GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (40-53) at BOSTON (56-37)

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Papelbon relieved M Delcarmen.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 6
BOSTON 5 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: E Brown (.237, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - JOAKIM SORIA
BOS - JONATHAN PAPELBON

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J DREW (.253, 0-FOR-3, SF, RBI)
D PEDROIA (.317, 3-FOR-4)
D ORTIZ (.319, 1-FOR-4)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (6) VS BOSTON (5) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .272
M Grudzielanek 2b 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 .281
M Teahen rf 4 2 1 0 0 0 1 .284
B Butler 1b 3 1 2 2 1 0 0 .311
E German pr-3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
R Gload dh 3 0 0 1 0 2 3 .256
A Gordon 3b-1b 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 .240
E Brown lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .236
J Smith ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .200
J LaRue c 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 .173

Totals 34 6 9 6 1 8 7

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (19, J Tavarez); B Butler (9, J Tavarez). SF - R
Gload. RBI - R Gload (26), A Gordon 2 (31), M Grudzielanek (30), B Butler 2
(21). 2-out RBI - A Gordon 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Smith
1, E Brown 1. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: CS - E German (5, 2nd base by M Delcarmen/J Varitek), A Gordon
(3, 2nd base by M Timlin/J Varitek).


BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Drew rf 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 .253
D Pedroia 2b 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 .317
D Ortiz dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .319
M Ramirez lf 3 2 2 1 1 0 2 .293
K Youkilis 1b 3 1 0 0 1 1 4 .313
M Lowell 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .306
J Varitek c 4 1 0 1 0 1 1 .270
C Crisp cf 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .266
J Lugo ss 4 0 1 2 0 0 1 .218

Totals 32 5 9 5 3 4 12

BATTING: 2B - D Pedroia (22, O Perez); J Lugo (16, O Perez). 3B - C Crisp (6, J
Soria). HR - M Ramirez (14, 5th inning off O Perez 0 on, 1 Out). SF - J Drew.
RBI - J Varitek (39), J Lugo 2 (42), J Drew (34), M Ramirez (54). Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - D Ortiz 1, J Lugo 1, K Youkilis 2, D Pedroia 1.
Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: E - M Lowell (14, ground ball). DP: 1 (J Varitek-J Lugo).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 000 240 000 -- 6
BOSTON - 000 410 00 -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez 5 7 5 5 2 2 1 5.84
D Riske 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.47
J Gobble 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.67
J Soria 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 1 0 1.98

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Tavarez 4 2/3 9 6 4 0 3 0 5.27
M Timlin 2 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.56
M Delcarmen 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1.23
J Papelbon 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.82

Pitches-strikes: O Perez 95-61; D Riske 8-7; J Gobble 8-6; J Soria 33-21; J
Tavarez 76-51; M Timlin 20-13; M Delcarmen 17-8; J Papelbon 11-8. Ground
balls-fly balls: O Perez 9-4; D Riske 2-1; J Gobble 1-0; J Soria 1-2; J Tavarez
7-4; M Timlin 2-3; M Delcarmen 0-0; J Papelbon 0-1. Batters faced: O Perez 24;
D Riske 3; J Gobble 3; J Soria 6; J Tavarez 24; M Timlin 6; M Delcarmen 3; J
Papelbon 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Larry Vanover. 1B--Tony Randazzo. 2B--Charlie Reliford. 3B--Greg
Gibson.

Weather: 66 degrees, overcast. Wind: 7 mph, out to left.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - PITCHING CHANGE
KAN: OCTAVIO DOTEL (2-1, 3.32) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J DREW (.253, 0-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: O Dotel relieved J Soria.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 6
BOSTON 5 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J Drew (.253, 0-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: A Cora ran for D Ortiz.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, A CORA ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 6
BOSTON 5 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M Ramirez (.293, 2-FOR-3, HR, RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 6 9 0
BOSTON 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 5 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ, DAVID RISKE (6TH), JIMMY GOBBLE (7TH), JOAKIM
SORIA (7TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JASON LARUE

BOS - JULIAN TAVAREZ, MIKE TIMLIN (5TH), MANNY
DELCARMEN (8TH), JONATHAN PAPELBON (9TH) AND JASON VARITEK

HOME RUNS: KAN - NONE

BOS - MANNY RAMIREZ (14) OFF ODALIS PEREZ IN THE 5TH, 0 ON</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 6 9 0
BOSTON 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 5 10 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ, DAVID RISKE (6TH), JIMMY GOBBLE (7TH), JOAKIM
SORIA (7TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JASON LARUE

