Eric Hosmer, James Shields Lead Royals Past Padres 8-0

After the rough stretch that the Kansas City Royals had, and their recent run of extra inning games, they certainly needed an easy victory. Fortunately, the San Diego Padres were willing to oblige this afternoon, as the Royals cruised to an 8-0 victory.

May 5, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) reacts after a home run during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The offense kicked into gear immediately with the help of the Padres defense. Nori Aoki singled, and Alcides Escobar reached on an error by shortstop Everth Cabrera. After a double steal, Eric Hosmer drove both runners in with a base hit. One batter later, Cabrera erred once again, allowing Alex Gordon to reach. Danny Valencia gave the Royals a 3-0 lead with his base hit to left.

San Diego had their best scoring opportunity in the bottom of the second. An infield single and a base hit put runners on first and second with no one out, but Shields struck out the next two batters. Finding himself quickly ahead of Alexi Amarista 0-2, Shields was unable to put him away. Amarista ended up getting an infield single to third, which would have loaded the bases. However, Cameron Maybin strayed too far from second as he rounded the base, and was picked off by Hosmer for the third out of the inning.

James Shields cruised from there, as the Padres were only able to get one runner past second base for the rest of the game. Over his seven innings of shutout ball, Shields allowed seven hits and two walks, striking out four as he stifled the Padres offense.

A sacrifice fly from Mike Moustakas and another RBI single from Eric Hosmer gave the Royals a 5-0 lead heading into the top of the eighth. There, the Padres defense once again betrayed them. With runners on first and third and two out, a passed ball by Rene Rivera allowed a run to score. Hosmer followed with his third RBI single of the game, putting the game officially out of reach. A run scoring fielder’s choice capped off the offense for the Royals, as they cruised to an 8-0 victory.

Hosmer was the star of the game on offense, going 3-4 with a run scored and four RBIs. Aoki, who has struggled on the road, chipped in with three hits of his own, scoring two runs and stealing a base in the win.