Kim gets first career RBI (Orioles win 8-3)

KANSAS CITY - The Orioles scored first tonight and their rally included the first major league RBI for Hyun Soo Kim.

Starting for the first time since April 13, Kim hit a soft single into center off Royals starter Kris Medlen. It gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Chris Davis led off the frame with a homer to left estimated to have gone 402 feet. That was No. 6 for Davis and came off a first-pitch fastball at 91 mph.

After Davis' homer, the O's rallied with two outs and none on. J.J. Hardy walked and Jonathan Schoop singled to left. Schoop was 0-for-17 his previous five games. That set the stage for Kim's run-scoring single. Kim is now 4-for-7 this season.

The top of the first ended with some frustration when Manny Machado was thrown out trying to steal third base with Davis batting. It was the second time this year that has happened.

Machado reached with a single to center that extended his hitting streak to 16 games, adding to his career high. It is also the second-longest hitting streak to begin a season in Orioles team history. Davey Johnson hit in 17 in a row to begin the 1971 season.

The O's 2-0 lead lasted just a few minutes. Right-hander Tyler Wilson, making his first start of 2016, retired the first five Royals. But Alex Gordon blooped a two-out single to left in the second and Salvador Perez followed with a two-run homer to left. He hit No. 4 to tie the game at 2-2.

Update: That 2-2 tie lasted only minutes as well. Mark Trumbo's RBI single in the third put the Orioles back in the lead at 3-2. It was his 12th RBI, which ties Davis for the team lead. Adam Jones walked with one out and went to third when Davis hit a sharp grounder up the middle off the second base bag. Trumbo's single then broke that 2-2 tie.

Update II: The Orioles now have a five-run lead. They added four more runs in the top of the fourth to go ahead 7-2. Their offense had scored just 16 runs over the previous five games.

They knocked Medlen out in that inning, which featured an RBI double by Machado, an RBI single by Davis and a bloop two-run single to right by Trumbo. Trumbo has three RBIs in this game and leads the team with 14 on the year, one more than Davis.

Machado now has 14 extra-base hits in 16 games with eight doubles and six homers. He has hit seven doubles his last nine games. He is 2-for-3 tonight and batting .409.

The Orioles are 4-for-7 so far tonight batting with runners in scoring position. Medlen went 3 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and seven runs. He entered with an ERA of 2.38.

Update III: After K.C. had scored a run in the fifth to pull within 7-3, Wilson and Mychal Givens pitched out of two big jams. Wilson got Mike Moustakas to hit into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play in the fifth to keep the lead at 7-3.

In the sixth, Wilson was removed for Brian Matusz when the first batter reached on a Davis error. Matusz got an out, but a single and walk followed in his season debut and Givens came on. He struck out both Perez and Omar Infante with the bases loaded to keep the O's lead at four runs and quiet the K.

After those two big outs here is an updated stat on right-handed batters against Givens this year: They are 3-for-23 (.130) with 14 strikeouts.

Wilson went five innings plus one batter, allowing six hits and three runs. He threw 70 pitches, 26 more than in any previous outing this year, and can get the win tonight.

Update IV: The Orioles win it 8-3 tonight at Kansas City to even the series and improve to 11-5. Trumbo doubled in his fourth run of the night in the ninth inning. Jones set a career high with three walks. Davis tied his career high with four hits. Brad Brach pitched the final 2 1/3 innings. The O's bullpen has pitched 13 scoreless innings over the last three games.