BOS - JULIAN TAVAREZ, MIKE TIMLIN (5TH), MANNY
DELCARMEN (8TH), JONATHAN PAPELBON (9TH) AND JASON VARITEK


WP - ODALIS PEREZ (5-8)
LP - JULIAN TAVAREZ (5-8)
SAVE - OCTAVIO DOTEL (10)

HOME RUNS: KAN - NONE

BOS - MANNY RAMIREZ (14) OFF ODALIS PEREZ IN THE 5TH, 0 ON


TIME: 3:08 ATT: 36,681

PROBABLES: CHA - JAVIER VAZQUEZ (6-5, 3.77)
BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (11-6, 3.94)

PROBABLES: KAN - GIL MECHE (6-6, 3.69)
DET - KENNY ROGERS (3-1, 2.82)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (6) VS BOSTON (5) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .272
M Grudzielanek 2b 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 .281
M Teahen rf 4 2 1 0 0 0 1 .284
B Butler 1b 3 1 2 2 1 0 0 .311
E German pr-3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
R Gload dh 3 0 0 1 0 2 3 .256
A Gordon 3b-1b 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 .240
E Brown lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .236
J Smith ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .200
J LaRue c 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 .173

Totals 34 6 9 6 1 8 7

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (19, J Tavarez); B Butler (9, J Tavarez). SF - R
Gload. RBI - R Gload (26), A Gordon 2 (31), M Grudzielanek (30), B Butler 2
(21). 2-out RBI - A Gordon 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Smith
1, E Brown 1. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: CS - E German (5, 2nd base by M Delcarmen/J Varitek), A Gordon
(3, 2nd base by M Timlin/J Varitek).


BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Drew rf 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 .252
D Pedroia 2b 5 0 3 0 0 1 1 .316
D Ortiz dh 5 0 2 0 0 1 2 .321
A Cora pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279
M Ramirez lf 4 2 2 1 1 0 3 .292
K Youkilis 1b 3 1 0 0 1 1 4 .313
M Lowell 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .306
J Varitek c 4 1 0 1 0 1 1 .270
C Crisp cf 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .266
J Lugo ss 4 0 1 2 0 0 1 .218

Totals 36 5 10 5 3 5 13

BATTING: 2B - D Pedroia (22, O Perez); J Lugo (16, O Perez). 3B - C Crisp (6, J
Soria). HR - M Ramirez (14, 5th inning off O Perez 0 on, 1 Out). SF - J Drew.
RBI - J Varitek (39), J Lugo 2 (42), J Drew (34), M Ramirez (54). Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - D Ortiz 1, J Lugo 1, K Youkilis 2, D Pedroia 1.
Team LOB - 8.

FIELDING: E - M Lowell (14, ground ball). DP: 1 (J Varitek-J Lugo).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 000 240 000 -- 6
BOSTON - 000 410 000 -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez (W, 5-8) 5 7 5 5 2 2 1 5.84
D Riske (H, 10) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.47
J Gobble (H, 9) 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.67
J Soria (H, 9) 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 1 0 1.98
O Dotel (S, 10) 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.15

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Tavarez (L, 5-8) 4 2/3 9 6 4 0 3 0 5.27
M Timlin 2 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.56
M Delcarmen 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1.23
J Papelbon 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.82

Pitches-strikes: O Perez 95-61; D Riske 8-7; J Gobble 8-6; J Soria 33-21; O
Dotel 13-8; J Tavarez 76-51; M Timlin 20-13; M Delcarmen 17-8; J Papelbon 11-8.
Ground balls-fly balls: O Perez 9-4; D Riske 2-1; J Gobble 1-0; J Soria 1-2; O
Dotel 1-1; J Tavarez 7-4; M Timlin 2-3; M Delcarmen 0-0; J Papelbon 0-1.
Batters faced: O Perez 24; D Riske 3; J Gobble 3; J Soria 6; O Dotel 4; J
Tavarez 24; M Timlin 6; M Delcarmen 3; J Papelbon 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Larry Vanover. 1B--Tony Randazzo. 2B--Charlie Reliford. 3B--Greg
Gibson.

