Athletics blank Royals

Starting pitcher Jharel Cotton #45 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the Kansas City Royals 2017 home opener at Kauffman Stadium on April 10, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri.

(April 10, 2017 - Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America)

The Oakland A’s (4-4) blank the Kansas City Royals (2-5) 2-0 as they take the opener of their three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

The only runs of the game happened in the fourth inning. DH Ryon Healy hit a leadoff single and LF Khris Davis followed with a home run to put the A’s up 2-0.

RP Sean Doolittle gave up a hit and a walk in the ninth but managed to record his first save of the season.

Oakland’s SP Jharel Cotton (1-1) worked 7 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and 3 walks while fanning 6. His ERA and WHIP improved to 3.97 and 1.32, respectively.

Kansas City’s SP Ian Kennedy (0-2) pitched 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 walks and 2 earned runs while striking out 4. He now has a 4.09 ERA with a 1.45 WHIP on the season.

Khris Davis went 1-for-4 with 1 run, 1 HR and 2 RBI. He is batting .345 and already has 7 runs, 4 HR and 6 RBI this year.