GAME THREAD: AL: MINNESOTA (72-73) at KANSAS CITY (62-82)

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - PITCHING CHANGE
MIN: CARMEN CALI (0-1, 5.03) STARTING THE 8TH
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 6

DUE UP FOR KANSASCITY: D DEJESUS (.268, 2-FOR-4, HR, 3 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: C Cali relieved G Perkins.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 2
KANSAS CITY 6 BOTTOM, 8TH

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: D DeJesus (.268, 2-FOR-4, HR, 3 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 5 2
KANSAS CITY 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 6 12 0 (TOP 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - CARMEN CALI
KAN - DAVID RISKE

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: T HUNTER (.292, 1-FOR-3, RBI)
M LECROY (.000, 0-FOR-1)
M CUDDYER (.275, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (2) VS KANSAS CITY (6) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Tyner cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .294
J Bartlett ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .273
J Kubel lf 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .268
T Hunter dh 3 1 1 1 0 1 1 .292
J Morneau 1b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
a-M LeCroy ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
M Cuddyer rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .275
C Heintz c 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .227
N Punto 3b-2b 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .198
A Casilla 2b 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .247
b-G Jones ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .170
L Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .216

Totals 29 2 5 2 1 8 9

a-grounded to third for J Morneau in the 7th; b-grounded to second for A
Casilla in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - J Tyner (14, G Meche); J Kubel (28, G Meche); T Hunter (41, G
Meche). RBI - T Hunter (101), C Heintz (7). 2-out RBI - C Heintz. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - T Hunter 1, G Jones 1. Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: E - J Kubel (2, throw); J Bartlett (25, throw).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 5 1 2 3 0 0 0 .268
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 .300
M Teahen rf 4 2 3 1 1 1 0 .289
B Butler dh 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .295
R Gload 1b 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 .297
A Gordon 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .258
E Brown lf 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .250
J Smith ss 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 .196
a-E German ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .267
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
J Buck c 4 1 1 0 0 2 5 .234

Totals 36 6 12 6 2 9 15

a-struck out looking for J Smith in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (27, C Silva); A Gordon (34, G Perkins). 3B - D DeJesus
(7, C Silva). HR - M Teahen (7, 3rd inning off K Slowey 0 on, 0 Out), D Dejesus
(7, 6th inning off K Slowey 1 on, 0 Out). SF - R Gload. RBI - B Butler (46), R
Gload (48), D DeJesus 3 (57), M Teahen (56). 2-out RBI - D DeJesus. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - J Smith 1, M Grudzielanek 1, J Buck 3, A
Gordon 1. Team LOB - 9.


----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 000 000 20 -- 2
KANSAS CITY - 211 002 00 -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva 2 5 3 3 0 2 0 4.44
K Slowey 3 1/3 6 3 3 2 4 2 5.44
J DePaula 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 10.12
G Perkins 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.65
C Cali 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.79

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche 6 2/3 5 2 2 1 7 0 3.78
D Riske 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.18

WP - K Slowey. Pitches-strikes: C Silva 45-30; K Slowey 65-41; J DePaula 6-4;
G Perkins 17-11; C Cali 11-7; G Meche 102-71; D Riske 18-14. Ground balls-fly
balls: C Silva 2-2; K Slowey 2-4; J DePaula 0-2; G Perkins 0-1; C Cali 2-0; G
Meche 6-7; D Riske 3-0. Batters faced: C Silva 11; K Slowey 19; J DePaula 2; G
Perkins 4; C Cali 3; G Meche 26; D Riske 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Knight. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Larry
Poncino.

Weather: 73 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, right to left.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - PITCHING CHANGE
KAN: JOAKIM SORIA (1-3, 2.52) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 6

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: T HUNTER (.292, 1-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Soria relieved D Riske.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 2
KANSAS CITY 6 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: T Hunter (.292, 1-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: B Buscher hit for C Heintz.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, M LECROY ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 2
KANSAS CITY 6 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: B Buscher (.280, 2 HR, 4 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY BRIAN BUSCHER SCORED MATT LECROY.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B BUSCHER ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 3
KANSAS CITY 6 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: N PUNTO (.198, 0-FOR-2, BB)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL AT KANSAS CITY - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: R White hit for N Punto.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, B BUSCHER ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 3
KANSAS CITY 6 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: R White (.154, 3 HR, 15 RBI)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 7 2
KANSAS CITY 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 x 6 12 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: MIN - CARLOS SILVA, KEVIN SLOWEY (3RD), JULIO DEPAULA (6TH), GLEN
PERKINS (7TH), CARMEN CALI (8TH) AND CHRIS HEINTZ

