KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Delino DeShields homered in the seventh to break a tie and the Texas Rangers defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Sunday.
DeShields, who was recalled Thursday from Triple-A Round Rock, walked and doubled before leading off the seventh with his third home run. DeShields hit a 2-1 pitch from Luke Hochevar out to left.
The loss dropped the Royals to 48-49, the first time the World Series champions have been below .500 since May 15 when they were 18-19. The Royals have lost 13 of 19 games in July.
Left-hander Alex Claudio (2-1) picked up the win, pitching a scoreless sixth.
Hochevar (2-3) took the loss and has allowed six runs in 6 1-3 innings in July.
Rangers relievers Claudio, Keone Kela, Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson held the Royals scoreless the final four innings.