T--3:08. Att--36,681.
Weather: 66 degrees, overcast. Wind: 7 mph, out to
left.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
KANSAS CITY 6
BOSTON 5 FINAL</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (6) AT BOSTON (5) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 4TH: M Grudzielanek singled to right. M Teahen singled to
left, M Grudzielanek to second. B Butler grounded out to first, M Grudzielanek
to third, M Teahen to second. R Gload hit sacrifice fly to right,
M Grudzielanek scored. A Gordon singled to right, M Teahen scored. E Brown
singled to center, A Gordon to second. J Smith flied out to left. (2 Runs,
4 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 4TH: M Ramirez singled to left. K Youkilis walked, M Ramirez to
second. M Lowell singled to left center, M Ramirez to third, K Youkilis to
second. J Varitek grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, M Ramirez
scored, M Lowell out at second, K Youkilis to third. C Crisp walked, J Varitek
to second. J Lugo doubled to left, K Youkilis and J Varitek scored, C Crisp to
third. J Drew hit sacrifice fly to left, C Crisp scored. D Pedroia grounded
out to third. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, BOSTON 4.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: J LaRue grounded out to third. D DeJesus reached on
infield single to catcher. M Grudzielanek doubled to deep left, D DeJesus
scored. M Teahen safe at first on error by third baseman M Lowell,
M Grudzielanek to third. B Butler doubled to deep center, M Grudzielanek and
M Teahen scored. R Gload grounded out to second, B Butler to third. A Gordon
singled to center, B Butler scored. M Timlin relieved J Tavarez. A Gordon
caught stealing second, catcher to second.(4 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error)
KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 4.

BOSTON 5TH: D Ortiz grounded out to second. M Ramirez homered to center.
K Youkilis grounded out to third. M Lowell grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (6) AT BOSTON (5) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, M Teahen RF,
B Butler 1B, R Gload DH, A Gordon 3B, E Brown LF, J Smith SS, J LaRue C,
O Perez LHP.

Boston Starting Lineups -- J Drew RF, D Pedroia 2B, D Ortiz DH, M Ramirez LF,
K Youkilis 1B, M Lowell 3B, J Varitek C, C Crisp CF, J Lugo SS, J Tavarez RHP.

Umpires -- Larry Vanover (HP), Tony Randazzo (1B), Charlie Reliford (2B),
Greg Gibson (3B).

Gametime Weather: 66 degrees, Overcast, wind out to left at 7 mph.


KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus flied out to left. M Grudzielanek grounded out
to shortstop. M Teahen grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 1ST: J Drew popped out to third. D Pedroia reached on infield
single to shortstop. D Ortiz reached on infield single to second, D Pedroia to
second. M Ramirez popped out to third. K Youkilis struck out looking.
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, BOSTON 0.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: B Butler reached on infield single to second. R Gload
struck out swinging. A Gordon grounded out to first, B Butler to second.
E Brown grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0,
BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 2ND: M Lowell grounded out to shortstop. J Varitek grounded out to
shortstop. C Crisp struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, BOSTON 0.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: J Smith struck out swinging. J LaRue struck out looking.
D DeJesus flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 3RD: J Lugo grounded out to shortstop. J Drew flied out to center.
D Pedroia doubled to left. D Ortiz grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, BOSTON 0.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: M Grudzielanek singled to right. M Teahen singled to
left, M Grudzielanek to second. B Butler grounded out to first, M Grudzielanek
to third, M Teahen to second. R Gload hit sacrifice fly to right,
M Grudzielanek scored. A Gordon singled to right, M Teahen scored. E Brown
singled to center, A Gordon to second. J Smith flied out to left. (2 Runs,
4 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 4TH: M Ramirez singled to left. K Youkilis walked, M Ramirez to
second. M Lowell singled to left center, M Ramirez to third, K Youkilis to
second. J Varitek grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, M Ramirez
scored, M Lowell out at second, K Youkilis to third. C Crisp walked, J Varitek
to second. J Lugo doubled to left, K Youkilis and J Varitek scored, C Crisp to
third. J Drew hit sacrifice fly to left, C Crisp scored. D Pedroia grounded
out to third. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, BOSTON 4.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: J LaRue grounded out to third. D DeJesus reached on
infield single to catcher. M Grudzielanek doubled to deep left, D DeJesus
scored. M Teahen safe at first on error by third baseman M Lowell,
M Grudzielanek to third. B Butler doubled to deep center, M Grudzielanek and
M Teahen scored. R Gload grounded out to second, B Butler to third. A Gordon
singled to center, B Butler scored. M Timlin relieved J Tavarez. A Gordon
caught stealing second, catcher to second.(4 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS
CITY 6, BOSTON 4.

BOSTON 5TH: D Ortiz grounded out to second. M Ramirez homered to center.
K Youkilis grounded out to third. M Lowell grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: E Brown grounded out to second. J Smith lined out to
first. J LaRue struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6,
BOSTON 5.

