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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It made sense perfect sense that New York Yankees rookie Chase Whitley pushed all the credit toward Brian McCann after earning the first win of his big league career. After all, the veteran catcher not only guided Whitley though a punchless Kansas City lineup, he also drove in three runs with a timely double in the third inning of what turned into a 4-2 victory over the Royals on Friday night. "He told me a game plan before the game and we were able to execute it," Whitley said. "Just follow whatever he has in store because that guy has everything. He does." Brian Roberts also drove in a run for the Yankees, who finally gave their young right-hander some support. Whitley (1-0) had allowed five earned runs in his first four starts, and left two of them with the lead, only for his team to saddle him with a series of no-decisions. Of course, McCann helped take care of that with his bases-loaded double. "Thats a huge hit," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Its a tough at-bat. He fouls off a lot of tough pitches, a change-up, a curveball, a real slow curveball, and he got a ball up in the zone and it turned into a double." Dellin Betances worked around a double by Alcides Escobar in the eighth, and David Robertson retired Salvador Perez with runners on first and second in the ninth to earn his 14th save. Jeremy Guthrie (2-6) wound up with the loss, once again getting very little support. Perez and Lorenzo Cain drove in the Royals runs. "I think I threw the ball all right except for the third inning when I gave up a couple of hits," Guthrie said. "I had McCann down to two strikes and couldnt finish him off. I threw a couple of pitches trying to finish him off and wasnt able to do that." Making their only scheduled visit to Kauffman Stadium, the Yankees won their second straight on the heels of a four-game losing streak. They also established some much-needed confidence as they began a 10-game trip that will take them through Seattle and Oakland. The Royals figured they were catching a break during the four-game series by missing Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka, who pitched his way to a 2-1 win over the Athletics on Thursday. Whitley made them wish they were facing the Japanese star. Mixing his fastball with an effective slider and change-up, the former 15th-round draft pick allowed five hits while striking out three without a walk in the longest start of his career. Whitley had never lasted more than five innings in the big leagues. "Yeah, tonights a big night. Were all happy for him," McCann said. "Hes worked really hard to get here, to do this." The Yankees took a 1-0 lead on a single by Roberts in the second inning, and Kansas City promptly answered when Perez followed a double by Alex Gordon with his own RBI single. New York quickly regained the lead in the third. Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner led off with singles, and Guthrie grazed Mark Teixeira on the shoulder to load the bases with one out. Thats when McCann connected for his double to left, giving the Yankees what turned out to be an insurmountable 4-1 lead. Guthrie kept the Royals in the game, retiring his final nine hitters. His weak-hitting offence even got a run back in the fifth when Cain drove in Gordon with a double. Still, it was not enough for Guthrie to avoid his sixth straight losing decision and his 11th consecutive start without a win. In the last five, the veteran right-hander has received a total of three runs of support. "We just couldnt get that big hit to come through," the Royals Billy Butler said. "We were putting some good at-bats together with no results. Those days are kind of frustrating." NOTES: Yankees SS Derek Jeter got the night off. Asked whether he felt he needed it, he replied: "I never feel like I need a day." ... The Royals traded LHP Justin Marks to Oakland for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment Monday. ... New York RHP David Phelps and Royals LHP Danny Duffy are starting Saturday night. Fake Vans . Here is a look at all the moves through the first week of NHL Free Agency. The most significant deals will get the full Numbers Game column treatment, like these:Briere-for-Parenteau trade. Fake Vans For Sale . PAUL, Minn. https://www.vansfake.com/. Steve has built a solid reputation throughout the years - first as a hockey player, then as an NHL general manager and now as a scout. Fake Vans Website . The Red Sox maintained a share of the AL wild-card lead Tuesday night, using four home runs to beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-7 and set up a dramatic conclusion to the regular season. The skidding Red Sox were 6-19 this month before rebounding to edge the last-place Orioles. Fake