GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (54-67) at OAKLAND (60-63)

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 7 14 0
OAKLAND 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 7 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ, JOEL PERALTA (6TH), DAVID RISKE (6TH), ZACK
GREINKE (8TH), JOAKIM SORIA (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK

OAK - CHAD GAUDIN, JAY MARSHALL (7TH), RUDDY LUGO (8TH)
AND KURT SUZUKI

HOME RUNS: KAN - JASON SMITH (3) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
ROSS GLOAD (5) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 6TH, 0 ON
JASON SMITH (4) OFF RUDDY LUGO IN THE 8TH, 1 ON

OAK - NONE</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 7 14 0
OAKLAND 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 7 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ, JOEL PERALTA (6TH), DAVID RISKE (6TH), ZACK
GREINKE (8TH), JOAKIM SORIA (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK

OAK - CHAD GAUDIN, JAY MARSHALL (7TH), RUDDY LUGO (8TH)
AND KURT SUZUKI


WP - ODALIS PEREZ (8-11)
LP - CHAD GAUDIN (9-9)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: KAN - JASON SMITH (3) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
ROSS GLOAD (5) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 6TH, 0 ON
JASON SMITH (4) OFF RUDDY LUGO IN THE 8TH, 1 ON

OAK - NONE


TIME: 2:52 ATT: 24,638

PROBABLES: KAN - KYLE DAVIES (1-1, 5.52)
OAK - LENNY DINARDO (7-6, 3.29)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (7) VS OAKLAND (3) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 5 0 2 0 0 1 0 .274
J Gathright lf 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 .347
M Teahen rf 3 0 1 0 0 2 2 .284
E Brown rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .226
B Butler dh 4 0 1 0 1 1 3 .310
R Gload 1b 4 2 3 1 1 0 3 .300
A Gordon 3b 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 .247
J Buck c 3 1 1 0 1 1 2 .234
J Smith 2b 4 2 2 4 0 0 2 .214
T Pena Jr ss 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .267

Totals 36 7 14 7 4 6 16

BATTING: 2B - R Gload (17, C Gaudin). HR - J Smith 2 (4, 2nd inning off C
Gaudin 1 on, 2 Out, 8th inning off R Lugo 1 on, 1 Out), R Gload (5, 6th inning
off C Gaudin 0 on, 0 Out). S - M Teahen. RBI - A Gordon (42), J Smith 4 (10), R
Gload (40), J Gathright (14). 2-out RBI - J Smith 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - A Gordon 1, B Butler 1. GIDP - J Smith, R Gload. Team LOB -
8.

BASERUNNING: SB - A Gordon (12, 2nd base off R Lugo/K Suzuki). CS - J
Gathright (4, 2nd base by C Gaudin/K Suzuki).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (T Pena Jr-J Smith-R Gload, J Smith-R Gload).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Stewart lf 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 .294
N Swisher 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .254
J Cust rf 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 .275
M Piazza dh 4 1 1 1 0 1 5 .274
M Ellis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .260
J DaVanon cf 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 .400
D Murphy ss 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .221
J Hannahan 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .133
K Suzuki c 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .241

Totals 31 3 7 3 5 5 10

BATTING: 2B - M Ellis (23, O Perez); M Piazza (10, J Peralta); J Cust (14, D
Riske). 3B - J Cust (1, J Peralta); J DaVanon (1, J Peralta). SF - D Murphy.
RBI - M Piazza (28), J DaVanon (1), D Murphy (14). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M Piazza 3. GIDP - D Murphy, J Hannahan. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: Outfield assists - J DaVanon (A Gordon at 2nd base). DP: 2 (M
Ellis-D Murphy-N Swisher, M Ellis-N Swisher).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 030 001 120 -- 7
OAKLAND - 000 003 000 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez (W, 8-11) 5 3 0 0 4 2 0 5.57
J Peralta 2/3 3 3 3 1 0 0 3.96
D Riske (H, 13) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.22
Z Greinke 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 4.48
J Soria 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.04

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Gaudin (L, 9-9) 6 10 5 5 3 5 2 4.25
J Marshall 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 5.54
R Lugo 2 3 1 1 0 1 1 7.30

C Gaudin pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.
J Marshall pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

IBB - B Butler (by J Marshall). HBP - J Gathright (by C Gaudin).
Pitches-strikes: O Perez 98-50; J Peralta 14-8; D Riske 16-11; Z Greinke 15-10;
J Soria 10-7; C Gaudin 102-59; J Marshall 9-3; R Lugo 32-24. Ground balls-fly
balls: O Perez 7-6; J Peralta 0-2; D Riske 2-2; Z Greinke 0-0; J Soria 3-0; C
Gaudin 8-3; J Marshall 3-0; R Lugo 5-0. Batters faced: O Perez 20; J Peralta 6;
D Riske 5; Z Greinke 3; J Soria 3; C Gaudin 29; J Marshall 4; R Lugo 9.