BOSTON 6TH: D Riske relieved O Perez. J Varitek grounded out to first.
C Crisp lined out to second. J Lugo grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: D DeJesus grounded out to second. M Grudzielanek flied
out to right. M Teahen lined out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.

BOSTON 7TH: J Gobble relieved D Riske. J Drew grounded out to first.
D Pedroia reached on infield single to shortstop. D Ortiz struck out swinging.
J Soria relieved J Gobble. M Ramirez walked, D Pedroia to second. K Youkilis
grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: M Delcarmen relieved M Timlin. B Butler walked. E German
ran for B Butler. R Gload struck out swinging. E German to second. A Gordon
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.

BOSTON 8TH: E German at third base. A Gordon at first base. M Lowell flied
out to left. J Varitek struck out swinging. C Crisp tripled to deep right.
J Lugo flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: J Papelbon relieved M Delcarmen. E Brown flied out to
right. J Smith struck out swinging. J LaRue struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.

BOSTON 9TH: O Dotel relieved J Soria. J Drew grounded out to second.
D Pedroia struck out swinging. D Ortiz singled to center. A Cora ran for
D Ortiz. M Ramirez popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5.</div>

 

Gordon, Butler lead Royals past Red Sox

<h3>KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- A pair of rookies took advantage of JulianTavarez's struggles to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 6-5victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.

For the second night in a row, the bullpen provided four inningsof outstanding work for the Royals, who handed the Red Soxtheir seventh straight loss in one-run games.


Rookie Alex Gordon, who hit just .185 over the first two monthsof the season, followed up a three-hit effort Tuesday with twohits and a pair of RBI on Wednesday. Since June 10, Gordon isbatting .333 with 23 RBI.


Gordon may be benefiting from the presence of fellow rookieBilly Butler, who is hitting .311 in 31 games since first beingrecalled on May 1. His two-run double off Tavarez in the fifthgave Kansas City the lead for good.


Four Royals relievers combined for four scoreless innings, withOctavio Dotel pitching the ninth for his 10th save.

Following an impressive start to the season, Tavarez has comecrashing back to earth in recent weeks, and with Curt Schillinglikely to return in two weeks, Tavarez may have pitched his wayout of Boston's rotation.


After matching Kansas City starter Odalis Perez with threescoreless innings, Tavarez began to unravel in the fourth.

Mark Grudzielanek and Mark Teahen opened the frame withback-to-back singles and each moved up a base when Butlergrounded out to first. Ross Gload brought Grudzielanek homewith a sacrifice fly, and Gordon plated Teahen with a single toright for a 2-0 lead.


Boston came right back in their half, using two singles and awalk to load the bases with no outs off Perez. Jason Varitekcut the lead in half with a fielder's choice and Coco Crispwalked to reload the bases. The suddenly hot Julio Lugo thengave the Red Sox their first lead of the night with a two-rundouble to left. J.D. Drew's sacrifice fly made it 4-2.

After a painfully slow start, Lugo has been red-hot at the plateof late. He has hit in eight straight games, raising hisaverage from .197 to .218.


Kansas City wasted little time jumping back on top in the fifth.Grudzielanek doubled home a run and Butler followed twobatters later with a two-run double to put the Royals back ontop, 5-4. Gordon's second RBI of the night scored Butler andpushed the lead to 6-4.


Tavarez was lifted after Gordon's at-bat, marking the fifthstraight start in which he has failed to pitch at least sixinnings. The veteran sinkerballer was charged with six runs -four earned - and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out threeand not walking a batter.


Manny Ramirez cut the deficit in half in the fifth with amammoth solo blast over the wall in center, his 14th homer ofthe season.


Perez lasted through the fifth, yielding five runs and sevenhits while striking out two and issuing a pair of walks.

It took a fine defensive play from Grudzielanek to avoid troublein the seventh. With runners on first and second and two outs,righthander Joakim Soria came on to face Kevin Youkilis, whohit a hard grounder to the right side. Grudzielanek made theplay on the edge of the outfield grass, with his throw beatingYoukilis by half a step.


The Red Sox stranded Coco Crisp on third base in the eighth andleft David Ortiz on first to end the game.

 

Gordon, Butler lead Royals past Red Sox

<h3>KANSAS CITY 6, BOSTON 5</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- A pair of rookies took advantage of JulianTavarez's struggles to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 6-5victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.

