Josh Towers showed glimpses of past winning form Tuesday night, but the troubled right-hander still suffered the loss for the Toronto Blue Jays.
 
Towers surrendered six runs on 10 hits as the Blue Jays bowed 6-3 to the visiting Kansas City Royals before a crowd of 22,106 at the Rogers Centre.

Three of the runs were unearned as Toronto committed four errors. 

Josh Towers throws to first base in Tuesday's 6-3 Blue Jays setback.
(Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

"We didn't play the best baseball game," Towers said. "It is kind of frustrating because I don't know how much positive I got out of today."

"I don't know if I found anything positive today. There were a lot of things that went wrong."

Towers (0-1) regained a spot in the rotation at spring training, despite a disastrous 2-10 record and 8.42 earned-run average last season.

And though he hadn't pitched since March 31, he struck out six batters and walked none in 5 2/3 innings. 

"I told [Towers] he hung tough, that he kept us in the ball game," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "I hope he is not too discouraged by that because I thought he battled well."

David DeJesus and Mark Grudzielanek had three hits and a run batted in for the Royals (3-5). 

Rookie Alex Gordon homered, while Mike Sweeney and Tony Pena Jr. drove in the other runs as Kansas City pounded out 12 hits. 

"It felt good to finally hit a ball hard," Gordon said.

Kansas City starter Zack Greinke earned the win, giving up one run on six hits with five strikeouts over six innings pitched.

"He carved us up pretty good," Gibbons said.

It was a gutsy effort by Greinke, who pitched just three times for last year as he dealt with depression and a social anxiety disorder.

"We are all real happy for him," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "His issues are well documented, and it is nice to see he is doing so well."

Greinke (1-1) pitched equally well in his season debut, allowing two runs over seven innings in a 4-1 loss to Japanese rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Boston Red Sox.

"I have a better mind-set," Greinke said. "I am just confident and always take the mentality that I'm going to do better than the hitter or that I'm better than the hitter if I make my pitches."

Rookie reliever Joakim Soria tossed two spotless innings for his first major-league save.

"He didn't throw many pitches in the eighth and I just thought, 'Why not?'" Bell said.

DeJesus delivers out of leadoff spot

Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as DeJesus singled, hustled to third base on Grudzielanek's single and scored on Sweeney's sacrifice fly.

In the third, DeJesus tripled and scored on Grudzielanek's RBI single to make it 2-0.
 
Toronto cut the deficit in the fourth when Rios singled across Jason Smith, who had doubled.

But the Royals blew it wide open by scoring four times in the sixth.

Sweeney led off the inning by reaching base on a throwing error attributed to Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus, even though television replays confirmed that he was out.

That brought Gordon to the plate and he tagged Towers for his first major-league home run, a two-run jolt to right-field.

"I felt good rounding the bases, coming in and slapping hands with the guys," Gordon said. "Hopefully, there's more to come."

Two outs later, Jason LaRue tripled and Pena Jr. delivered him with an RBI double.

Scott Downs relieved Towers and surrendered an RBI single to DeJesus that make it 5-1.

The Blue Jays replied with two runs off reliever Joel Peralta in the seventh as Hill doubled and Zaun crushed a two-run homer to left-centre, his first of the campaign.

With files from Sports Network