UMPIRES: HP--Kerwin Danley. 1B--Doug Eddings. 2B--Mike Muchlinski. 3B--Dana
Demuth.
EJECTIONS: OAKLAND's Geren by Muchlinski (5th).
T--2:52. Att--24,638.
Weather: 70 degrees, clear. Wind: 22 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
KANSAS CITY 7
OAKLAND 3 FINAL</div>

 

Smith blasts two homers as Royals down Athletics

<h3>KANSAS CITY 7, OAKLAND 3</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Jason Smith helped the KansasCity Royals continue to feel right at home in Oakland.

Smith hit two homers and drove in four runs and Odalis Perezpitched five scoreless innings as the Royals beat the OaklandAthletics, 7-3, on Saturday in the third of a four-game series.

Ross Gload also homered and scored twice for the Royals, whohave won five of their last six games at McAfee Coliseum.

Smith, who entered the game hitting .179 with two home runs andtwo RBI, registered his third career multi-homer performance.

The 30-year-old Smith, who has been with six different clubssince breaking into the major leagues in 2001, gave Kansas Citya 3-0 lead with a two-run shot off Athletics starter Chad Gaudin(9-9) in the second inning.


Smith added to the Royals' advantage in the eighth by blastinganother two-run shot over the right field wall, opening a 7-3lead.


Before Smith's first blast, Gload doubled and scored on an RBIsingle by Alex Gordon in the second to give Kansas City an early1-0 edge.


Perez (8-11) struggled with his command, issuing four walks, butsurrendered just three hits and did not allow a run.

The lefthander ran into trouble in the third inning. Afterretiring the first two batters, he walked the bases loaded, butMike Piazza was unable to take advantage as he flied out to leftto end the threat.


After throwing 98 pitches, Perez was relieved by Joel Peralta,who struggled, allowing three runs, three hits and a walk whileretiring just two batters as the Athletics closed the gap to4-3.


Royals manager Buddy Bell was forced to bring in David Riske,who got the Royals out of the jam as Kurt Suzuki flied out.

Joey Gathright's RBI single in the seventh inning opened up a5-3 advantage for Kansas City.


Gaudin, who has lost six of his last seven decisions, yieldedfive runs and a season-high 10 hits in six innings. The24-year-old righthander has seen his ERA balloon from 2.88 to4.25 since July 5.


Kansas City has a chance to match its season-best four-gamewinning streak on the road on Sunday.

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (7) VS OAKLAND (3) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 5 0 2 0 0 1 0 .274
J Gathright lf 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 .347
M Teahen rf 3 0 1 0 0 2 2 .284
E Brown rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .226
B Butler dh 4 0 1 0 1 1 3 .310
R Gload 1b 4 2 3 1 1 0 3 .300
A Gordon 3b 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 .247
J Buck c 3 1 1 0 1 1 2 .234
J Smith 2b 4 2 2 4 0 0 2 .214
T Pena Jr ss 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .267

Totals 36 7 14 7 4 6 16

BATTING: 2B - R Gload (17, C Gaudin). HR - J Smith 2 (4, 2nd inning off C
Gaudin 1 on, 2 Out, 8th inning off R Lugo 1 on, 1 Out), R Gload (5, 6th inning
off C Gaudin 0 on, 0 Out). S - M Teahen. RBI - A Gordon (42), J Smith 4 (10), R
Gload (40), J Gathright (14). 2-out RBI - J Smith 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - A Gordon 1, B Butler 1. GIDP - J Smith, R Gload. Team LOB -
8.