KAN - GIL MECHE, DAVID RISKE (7TH), JOAKIM SORIA (9TH)
AND JOHN BUCK

HOME RUNS: MIN - NONE

KAN - MARK TEAHEN (7) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
DAVID DEJESUS (7) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 6TH, 1 ON</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 7 2
KANSAS CITY 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 x 6 12 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: MIN - CARLOS SILVA, KEVIN SLOWEY (3RD), JULIO DEPAULA (6TH), GLEN
PERKINS (7TH), CARMEN CALI (8TH) AND CHRIS HEINTZ

KAN - GIL MECHE, DAVID RISKE (7TH), JOAKIM SORIA (9TH)
AND JOHN BUCK


WP - GIL MECHE (8-12)
LP - CARLOS SILVA (11-14)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: MIN - NONE

KAN - MARK TEAHEN (7) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
DAVID DEJESUS (7) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 6TH, 1 ON


TIME: 2:36 ATT: 10,102

PROBABLES: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER (12-8, 3.46)
CLE - C.C. SABATHIA (17-7, 3.15)

PROBABLES: DET - NATE ROBERTSON (7-11, 5.04)
MIN - MATT GARZA (3-5, 3.71)</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">MINNESOTA (3) VS KANSAS CITY (6) - FINAL

MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Tyner cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .294
J Bartlett ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .273
J Kubel lf 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .268
T Hunter dh 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 .291
J Morneau 1b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
a-M LeCroy ph-1b 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .500
M Cuddyer rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .274
C Heintz c 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .227
c-B Buscher ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .294
N Punto 3b-2b 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .198
d-R White ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .152
A Casilla 2b 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .247
b-G Jones ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .170
L Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .216

Totals 34 3 7 3 1 9 10

a-grounded to third for J Morneau in the 7th; b-grounded to second for A
Casilla in the 7th; c-singled to center for C Heintz in the 9th; d-flied out
to right for N Punto in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - J Tyner (14, G Meche); J Kubel (28, G Meche); T Hunter (41, G
Meche). RBI - T Hunter (101), C Heintz (7), B Buscher (5). 2-out RBI - C
Heintz, B Buscher. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Hunter 1, G
Jones 1. Team LOB - 5.

FIELDING: E - J Kubel (2, throw); J Bartlett (25, throw).


KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 5 1 2 3 0 0 0 .268
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 .300
M Teahen rf 4 2 3 1 1 1 0 .289
B Butler dh 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .295
R Gload 1b 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 .297
A Gordon 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .258
E Brown lf 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .250
J Smith ss 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 .196
a-E German ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .267
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
J Buck c 4 1 1 0 0 2 5 .234

Totals 36 6 12 6 2 9 15

a-struck out looking for J Smith in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - M Teahen (27, C Silva); A Gordon (34, G Perkins). 3B - D DeJesus
(7, C Silva). HR - M Teahen (7, 3rd inning off K Slowey 0 on, 0 Out), D Dejesus
(7, 6th inning off K Slowey 1 on, 0 Out). SF - R Gload. RBI - B Butler (46), R
Gload (48), D DeJesus 3 (57), M Teahen (56). 2-out RBI - D DeJesus. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - J Smith 1, M Grudzielanek 1, J Buck 3, A
Gordon 1. Team LOB - 9.


