also stranded. Vargas also breezed past a dropped throw by first baseman Hosmer in the fifth with no ill effect. Then a pair of two-out singles by Zobrist and Longoria yielded nothing in the sixth.Infante was taken out of the game after being struck in the face by Bell's pitch in the seventh inning.Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
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