Omar Infante drives in six runs, Royals win 9-3

Kansas City Royals second baseman Omar Infante tied his career-high with six RBI's Sunday afternoon, helping the Royals defeat the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 and clinch the series.

Infante picked up his first RBI in the bottom of the first. Norichika Aoki hit a flyball to centerfield, which Adam Jones misplayed. The ball bounced off Jones' glove, and Aoki ended up at third. Infante followed with a grounder to J.J. Hardy, plating Aoki to give the Royals an 1-0 advantage.

Kansas City manufactured a second run in the third. Jarrod Dyson reached base with an infield single, then swiped second during the next at-bat. Aoki grounded out, but advanced Dyson to third. Infante followed with a shallow flyball to right, just deep enough to bring in Dyson.

The Infante Train kept rolling into the fifth inning. Alcides Escobar and Aoki each slapped singles, then Infante blasted a Miguel Gonzalez offering to the wall, barely missing a three-run homer. The second baseman settled with a double, driving in both runners and extending the Royals lead 4-2.

Infante drove in his final two runs of the game in the top of the seventh. Aoki reached base with a two-out bunt single against reliever Evan Meek, then Infante lined a homer to left, his second of the year. The home run, somehow, did not kill the rally. Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler collected back-to-back singles, then Alex Gordon drove in both runners with a double to center.

The Royals added one more run in the top of the ninth. Gordon lined a single, then Mike Moustakas drove Gordon in with a two-out double to center. Extra-base hits are the best.

James Shields turned in a strong performance, only allowing two runs on three hits over seven innings. Nelson Cruz hit a two-run bomb  in the top of the sixth, but otherwise Shields looked dominant. The right-hander struck out six, only issuing two walks.

Kelvin Herrera tossed a scoreless eighth, then Greg Holland came in to pinch the ninth. Yost must have really wanted to win this game, I guess. Baltimore ended up scoring one run against Holland thanks to an infield single, double and a wild pitch, but Holland recorded two strikeouts and a flyout to end the threat.

The Royals are now 12-12 on the season. The team will have an offday Monday before returning to Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday to start a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.