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KANSAS CITY, Mo. . -- Alcides Escobar is a maestro with his glove, making the kinds difficult of plays at shortstop that has helped to make the Kansas City Royals one of the best defensive teams in baseball. On Wednesday night, Escobar showed he can swing the bat a bit, too. His two-run double in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in a tense 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. "Hes been very consistent," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Hes always been an important part of our club because of his defence. He saves runs in the field. But when you add offence to that, he becomes a very special player." Eric Hosmer drove in the other two runs for the Royals, whose bullpen blew a 2-0 lead for young starter Yordano Ventura before holding on to beat Toronto with a late rally for the second straight night. Kansas City won the series opener 10-7 behind a six-run eighth inning. Kelvin Herrera (1-1) stranded runners on second and third in the seventh, and Wade Davis struck out Jose Reyes to leave the bases loaded in the eighth. Greg Holland worked around a double in the ninth for his seventh save in seven tries. "You play 162 games. Youre going to see a lot of things happen," Holland said. "The mark of a good bullpen is when you have guys pick each other up when they get in jams." Drew Hutchison (1-2) allowed all four runs on five hits in seven innings for Toronto. The 23-year-old right-hander, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, kept the Royals mostly off balance until Escobar guided his double down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. Jimmy Paredes and Salvy Perez scored easily to give Kansas City the lead. "I got ahead of him. I went right at him. I thought I made a good pitch," Hutchison said. "Thats a situation where I expect myself to thrive and get the job done, but I didnt." The Royals improved to 14-0 when scoring at least four runs -- they remain 0-12 falling short of that mark. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays lost for the sixth time in their last seven games. Toronto also lost outfielder Melky Cabrera in the sixth inning when he was hit in the left shin by a pitch from Danny Duffy. Cabrera needed to be helped off the field, though X-rays taken at the ballpark came back negative and a team spokesman said he was day to day. The Royals manufactured a 1-0 lead through driving rain in the first inning with a double by Nori Aoki, a sacrifice bunt and Hosmers sacrifice fly. They tacked on another run in the fourth when Hosmer followed a double by Omar Infante with one of his own. As long as Ventura was pitching, it seemed that would be enough. The Blue Jays struggled to catch up to the 22-year-olds triple-digit fastball, managing just two hits over five innings. But they were more successful at avoiding stuff off the plate, driving up his pitch count and forcing him from the game after five innings and 92 pitches. "It was cold out there," Ventura said through a translator, fellow starter Jeremy Guthrie. "Naturally, it was a little more difficult to command." Thats when Royals manager Ned Yost called on Duffy, who hit Cabrera in the left shin with his first pitch. Cabrera dropped to the grass in foul territory and stayed there several minutes, eventually getting helped through the dugout and to the clubhouse by the Blue Jays trainers. Duffy proceeded to walk Jose Bautista on five pitches and was yanked for Aaron Crow, who gave up singles to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco that tied the game 2-all. Crow finally escaped the inning, and the Royals bullpen held Toronto down the rest of the way. "Its frustrating, but at the end of the day I need to do a better job to give us a chance to win after we came back and scored two runs," Hutchison said. "I was in complete control going into the seventh. It comes down to that its on me and I need to get the job done." NOTES: Toronto left 11 runners on base. ... Bautista finished with 30 walks in April, matching Fred McGriffs club record for a single month. ... Blue Jays INF Brett Lawrie (sore back) was held out of the lineup. Manager John Gibbons called him day to day. ... RHP Jeremy Guthrie starts the series finale Thursday night for Kansas City. LHP Mark Buehrle starts for Toronto. . Vince Carter added 14 points and Jae Crowder 12 for Dallas, which never trailed. The Mavericks led by as many as 23 points in the third quarter before cruising against a Pelicans squad minus starting point guard Jrue Holiday and leading scorer Ryan Anderson. . -- Urban Meyer thought Ohio State needed a pregame wake-up call Saturday. . - As Danelle Jacobs and a crew of volunteers decorated their Rose Parade float, strong winds from a blustery winter storm blew flowers into the air.NEW ORLEANS - When DeMar DeRozan made his All-Star debut on Sunday, checking in for the first time at the outset of the second quarter, he immediately looked like he belonged. It took 22 seconds for DeRozan to get on the board, taking a lob pass from Joakim Noah and converting the easy layup before knocking down his next two shots. For the Raptors fifth-year guard, this moment was one he had been dreaming about for a long time but to his credit, he never looked out of place. "Honestly, I wasnt nervous at all," he told TSN.ca after scoring eight points in 15 minutes of action for the victorious Eastern Conference squad. "I thought I was going to be nervous before the game but as soon as I went out there I wasnt nervous at all." "It didnt feel like there was any pressure, like you were playing in front of all these people. They just made it fun, honestly. I didnt have no jitters." After a lackluster slate of Saturday night events, the big show did not disappoint. Combined, 318 points were scored - an All-Star record - with the East defeating the West by a score of 163-155. The frenetic pace fit DeRozans game like a glove. "All we do is get out and run, wings get out and run, push it," he said. "Its an opportunity to get fast-break dunks, layups, sorts of things like that so it fits well for a player like me." The East overcame an 18-point deficit, closing out the night on a 10-0 run to win for the first time in four years. Their 163 points were the most scored in an All-Star Game. DeRozans All-Star experience has been surreal. From watching his young teammates Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross compete in the Rising Stars Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest - both events that he has participated in himself - to sharing the bench with former a teammate and nine-time All-Star Chris Bosh on Sunday, hes had to pinch himself on more than one occasion. It didnt hit him until Sunday evening, as he arrived at Smoothie King Center, walked in the locker room and saw a row of All-Star jerseys instead of his usual Raptors duds. . . "Theres only a select few that get to put on the All-Star jersey," he realizes. That experience of being among them and gaining the respect that accompanies the All-Star tag - which hell wear next to his name for the duration of his career and beyond - was far more valuable than the 15 minutes he logged in the game. "It was a great experience, man," he said. "Just going out there and having fun with the leagues best, to be in that same category is great." It may have been his first appearance in the leagues midseason classic, but the Raptors leading scorer is determined not to make it his last. "[I have to] work harder than I did this previous summer to be a better player," said DeRozan, who is averaging a career-best 22.4 points this season. "I cant slow down. Now Im a target. Players are going to go at me and understand that Ive got the All-Star next to my name. Just continue working, dont be complacent with anything and keep pushing." Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving - a controversial selection when he was voted in as a starter by the fans last month - took home game MVP honours after scoring 31 points to go along with 14 assists. He was a perfect 11-for-11 from inside the three-point arch, many of those field goals were layups. "How Kyrie makes his layups is amazing," DeRozan said of his Eastern Conference teammate. "You cant deny [him] when he gets to the basket; you cant play him a certain way because he can finish with either hand, off either leg and hes so creative with it. It was cool to see him go out and play." Sunday was a night of broken records for both sides. Carmelo Anthony, who had 30 points for the East, connected on eight three pointers, most in an All-Star Game. Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin had 38 points apiece for the West, coming just shy of Wilt Chamberlains mark of 42. 10 of Griffins All-Star Game record 19 field goals were dunks. ' ' '