By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ Carlos Beltran hit two of New York’s five solo homers in the first three innings off an ineffective Chris Young, and Aroldis Chapman allowed a run in his Yankees debut before closing out a 6-3 victory over the slumping Kansas City Royals on Monday night.
Brian McCann, Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks also went deep to help the Yankees win the opener of a four-game series against the defending World Series champions.
Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer homered for the Royals, who have lost 10 of 13.
Ivan Nova gave the Yankees a good effort in his first start of the season, pitching in place of injured lefty CC Sabathia. Nova was pulled after 81 pitches _ one out short of qualifying for a win _ but New York’s fortified bullpen held Kansas City at bay.
Chapman, a four-time All-Star with a fastball that often exceeds 100 mph, was eligible to pitch for the first time with the Yankees after serving a 29-game suspension under baseball’s new domestic violence policy. The left-hander from Cuba was obtained from Cincinnati for four prospects in December.
He entered to a warm ovation with a 6-2 lead in the ninth and drew gasps from the crowd by firing his first two pitches at 100 mph, both strikes. Chapman struck out his first two batters before pinch-hitter Paulo Orlando doubled to deep center field and scored on a sharp single by Alcides Escobar.
Lorenzo Cain bounced back to the mound for the final out.
When right-hander Kirby Yates (2-0) preserved a 5-1 lead in the sixth, Yankees manager Joe Girardi had an opportunity to try out his formidable new 1-2-3 combination of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Chapman over the final three innings.
Girardi, however, stayed with Yates and he tossed a perfect seventh with the help of two fine fielding plays by shortstop Didi Gregorius and first baseman Mark Teixeira.
Hicks added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and left-hander Chasen Shreve was summoned for the eighth. He gave up Hosmer’s homer on his first pitch, then retired three in a row.
Betances and Miller both warmed up in the bullpen during the late innings, but neither was brought into the game.
Phil Coke, called up Friday from Triple-A, retired Hosmer on a deep fly with runners at the corners to end the fifth. It was his first appearance for the Yankees since Game 5 of the 2009 World Series.
Young (1-5) was lifted after serving up a career-high five homers in 2 2/3 innings. He has allowed 13 long balls in seven starts this season, including nine in his last three outings.
ROSTER MOVE
Chapman was reinstated from the restricted list by Major League Baseball. To clear roster space, the Yankees optioned rookie reliever Johnny Barbato to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and transferred RHP Branden Pinder (elbow) to the 60-day disabled list. Barbato was 1-2 with a 5.54 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12 appearances covering 13 innings.
MAKEUP DATE
New York’s game that was rained out April 10 in Detroit has been rescheduled for June 2, setting up a stretch of 40 games in 41 days for the Yankees from May 3 to June 12.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: With 3B Mike Moustakas (broken left thumb) on the 15-day disabled list, rookie Cheslor Cuthbert made his third straight start at the hot corner since being recalled from Triple-A Omaha.
Yankees: 2B Starlin Castro was given his first day off this season after tweaking his lower back Sunday night and coming out of the game late. He was available off the bench. Castro said he felt better and was ready to play. Ronald Torreyes started at second. … CF Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) missed his third consecutive game and isn’t expected to play Tuesday, either. “Hopefully, shortly after that,” Girardi said.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Kris Medlen (1-3, 6.85 ERA) pitches Tuesday night, hoping to rebound from perhaps the worst start of his career as he tries to avoid his first four-game losing streak. Medlen lasted only two-plus innings in a 13-2 loss to Washington, when the first six batters he faced all scored and he didn’t manage an out until his 38th pitch. He has faced the Yankees four times, all in relief, but not since 2012 with Atlanta.
Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 2.29 ERA) has not yielded more than two earned runs in any of his six starts this season. He’s taken a shutout into at least the seventh inning in each of the past two.
(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