----------------------------------------------------
MINNESOTA - 000 000 201 -- 3
KANSAS CITY - 211 002 00x -- 6
----------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
C Silva (L, 11-14) 2 5 3 3 0 2 0 4.44
K Slowey 3 1/3 6 3 3 2 4 2 5.44
J DePaula 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 10.12
G Perkins 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.65
C Cali 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.79

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
G Meche (W, 8-12) 6 2/3 5 2 2 1 7 0 3.78
D Riske (H, 16) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.18
J Soria 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 2.63

WP - K Slowey. Pitches-strikes: C Silva 45-30; K Slowey 65-41; J DePaula 6-4;
G Perkins 17-11; C Cali 11-7; G Meche 102-71; D Riske 18-14; J Soria 17-13.
Ground balls-fly balls: C Silva 2-2; K Slowey 2-4; J DePaula 0-2; G Perkins
0-1; C Cali 2-0; G Meche 6-7; D Riske 3-0; J Soria 1-1. Batters faced: C Silva
11; K Slowey 19; J DePaula 2; G Perkins 4; C Cali 3; G Meche 26; D Riske 4; J
Soria 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Brian Knight. 1B--Jerry Meals. 2B--Gary Darling. 3B--Larry
Poncino.

T--2:36. Att--10,102.
Weather: 73 degrees, sunny. Wind: 7 mph, right to
left.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
MINNESOTA 3
KANSAS CITY 6 FINAL</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MINNESOTA (3) AT KANSAS CITY (6) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus grounded out to second. M Grudzielanek singled
to left. M Teahen doubled to left center, M Grudzielanek to third. B Butler
singled to left, M Grudzielanek scored, M Teahen to third, B Butler to second
on throwing error by left fielder J Kubel. R Gload hit sacrifice fly to center,
M Teahen scored, B Butler to third. A Gordon struck out swinging. (2 Runs,
3 Hits, 1 Error) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 2.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: E Brown singled to right. J Smith struck out swinging.
J Buck flied out to center. D DeJesus tripled to deep left, E Brown scored.
M Grudzielanek grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: K Slowey relieved C Silva. M Teahen homered to right.
B Butler popped out to third. R Gload singled to center. A Gordon struck out
swinging. E Brown singled to left center, R Gload to third. E Brown to second
on wild pitch by K Slowey. J Smith walked. J Buck struck out looking. (1 Run,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 4.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: J Buck singled to center. D DeJesus homered to right,
J Buck scored. M Grudzielanek flied out to right. M Teahen walked. J DePaula
relieved K Slowey. B Butler flied out to center. R Gload flied out to center.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 6.

MINNESOTA 7TH: J Kubel doubled to deep right. T Hunter doubled to deep
center, J Kubel scored. M LeCroy hit for J Morneau. M LeCroy grounded out to
third. M Cuddyer popped out to shortstop. C Heintz singled to center,
T Hunter scored. N Punto walked, C Heintz to second. D Riske relieved G Meche.
G Jones hit for A Casilla. G Jones grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 6.

MINNESOTA 9TH: J Soria relieved D Riske. T Hunter struck out swinging.
M LeCroy singled to right. M Cuddyer grounded out to third, M LeCroy to second.
B Buscher hit for C Heintz. B Buscher singled to center, M LeCroy scored.
R White hit for N Punto. R White flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 3, KANSAS CITY 6.</div>

 

AL: MINNESOTA at KANSAS CITY

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MINNESOTA (3) AT KANSAS CITY (6) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- J Tyner CF, J Bartlett SS, J Kubel LF, T Hunter DH,
J Morneau 1B, M Cuddyer RF, C Heintz C, N Punto 3B, A Casilla 2B, C Silva RHP.

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, M Teahen RF,
B Butler DH, R Gload 1B, A Gordon 3B, E Brown LF, J Smith SS, J Buck C, G Meche RHP.

Umpires -- Brian Knight (HP), Jerry Meals (1B), Gary Darling (2B),
Larry Poncino (3B).

Gametime Weather: 73 degrees, Sunny, wind right to left at 7 mph.


MINNESOTA 1ST: J Tyner grounded out to shortstop. J Bartlett flied out to
center. J Kubel struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus grounded out to second. M Grudzielanek singled
to left. M Teahen doubled to left center, M Grudzielanek to third. B Butler
singled to left, M Grudzielanek scored, M Teahen to third, B Butler to second
on throwing error by left fielder J Kubel. R Gload hit sacrifice fly to center,
M Teahen scored, B Butler to third. A Gordon struck out swinging. (2 Runs,
3 Hits, 1 Error) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 2.