BASERUNNING: SB - A Gordon (12, 2nd base off R Lugo/K Suzuki). CS - J
Gathright (4, 2nd base by C Gaudin/K Suzuki).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (T Pena Jr-J Smith-R Gload, J Smith-R Gload).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
S Stewart lf 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 .294
N Swisher 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .254
J Cust rf 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 .275
M Piazza dh 4 1 1 1 0 1 5 .274
M Ellis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .260
J DaVanon cf 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 .400
D Murphy ss 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .221
J Hannahan 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .133
K Suzuki c 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .241

Totals 31 3 7 3 5 5 10

BATTING: 2B - M Ellis (23, O Perez); M Piazza (10, J Peralta); J Cust (14, D
Riske). 3B - J Cust (1, J Peralta); J DaVanon (1, J Peralta). SF - D Murphy.
RBI - M Piazza (28), J DaVanon (1), D Murphy (14). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M Piazza 3. GIDP - D Murphy, J Hannahan. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: Outfield assists - J DaVanon (A Gordon at 2nd base). DP: 2 (M
Ellis-D Murphy-N Swisher, M Ellis-N Swisher).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 030 001 120 -- 7
OAKLAND - 000 003 000 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez (W, 8-11) 5 3 0 0 4 2 0 5.57
J Peralta 2/3 3 3 3 1 0 0 3.96
D Riske (H, 13) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.22
Z Greinke 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 4.48
J Soria 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.04

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Gaudin (L, 9-9) 6 10 5 5 3 5 2 4.25
J Marshall 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 5.54
R Lugo 2 3 1 1 0 1 1 7.30

C Gaudin pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.
J Marshall pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

IBB - B Butler (by J Marshall). HBP - J Gathright (by C Gaudin).
Pitches-strikes: O Perez 98-50; J Peralta 14-8; D Riske 16-11; Z Greinke 15-10;
J Soria 10-7; C Gaudin 102-59; J Marshall 9-3; R Lugo 32-24. Ground balls-fly
balls: O Perez 7-6; J Peralta 0-2; D Riske 2-2; Z Greinke 0-0; J Soria 3-0; C
Gaudin 8-3; J Marshall 3-0; R Lugo 5-0. Batters faced: O Perez 20; J Peralta 6;
D Riske 5; Z Greinke 3; J Soria 3; C Gaudin 29; J Marshall 4; R Lugo 9.

UMPIRES: HP--Kerwin Danley. 1B--Doug Eddings. 2B--Mike Muchlinski. 3B--Dana
Demuth.
EJECTIONS: OAKLAND's Geren by Muchlinski (5th).
T--2:52. Att--24,638.
Weather: 70 degrees, clear. Wind: 22 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (7) AT OAKLAND (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 2ND: B Butler grounded out to shortstop. R Gload doubled to
left. A Gordon singled to center, R Gload scored, A Gordon thrown out at
second attempting to advance on play. J Buck walked. J Smith homered to
right, J Buck scored. T Pena Jr lined out to second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, OAKLAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: R Gload homered to right. A Gordon grounded out to
shortstop. J Buck singled to right. J Smith grounded into double play, second
to shortstop to first, J Buck out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS
CITY 4, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 6TH: J Peralta relieved O Perez. J Cust tripled to deep center.
M Piazza doubled to deep center, J Cust scored. M Ellis flied out to right.
J DaVanon tripled to deep center, M Piazza scored. D Murphy hit sacrifice fly to
center, J DaVanon scored. J Hannahan walked. D Riske relieved J Peralta.
K Suzuki flied out to right. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, OAKLAND 3.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: T Pena Jr walked. D DeJesus singled to center, T Pena Jr
to third. J Gathright singled to center, T Pena Jr scored, D DeJesus to
second. J Marshall relieved C Gaudin. M Teahen sacrificed to third, D DeJesus
to third, J Gathright to second. B Butler intentionally walked. R Gload
grounded into double play, second to first, B Butler out at second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, OAKLAND 3.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: A Gordon reached on bunt single to third. R Lugo relieved
J Marshall. A Gordon stole second. J Buck grounded out to shortstop. J Smith
homered to right, A Gordon scored. T Pena Jr grounded out to second.
D DeJesus grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7,
OAKLAND 3.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 7 14 0
OAKLAND 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 7 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ, JOEL PERALTA (6TH), DAVID RISKE (6TH), ZACK
GREINKE (8TH), JOAKIM SORIA (9TH) AND JOHN BUCK

OAK - CHAD GAUDIN, JAY MARSHALL (7TH), RUDDY LUGO (8TH)
AND KURT SUZUKI


WP - ODALIS PEREZ (8-11)
LP - CHAD GAUDIN (9-9)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: KAN - JASON SMITH (3) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
ROSS GLOAD (5) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 6TH, 0 ON
JASON SMITH (4) OFF RUDDY LUGO IN THE 8TH, 1 ON

OAK - NONE


TIME: 2:52 ATT: 24,638

PROBABLES: KAN - KYLE DAVIES (1-1, 5.52)
OAK - LENNY DINARDO (7-6, 3.29)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (7) AT OAKLAND (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, J Gathright LF, M Teahen RF,
B Butler DH, R Gload 1B, A Gordon 3B, J Buck C, J Smith 2B, T Pena Jr SS, O Perez LHP.