For the second night in a row, the bullpen provided four inningsof outstanding work for the Royals, who handed the Red Soxtheir seventh straight loss in one-run games.


"Our bullpen has been so solid for us," said Kansas City secondbaseman Mark Grudzielanek, who finished the night with two hitsand a pair of runs. "They've been doing that for probably sixweeks now and it really helps."


Rookie Alex Gordon, who hit just .185 over the first two monthsof the season, followed up a three-hit effort Tuesday with twohits and a pair of RBI on Wednesday. Since June 10, Gordon isbatting .333 with 23 RBI.


Gordon may be benefiting from the presence of fellow rookieBilly Butler, who is hitting .311 in 31 games since first beingrecalled on May 1. His two-run double off Tavarez in the fifthgave Kansas City the lead for good.


"He is very good pitcher," Butler said. "But we took advantageof our opportunities tonight. It was great to finish off a goodseries."


Four Royals relievers combined for four scoreless innings, withOctavio Dotel pitching the ninth for his 10th save.

Following an impressive start to the season, Tavarez has comecrashing back to earth in recent weeks, and with Curt Schillinglikely to return in two weeks, Tavarez may have pitched his wayout of Boston 's rotation.


"It's disappointing," Tavarez said. "I have been getting somerun support from my team and I haven't been able to hold on toit. I can't say I'm happy about it. My teammates are doingeverything they can for me, giving me a chance to win some gamesbut it's me."


Tavarez has given up 18 runs in his last three starts.

After matching Kansas City starter Odalis Perez with threescoreless innings, Tavarez began to unravel in the fourth.

Grudzielanek and Mark Teahen opened the frame with back-to-backsingles and each moved up a base when Butler grounded out tofirst. Ross Gload brought Grudzielanek home with a sacrificefly, and Gordon plated Teahen with a single to right for a 2-0lead.


"(Playing) against a real good team, we scored two then theyscored four and then we scored four and you think it's going tobe OK," Kansas City manager Buddy Bell said of the middleinnings. "But it was a (heckuva) win for our club.

"When you come in to Fenway Park, which is one of the specialplaces, to play against a team that has the best record in theAmerican League, it feels pretty good."


Boston responded in their half of the fourth, using two singlesand a walk to load the bases with no outs off Perez. JasonVaritek cut the lead in half with a fielder's choice and CocoCrisp walked to reload the bases. The suddenly hot Julio Lugothen gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night with atwo-run double to left. J.D. Drew's sacrifice fly made it 4-2.

After a painfully slow start, Lugo has been red-hot at the plateof late. He has hit in eight straight games, raising hisaverage from .197 to .218. But his hot streak has nottranslated to wins for the slumping Red Sox, who are just 3-5during that stretch,


"You can get as many hits as you can," Lugo said. "But if youdon't get a win, it doesn't mean anything."


Kansas City wasted little time jumping back on top in the fifth.Grudzielanek doubled home a run and Butler followed two batterslater with a two-run double to put the Royals back on top, 5-4.

"I was just looking for a pitch to drive," Butler said. "I hadguys in scoring position and I got a good pitch. I just didwhat I could with it."


Gordon's second RBI of the night scored Butler and pushed thelead to 6-4.


Tavarez was lifted after Gordon's at-bat, marking the fifthstraight start in which he has failed to pitch at least sixinnings. The veteran sinkerballer was charged with six runs -four earned - and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out threeand not walking a batter.


"Today I made a lot of mistakes," Tavarez said. "I wasn't ableto be consistent with my game plan. I wish I could take it backand start over again but you can't do that in this game."

Manny Ramirez cut the deficit in half in the fifth with amammoth solo blast over the wall in center, his 14th homer ofthe season.


Perez lasted through the fifth, yielding five runs and sevenhits while striking out two and issuing a pair of walks.

"It was good to be able to go about five innings," Perez said."If I can go five, I know those guys in the bullpen are going tohold the lead for us. But it was nice to get a win even thoughI didn't pitch great."


It took a fine defensive play from Grudzielanek to avoid troublein the seventh. With runners on first and second and two outs,righthander Joakim Soria came on to face Kevin Youkilis, whohit a hard grounder to the right side. Grudzielanek made theplay on the edge of the outfield grass, with his throw beatingYoukilis by half a step.


"It was a pretty big play," Grudzielanek said. "But I don'tthink he would have scored even if the ball had gotten through.But it's nice to get that out. It was a big one tonight."

The Red Sox stranded Coco Crisp on third base in the eighth andleft David Ortiz on first to end the game.