Royals 5, Blue Jays 0: James Shields matched a season high with nine strikeouts over seven innings and Eric Hosmer completed his brilliant series by driving in three runs as visiting Kansas City salvaged the finale of the three-game set.

Emilio Bonifacio had an RBI single, scored twice and stole two bases against his former team. Alex Gordon added an RBI single in a four-run third inning for the Royals, who have won six of eight to climb within 5 1/2 games of Tampa Bay in the race for the second wild card in the American League.

Shields (10-8) scattered three hits to record his fourth straight victory and improve to 7-0 in his last eight road starts. Luke Hochevar struck out two in the eighth inning before Greg Holland retired the side in order in the ninth.

After Hosmer's run-scoring groundout in the first inning gave Kansas City an early lead, Gordon and Bonifacio hit RBI singles in the third. Hosmer plated both by drilling a 1-1 slider from J.A. Happ (3-5) to right field for a two-run base hit.

Hosmer collected a pair of hits for the third straight game, finishing 6-for-12 with five RBIs in the series. Toronto failed to keep Hosmer in check and suffered its second loss in seven outings following a seven-game losing streak.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Blue Jays 2B Ryan Goins went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to end his eight-game hitting streak after being called up from Triple-A Buffalo. ... Happ suffered his third straight loss, permitting five runs - three earned - on six hits in four innings ... Kansas City begins a seven-game homestand on Monday with the opener of a four-game set against Seattle. Toronto kicks off a six-game road trip on Monday with a three-game series versus Arizona.