Oakland Starting Lineups -- S Stewart LF, N Swisher 1B, J Cust RF, M Piazza DH,
M Ellis 2B, J DaVanon CF, D Murphy SS, J Hannahan 3B, K Suzuki C, C Gaudin RHP.

Umpires -- Kerwin Danley (HP), Doug Eddings (1B), Mike Muchlinski (2B), Dana Demuth (3B).

Gametime Weather: 70 degrees, Clear, wind in from right at 22 mph.


KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus struck out looking. J Gathright reached on
infield single to second. J Gathright caught stealing second, catcher to
shortstop. M Teahen struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0,
OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: S Stewart flied out to left. N Swisher grounded out to third.
J Cust walked. M Piazza struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, OAKLAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: B Butler grounded out to shortstop. R Gload doubled to
left. A Gordon singled to center, R Gload scored, A Gordon thrown out at
second attempting to advance on play. J Buck walked. J Smith homered to
right, J Buck scored. T Pena Jr lined out to second. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 3, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 2ND: M Ellis grounded out to second. J DaVanon singled to center.
D Murphy grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, J DaVanon out
at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, OAKLAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: D DeJesus singled to right. J Gathright out on batter's
interference to pitcher. M Teahen struck out swinging. B Butler lined out to
second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 3RD: J Hannahan struck out swinging. K Suzuki flied out to center.
S Stewart walked. N Swisher walked, S Stewart to second. J Cust walked,
S Stewart to third, N Swisher to second. M Piazza flied out to left. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, OAKLAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: R Gload walked. A Gordon grounded into fielder's choice
to shortstop, R Gload out at second. J Buck struck out swinging. J Smith
grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 4TH: M Ellis doubled to center. J DaVanon grounded out to
shortstop, M Ellis to third. D Murphy reached on infield single to third.
J Hannahan grounded into double play, second to first, D Murphy out at second.
(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, OAKLAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: T Pena Jr flied out to center. D DeJesus grounded out to
shortstop. J Gathright hit by pitch. Oakland's Manager B Geren ejected by
M Muchlinski. M Teahen reached on infield single to second, J Gathright to second.
B Butler struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 5TH: K Suzuki flied out to left. S Stewart popped out to second.
N Swisher fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 3,
OAKLAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: R Gload homered to right. A Gordon grounded out to
shortstop. J Buck singled to right. J Smith grounded into double play, second
to shortstop to first, J Buck out at second.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 4, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 6TH: J Peralta relieved O Perez. J Cust tripled to deep center.
M Piazza doubled to deep center, J Cust scored. M Ellis flied out to right.
J DaVanon tripled to deep center, M Piazza scored. D Murphy hit sacrifice fly to
center, J DaVanon scored. J Hannahan walked. D Riske relieved J Peralta.
K Suzuki flied out to right. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, OAKLAND 3.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: T Pena Jr walked. D DeJesus singled to center, T Pena Jr
to third. J Gathright singled to center, T Pena Jr scored, D DeJesus to
second. J Marshall relieved C Gaudin. M Teahen sacrificed to third, D DeJesus
to third, J Gathright to second. B Butler intentionally walked. R Gload
grounded into double play, second to first, B Butler out at second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 7TH: S Stewart grounded out to shortstop. N Swisher grounded out
to second. J Cust doubled to right. M Piazza flied out to right. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 5, OAKLAND 3.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: A Gordon reached on bunt single to third. R Lugo relieved
J Marshall. A Gordon stole second. J Buck grounded out to shortstop. J Smith
homered to right, A Gordon scored. T Pena Jr grounded out to second.
D DeJesus grounded out to second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7,
OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 8TH: Z Greinke relieved D Riske. E Brown in right field. M Ellis
struck out swinging. J DaVanon struck out swinging. D Murphy struck out
looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7, OAKLAND 3.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: J Gathright grounded out to shortstop. E Brown struck out
swinging. B Butler singled to right. R Gload singled to center, B Butler to
second. A Gordon grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7,
OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 9TH: J Soria relieved Z Greinke. J Hannahan grounded out to third.
K Suzuki grounded out to shortstop. S Stewart grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7, OAKLAND 3.</div>

 

Smith blasts two homers as Royals down Athletics

<h3>KANSAS CITY 7, OAKLAND 3</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Jason Smith helped the KansasCity Royals continue to feel right at home in Oakland.