Vans 2020 .com) - Damian Lillard poured in 40 points on 11-of-21 shooting to go along with 11 assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder, 115-111, in overtime on Tuesday. PHOENIX -- Wilmer Flores has yet to find a consistent groove with the bat during his limited time in the majors, at least going by his .211 average. But when he comes up with runners in scoring position, watch out. Flores drove in three runs to extend his RBI streak to four games, Zack Wheeler pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the New York Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1 on Saturday. Called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday, Flores had a run-scoring single off Brandon McCarthy (2-6) in the fourth inning and a two-run single in the eighth. Thats eight RBIs in his first five games in the majors for the 22-year-old Venezuelan. "He doesnt strike out. Im sure he will one of these days, but he puts the bat on the ball," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "People are yelling hes hitting .167, but look up, hes got 18 at-bats and six RBIs (before Saturday). A lot of guys on this team would take six RBIs every 18 at-bats." New York lost the series opener on a walk-off homer by Paul Goldschmidt. The Mets held off the Diamondbacks in the second game behind Flores, Wheeler and some clutch performances by their bullpen. Wheeler (5-2) did his part, allowing a solo home run to Aaron Hill and little else over 6 1-3 innings to bounce back from a shaky outing previous start. Scott Rice followed him and got Adam Eaton to ground out with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning. Flores put New York up 4-1 with a two-single to left off David Hernandez, but Arizona fought back, loading the bases in the bottom half against Carlos Torres. Pedro Feliciano put a quick end to that threat by striking out Gerardo Parra looking. LaTroy Hawkins then finished it off, striking out Martin Prado with on runner on second in the ninth for his third save in five chances and 900th career strikeout. Arizona stranded 10 baserunners and ended the night 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. "We didnt capitalize on our opportunities," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. Wheeler had something to do with it. The rookie right-hander struggled in his last outing, giving up four earned runs and seven hits in five innings of a loss to the Royals last Sunday. Wheeler was sharp against the Diamondbacks, keeping them off-balance with his mid-90s fastball and looping currveball while avoiding walks -- a rarity this season.dddddddddddd. He worked around baserunners four times in the first five innings and got a lift from catcher John Buck in the sixth, when he reached over the rail to catch a foul pop-up by Martin Prado. Wheeler finally made a mistake in the seventh inning, when Hill fouled off a couple of two-strike pitches before hitting a curveball just out of left fielder Chris Youngs reach for a homer that cut New Yorks lead to 2-1. Wil Nieves followed with a one-out single and Wheeler was replaced by Scott Rice, who got Adam Eaton to ground out with the bases loaded to end the inning. Wheeler allowed six hits and didnt walk a batter after walking at least two in each of his first nine starts. "The past three starts, since Miami, I just found something," Wheeler said. "I dont know what it is, but its flowing right now. It feels good and allows me to throw downhill." McCarthy, in his second start off the DL, got through the first three innings before Juan Lagares led off the fourth with a line-drive homer that just cleared the wall into the pool deck in right-centre. Ike Davis then doubled off the wall and Flores knocked him with a single to put the Mets up 2-0. McCarthy was good after that, getting Flores to ground out with runners on second and third in the sixth inning before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh. He allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four. "I felt pretty good," said McCarthy, who went on the DL on May 31 with shoulder inflammation. "The few pitches that I would like to have back, but overall I felt that I did a good job of commanding the ball and kind of moving them around." Notes: Lagares is 27 for 81 with 11 extra-base hits and 13 RBIs since the All-Star break after going 2 for 4. ... Parra made a diving catch near the foul line in right to rob Buck of a hit in the eighth inning. ... Mets LHP Jonathon Niese will make his first start in Sundays series finale since going on the DL with a partial rotator cuff tear on June 21. He is 1-2 with a 6.85 ERA in four career starts against the Diamondbacks. ... Arizona RHP Zeke Spruill will make his second career start in the majors after giving up five earned runs in four innings in a loss to Texas in his debut. ' ' '