KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- On the periphery, Alcides Escobar had little to do with the Kansas City Royals' victory Friday night.

Lorenzo Cain scored on Eric Hosmer's eighth-inning double and the Kansas City Royals topped the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 on Friday.

Escobar went 0-for-4, dropping his average to .183. But since manager Ned Yost moved Escobar to the leadoff slot, the Royals are 4-1.

The team calls it Esky Magic.

"We don't know what it is, but it's something," Hosmer said and laughed.

Hosmer's one-out double off Vidal Nuno (1-0) was his second hit. He is hitting .403 with 10 RBIs in the past 16 games.

"As soon as it hit the ground, I knew Lorenzo was going to score," Hosmer said. "It gives you confidence as an offense when you're putting good swings on guys like that. That's what we've got to get back to. We've been a good team especially against really good pitching we've found ways to produce runs. We're doing a good job of that as of late and have got to continue to do it."

Kelvin Herrera worked the ninth for his sixth save and Joakim Soria (2-1) picked up the victory with a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

The Orioles tied it in the seventh, which Caleb Joseph led off with a double to left. Craig Gentry's sacrifice bunt advanced Joseph to third pitch and he scored on a wild pitch with Joey Rickard batting.

Royals starter Danny Duffy scattered eight hits over seven innings before Soria replaced him. Duffy, who threw 97 pitches, permitted two runs. He struck out six and walked one.

"The one wild pitch, if it wasn't for that, he'd have probably been a winner," Royals manager Ned Yost lamented. "He just did a great job of keeping us in the game. Phenomenal changeup today, a really, really good slider. He did a nice job with his fastball. At times it got up in the zone, but he made adjustments and got it back down in the zone."

Joseph had three extra-base hits -- two doubles and a triple -- for Baltimore.

Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy surrendered two runs on four hits over six innings. The Royals increased his pitch count to a season-high 112. He threw 20 pitches to the first two batters in the third inning.

"Pitcher's duels are fun games to pitch," Bundy said. "Just two starters going at it, trying not to give up runs and see whose offense breaks out first."

Duffy had not been supported by a run in his previous two starts, but the Royals scored for him in the first inning.

Mike Moustakas and Cain laced back-to-back doubles for the first Kansas City run. That lead lasted only three batters.

Royals right-fielder Jorge Soler misplayed J.J. Hardy's sinking liner into a triple with one out in the second. Soler made an ill-fated diving attempt to catch the ball, but it got past him. By the time center fielder Cain got the ball back to the infield, Hardy was at third base for the Orioles' first triple of the season.

Caleb Joseph doubled to left, short-hopping the wall, to get Hardy home.

With two out in the third, Baltimore's Mark Trumbo, Jonathan Schoop and Trey Mancini singled, but the Orioles could not push a run across. Trumbo was waved home, but Alex Gordon easily threw him out. It was Gordon's 77th assist since 2010, the most by an outfielder in the majors in that span.

"That was a huge play," Yost said. "That was one of those where, base hit, you can see Gordy beading on it, bearing down, and you're just thinking to yourself, 'please send him, please send him'. He made a perfect throw."

The Royals seized a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Brandon Moss led off with his fifth home run. He drove a Bundy pitch an estimated 452 feet into the right-field fountains.

"We pitched well," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "That wasn't what beat us tonight. We didn't score enough runs. We pitched well enough to win that game. Let's keep the focus on that. Our guys, the whole pitching staff's been doing a pretty good job for us. That's one of the reasons we are where we are."

NOTES: 1B Chris Davis was not in the Baltimore lineup. He was 1-for-10 against Royals LHP Danny Duffy. Trey Mancini made his third start at first base. ... Royals LF Alex Gordon batted ninth for the second time in his career. He was pinch hit for in the seventh inning after straining his right groin. ... Royals RHP Ian Kennedy, who is on the disabled list with a hamstring strain, threw a bullpen session. ... Orioles CF Adam Jones will contribute $20,000 to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on Saturday while touring the facility. ... Orioles RHP Chris Tillman and Royals RHP Nathan Karns are scheduled to pitch Saturday.