Smith hit two homers and drove in four runs and Odalis Perezpitched five scoreless innings as the Royals beat the OaklandAthletics, 7-3, on Saturday night in the second of a three-gameseries.


Ross Gload also homered and scored twice for the Royals, whohave won five of their last six games at McAfee Coliseum.

"It's just one of those things," Gload said. "We were playingpretty bad. We played two bad games in Texas and then the lastthree we put it together."


Smith, who entered the game hitting .179 with two home runs andtwo RBI, registered his third career multi-homer performance.

"I just picked a day where the wind's blowing out just right,"Smith said. "I was fortunate enough to put two good swings onpitches and they went out."


The 30-year-old Smith, who has been with six different clubssince breaking into the major leagues in 2001, gave Kansas Citya 3-0 lead with a two-run shot off Athletics starter Chad Gaudin(9-9) in the second inning.


"It's always great to see a kid that doesn't play all the timejust really help the team," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "Itmakes him feel a part of it. When you don't play, you don'tcontribute. It's hard to feel a part of it so I'm real realhappy for him."


"I just have to work hard and take as many swings as I can. Wehave early hitting the first day of every series and I'm alwaysthere for that," Smith said. "I take a good amount of swings inthe cage to keep myself mechanically where I need to be. I getaway from that sometimes. I get in there sometimes and try todo too much."


Smith added to the Royals' advantage in the eighth by blastinganother two-run shot over the right field wall, opening a 7-3lead.


"After we gave up those three runs in the sixth, it was good forus as a team to put a couple of more runs on and tack them onlate," Smith said. "That's what good teams do, they continue toput runs on. Hopefully, we can build on that and one daypeople will be saying we're a good team and we're able to dothat."


Before Smith's first blast, Gload doubled and scored on an RBIsingle by Alex Gordon in the second to give Kansas City an early1-0 edge.


Perez (8-11) struggled with his command, issuing four walks, butsurrendered just three hits and did not allow a run.

"It feels 50-50," Perez said. "I don't want to be out theregoing only five innings. I don't consider myself a five-inningpitcher. I want to go more innings, less pitches and give theteam an opportunity to win."


The lefthander ran into trouble in the third inning. Afterretiring the first two batters, he walked the bases loaded, butMike Piazza was unable to take advantage as he flied out to leftto end the threat.


After throwing 98 pitches, Perez was relieved by Joel Peralta,who struggled, allowing three runs, three hits and a walk whileretiring just two batters as the Athletics closed the gap to4-3.


"He's not afraid to go deep in the count to make hitters anxiousbut he's tough," Bell said of Perez. "He knows what he's doingand sometimes it's not pretty but it's effective. He gets itdone."


Bell was forced to bring in David Riske, who got the Royals outof the jam as Kurt Suzuki flied out.


Joey Gathright's RBI single in the seventh inning opened a 5-3advantage for Kansas City.


Gaudin, who has lost six of his last seven decisions, yieldedfive runs and a season-high 10 hits in six innings. The24-year-old righthander has seen his ERA balloon from 2.88 to4.25 since July 5.


"He has in previous starts been victimized by the home run,"Athletics manager Bob Geren said of Gaudin. "His last game hepitched real well before tonight. The last three or four startsthat has led to some runs for sure."


"That's baseball, when you're pitching you're going to give upruns and give up home runs," Gaudin said. "It's just going tohappen and you're just going to have to minimize the amount ofruns to keep your team in the game. I'm just trying to catchthat groove but I'm going to take the positives out of it and goout there and attack the next game."


Kansas City has a chance to match its season-best four-gamewinning streak on the road on Sunday.


"I think we've been playing in such hot weather, we came hereand (the cooler temperature) kind of gave us a little boost ofenergy," Bell said. "We won tonight, we didn't play exactlygreat but we need to win tomorrow, that would be nice."