MINNESOTA 2ND: T Hunter struck out looking. J Morneau grounded out to
first. M Cuddyer fouled out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
KANSAS CITY 2.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: E Brown singled to right. J Smith struck out swinging.
J Buck flied out to center. D DeJesus tripled to deep left, E Brown scored.
M Grudzielanek grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
KANSAS CITY 3.

MINNESOTA 3RD: C Heintz flied out to center. N Punto struck out swinging.
A Casilla struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0,
KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: K Slowey relieved C Silva. M Teahen homered to right.
B Butler popped out to third. R Gload singled to center. A Gordon struck out
swinging. E Brown singled to left center, R Gload to third. E Brown to second
on wild pitch by K Slowey. J Smith walked. J Buck struck out looking. (1 Run,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 4.

MINNESOTA 4TH: J Tyner doubled to right. J Bartlett grounded out to
shortstop. J Kubel struck out swinging. T Hunter flied out to right. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 4.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: D DeJesus grounded out to second. M Grudzielanek lined
out to first. M Teahen singled to center. B Butler struck out looking.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 4.

MINNESOTA 5TH: J Morneau popped out to shortstop. M Cuddyer singled to
right center. C Heintz struck out swinging. N Punto grounded out to second.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 4.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: R Gload safe at first on throwing error by shortstop
J Bartlett. A Gordon flied out to center. E Brown grounded out to third,
R Gload to second. J Smith struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error)
MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 4.

MINNESOTA 6TH: A Casilla struck out swinging. J Tyner grounded out to
pitcher. J Bartlett flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 4.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: J Buck singled to center. D DeJesus homered to right,
J Buck scored. M Grudzielanek flied out to right. M Teahen walked. J DePaula
relieved K Slowey. B Butler flied out to center. R Gload flied out to center.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 0, KANSAS CITY 6.

MINNESOTA 7TH: J Kubel doubled to deep right. T Hunter doubled to deep
center, J Kubel scored. M LeCroy hit for J Morneau. M LeCroy grounded out to
third. M Cuddyer popped out to shortstop. C Heintz singled to center,
T Hunter scored. N Punto walked, C Heintz to second. D Riske relieved G Meche.
G Jones hit for A Casilla. G Jones grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 6.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: M LeCroy at first base. N Punto at second base.
L Rodriguez at third base. G Perkins relieved J DePaula. A Gordon doubled to
deep left. E Brown flied out to center, A Gordon to third. E German hit for
J Smith. E German struck out looking. J Buck struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 6.

MINNESOTA 8TH: T Pena Jr at shortstop. J Tyner grounded out to second.
J Bartlett struck out swinging. J Kubel grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 6.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: C Cali relieved G Perkins. D DeJesus grounded out to
shortstop. M Grudzielanek grounded out to second. M Teahen struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 6.

MINNESOTA 9TH: J Soria relieved D Riske. T Hunter struck out swinging.
M LeCroy singled to right. M Cuddyer grounded out to third, M LeCroy to second.
B Buscher hit for C Heintz. B Buscher singled to center, M LeCroy scored.
R White hit for N Punto. R White flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
MINNESOTA 3, KANSAS CITY 6.</div>

 

Meche pitches superbly as Royals cruise past Twins

<h3>KANSAS CITY 6, MINNESOTA 3</h3>By Alan Eskew
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Gil Meche finally received somerun support.


Meche pitched 6 2/3 effective innings as the Kansas City Royalsposted a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

David DeJesus homered and drove in three runs and Mark Teahenalso homered and scored twice for Kansas City, which snapped aseason high-tying seven-game losing streak.


Meche earned his first win since July 20, yielding two runs,five hits and a walk, while striking out seven. Therighthander, who threw 71 of his 102 pitches for strikes,retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced - allowing just afourth inning leadoff double to Jason Tyner.


Despite going 0-6 in his last nine outings, the 29-year-oldMeche had allowed only two runs in six of his last eight starts.However, the Royals tallied just 19 runs in his starts,including just eight in the half-dozen defeats. The seven-yearveteran also received a major league-worst 3.85 runs of supportthrough his last start.


Meche lost his shutout bid in the seventh when Jason Kubel andTorii Hunter hit back-to-back doubles to start the inning. Atwo-out double by Chris Heintz gave Minnesota its second run.

