News » Talk about finishing with a flourish.Rookie Heath Fillmyer

CINCINNATI (AP) — struck out a career-high nine http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , collected his first major league hit and run batted in, and the Kansas City Royals wrapped up their road schedule with a 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.The only run Fillmyer allowed was Jose Peraza’s 14th homer in the first inning. Fillmyer (4-2) retired 11 straight batters in one stretch against a Cincinnati team that has scored three or fewer runs in 13 of its last 14 games.“My curveball was working well against lefties, and I had a real nice slider against righties,” Fillmyer said. “I was able to keep them off-balance.”He allowed four hits and two walks while tying his career high with 7 1/3 innings.“He threw the ball well,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He spotted it well and changed speeds well. He did a nice job of executing the game plan. When he makes a mistake lately, they don’t seem to hurt him. He was down in the zone and changed speeds.”Fillmyer also chipped in to the Kansas City offense with a sixth-inning RBI double.“If I missed that one, I was never going to get a hit,” he said. “It was right down the middle. It was nice to get the monkey off my back.”Adalberto Mondesi tripled, scored two runs and stole two bases to spark the Kansas City offense. Whit Merrifield, who went into the game tied for the American League lead in hits and leading in stolen bases Cory Spangenberg Jersey , extended his season-high hitting streak to 16 games with a third-inning single. He also stole two bases.Alex Gordon tacked on a solo home run to help Kansas City to a third straight win and fourth in its last five games.The Royals finished with a 26-55 road record. They need one win in their last four games to avoid matching their single-season record of 106 losses, set in 2005.The Reds have lost five straight games, all to teams with worse records, and six of their last seven. Cincinnati’s offensive struggles date to the start of a 10-game road trip in Chicago on Sept. 14.“We may have looked flat because we didn’t get a lot of hits and there was no activity, but we have been doing all our preparations before the games and trying to finish strong,” manager Jim Riggleman said. “Since Chicago, we haven’t got good results. We didn’t score a lot of runs in Chicago either, but we had better at-bats.”After lasting six innings in his previous start, a win at Miami, Reds starter Cody Reed (1-3) could manage just 3 2/3 Eric Hosmer Jersey , giving up six hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts.“I wasn’t as sharp,” Reed said. “I didn’t have the back-foot slider to righties that I had the last two games. I rushed myself a little warming up before the game, but I felt fine.”40-40 MANMerrifield is the first player since Houston’s Jose Altuve in 2014 with at least 40 doubles and 40 stolen bases in the same season. The only other Royal with that combination is Johnny Damon in 2000.CHANGEUPRHP Michael Lorenzen (3-2) now is scheduled to start Cincinnati’s game on Saturday against the Pirates. Sunday could be a bullpen day with RHP Sal Romano (8-11) starting, Riggleman said.ELUSIVE WINThe Reds lost their last seven interleague games to finish 10-10 against AL teams. They fell one win short of matching their single-season record for interleague wins. Kansas City finished 6-14 against NL teams.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP Glenn Sparkman (0-3) makes his fourth start in the opener of a season-ending, four-game series against division champion Cleveland.Reds: RHP Anthony DeSclafani (7-7), originally scheduled to start on Saturday, was moved up to start Friday against Pittsburgh in place of RHP Luis Castillo, who was shut down for the season. WASHINGTON (AP) — Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Urena is appealing his six-game suspension for intentionally hitting Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves with a pitch.Urena was in uniform Friday and Marlins manager Don Mattingly didn’t rule out using him this weekend against the Washington Nationals.Major League Baseball announced the suspension and undisclosed fine Thursday, a day after Urena hit Acuna on the left arm with his first pitch in the Marlins’ 5-2 loss in Atlanta. Urena is eligible to play until the appeal process is complete.“When I saw I hit a guy, I feel bad Jose Pirela Jersey ,” Urena said Friday. “I said something: ‘Hey, you’ll be OK.’ I said it in Spanish.”The 20-year-old Acuna went into the game having homered in five straight games, including four homers in the three games against Miami — three of them leading off.“I talked to him right after the game,” Mattingly said of Urena. “He said he was trying to run the ball close to him and that’s exactly what he told me. I just relay what he told me because we talked about it.”The 25-year-old Urena, from the Dominican Republic, is 3-12 with a 4.74 ERA in 24 starts.Acuna was back in the lineup for the Braves on Thursday night against Colorado. He went 1 for 4 with a stolen base.“One thing I was happy about is that the kid’s all right,” Mattingly said.If Urena pitched this weekend and then dropped his appeal on Monday, he would miss Miami’s series at home against the Braves on Aug. 23-26.