This time Meche got plenty of runs as Billy Butler's run-scoringsingle and Ross Gload's sacrifice fly gave him a 2-0 advantageafter the first.


DeJesus tripled in a run in the second off Twins starter CarlosSilva (11-14), who departed after two innings with a right groinstrain. The righthander allowed three runs and five hits intwo frames.


Reliever Kevin Slowey replaced Silva to start the third andpromptly gave up a leadoff blast to Teahen to make it 4-0.

The Royals upped their advantage to 6-0 in the sixth whenDeJesus homered with John Buck aboard.


Kansas City won its 63rd game, which means the club cannot reachthe century mark in losses. The Royals had lost 100 games inthe past three seasons and in four of their past five years.

Pinch hitter Brian Buscher hit a run-scoring single in the ninthfor the Twins, who lost for the first time in four games.

 

Meche pitches superbly as Royals cruise past Twins

<h3>KANSAS CITY 6, MINNESOTA 3</h3>By Alan Eskew
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Gil Meche finally received somerun support.


Meche pitched 6 2/3 effective innings as the Kansas City Royalsposted a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

David DeJesus homered and drove in three runs and Mark Teahenalso homered and scored twice for Kansas City, which snapped aseason high-tying seven-game losing streak.


Meche earned his first win since July 20, yielding two runs,five hits and a walk, while striking out seven. Therighthander, who threw 71 of his 102 pitches for strikes,retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced - allowing just afourth inning leadoff double to Jason Tyner.


"It was good to get Gil early run support," DeJesus said. "Wehaven't done that pretty much most of the times he's pitchedthis year. I think it helped him to be able to get after guys."

Despite going 0-6 in his last nine outings, the 29-year-oldMeche had allowed only two runs in six of his last eight starts.However, the Royals tallied just 19 runs in his starts,including just eight in the half-dozen defeats. The seven-yearveteran also received a major league-worst 3.85 runs of supportthrough his last start.


"For a starting pitcher you want to win games, but it's a littledifferent," Meche said. "I've been pitching well, so I couldkind of swallow it a little bit easier. It's been a battle allseason. I haven't had good run support. I'm not going to lookat the guys any different. They've played good ball all year."

Meche lost his shutout bid in the seventh when Jason Kubel andTorii Hunter hit back-to-back doubles to start the inning. Atwo-out double by Chris Heintz gave Minnesota its second run.

This time Meche got plenty of runs as Billy Butler's run-scoringsingle and Ross Gload's sacrifice fly gave him a 2-0 advantageafter the first.


"Any pitcher is going to tell you if you get a lead early in thegame you're going to relax," Meche said. "Every pitch I threwwas basically a strike out of my hand. You realize you couldpitch to contact a little bit more and not care if you give up ahome run. You've got a four-run lead to work with. In theseventh inning, I got a little tired and gave up a couple ofruns."


DeJesus tripled in a run in the second off Twins starter CarlosSilva (11-14), who departed after two innings with a right groinstrain.


"We're not sure about Carlos' next start," Twins manager RonGardenhire said. "We'll have to wait and see how he is. Hefelt it grab a little in the first inning. He slipped a littleor stepped in a hole or something. We went out there to talk tohim and he said he couldn't get the ball down in the zone.

"After he came out in the second, we told him we're not going tolet him hurt himself. We were trying to prevent injury. It'snot too bad."


The righthander allowed three runs and five hits in two frames.

"I slipped a little bit and felt a little pull," Silva said."It's not frustrating. It's something that happened, that'sall."


Reliever Kevin Slowey replaced Silva to start the third andpromptly gave up a leadoff blast to Teahen to make it 4-0.

The Royals upped their advantage to 6-0 in the sixth whenDeJesus homered with John Buck aboard.


Kansas City won its 63rd game, which means the club cannot reachthe century mark in losses.


"I never thought this team would lose a 100," Royals managerBuddy Bell said. "I thought we were going to be a better team."

The Royals had lost 100 games in the past three seasons and infour of their past five years.


"We can get the 100-loss (stigma) out of the way," DeJesus said."We knew we had 62 wins. You can see the signs of the fans upthe stands. We're not worrying about that anymore."

Pinch hitter Brian Buscher hit a run-scoring single in the ninthfor the Twins, who lost for the first time in four games.