GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (62-76) at TEXAS (64-74)

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

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

BATTERIES: KAN - KYLE DAVIES, JOHN BALE (6TH), RYAN BRAUN (7TH), JOAKIM SORIA
(8TH) AND JOHN BUCK

TEX - VICENTE PADILLA, WES LITTLETON (7TH), BILL WHITE
(7TH), JAMEY WRIGHT (8TH), JOAQUIN BENOIT (9TH) AND GERALD
LAIRD

HOME RUNS: KAN - JOHN BUCK (18) OFF WES LITTLETON IN THE 7TH, 1 ON

TEX - NONE</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

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

BATTERIES: KAN - KYLE DAVIES, JOHN BALE (6TH), RYAN BRAUN (7TH), JOAKIM SORIA
(8TH) AND JOHN BUCK

TEX - VICENTE PADILLA, WES LITTLETON (7TH), BILL WHITE
(7TH), JAMEY WRIGHT (8TH), JOAQUIN BENOIT (9TH) AND GERALD
LAIRD


WP - VICENTE PADILLA (5-9)
LP - KYLE DAVIES (2-4)
SAVE - JOAQUIN BENOIT (3)

HOME RUNS: KAN - JOHN BUCK (18) OFF WES LITTLETON IN THE 7TH, 1 ON

TEX - NONE


TIME: 2:43 ATT: 17,232

PROBABLES: OAK - DAN HAREN (14-6, 2.87)
TEX - EDINSON VOLQUEZ (1-0, 5.40)

PROBABLES: NYY - IAN KENNEDY (1-0, 1.29)
KAN - GIL MECHE (7-12, 3.85)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (2) VS TEXAS (3) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .269
M Grudzielanek 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .305
M Teahen rf 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .290
M Sweeney dh 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .257
a-S Costa ph-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
A Gordon 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .250
B Butler 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300
J Gathright lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .318
J Buck c 4 1 1 2 0 2 0 .231
T Pena Jr ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .257

Totals 32 2 6 2 2 7 9

a-grounded to shortstop for M Sweeney in the 8th.

BATTING: HR - J Buck (18, 7th inning off W Littleton 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - J Buck
2 (47). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Gordon 2. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: Picked Off - A Gordon (1st base, J Wright).

FIELDING: E - B Butler (2, catch). DP: 1 (M Grudzielanek-T Pena Jr).


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto 1b 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 .270
M Byrd cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300
I Kinsler 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .269
M Young ss 3 0 2 1 1 0 0 .308
J Botts lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 .216
N Cruz rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
B Wilkerson rf-1b 3 2 1 0 1 2 0 .240
D Murphy cf-lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .373
H Blalock dh 3 0 2 2 1 1 0 .285
G Laird c 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .222
R Vazquez 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .240

Totals 29 3 6 3 4 7 14

BATTING: 2B - H Blalock (12, K Davies). RBI - H Blalock 2 (22), M Young (71).
2-out RBI - M Young. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Vazquez 2, J
Botts 1. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - B Wilkerson (3, 2nd base off K Davies/J Buck).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 000 000 200 -- 2
TEXAS - 010 011 00x -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
K Davies (L, 2-4) 5 3 2 1 4 5 0 5.97
J Bale 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 4.34
R Braun 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6.27
J Soria 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.56

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
V Padilla (W, 5-9) 6 2 0 0 2 5 0 6.01
W Littleton (H, 1) 2/3 2 2 2 0 0 1 3.82
B White (H, 1) 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
J Wright (H, 1) 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.84
J Benoit (S, 3) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.58

HBP - F Catalanotto (by K Davies); M Sweeney (by V Padilla). Pitches-strikes:
K Davies 87-49; J Bale 14-11; R Braun 9-6; J Soria 7-7; V Padilla 90-60; W
Littleton 14-10; B White 10-6; J Wright 14-8; J Benoit 18-11. Ground balls-fly
balls: K Davies 3-6; J Bale 1-2; R Braun 2-1; J Soria 1-0; V Padilla 7-6; W
Littleton 1-1; B White 0-1; J Wright 1-0; J Benoit 1-1. Batters faced: K Davies
22; J Bale 5; R Braun 4; J Soria 3; V Padilla 23; W Littleton 4; B White 3; J
Wright 2; J Benoit 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Dan Iassogna. 1B--Angel Campos. 2B--Ron Kulpa. 3B--Paul Emmel.

T--2:43. Att--17,232.
Weather: 84 degrees, clear. Wind: 12 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
KANSAS CITY 2
TEXAS 3 FINAL</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (2) AT TEXAS (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TEXAS 2ND: B Wilkerson walked. D Murphy struck out swinging, B Wilkerson
stole second. H Blalock doubled to deep right, B Wilkerson scored. G Laird
struck out swinging. R Vazquez lined out to first. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 5TH: R Vazquez flied out to center. F Catalanotto singled to left.
F Catalanotto safe at second on error by first baseman B Butler. I Kinsler
flied out to right. M Young singled to center, F Catalanotto scored. J Botts
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 6TH: J Bale relieved K Davies. B Wilkerson singled to right.
D Murphy flied out to left, B Wilkerson to second. H Blalock singled to left
center, B Wilkerson scored, H Blalock to second advancing on throw. G Laird
lined out to left. R Vazquez grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 3.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: W Littleton relieved V Padilla. B Butler grounded out to
third. J Gathright singled to center. J Buck homered to right center,
J Gathright scored. T Pena Jr popped out to second. B White relieved
W Littleton. D DeJesus singled to right. M Grudzielanek flied out to center.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, TEXAS 3.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (2) AT TEXAS (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, M Teahen RF,
M Sweeney DH, A Gordon 3B, B Butler 1B, J Gathright LF, J Buck C, T Pena Jr SS,
K Davies RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- F Catalanotto 1B, I Kinsler 2B, M Young SS, J Botts LF,
B Wilkerson RF, D Murphy CF, H Blalock DH, G Laird C, R Vazquez 3B, V Padilla RHP.

Umpires -- Dan Iassogna (HP), Angel Campos (1B), Ron Kulpa (2B), Paul Emmel (3B).

Gametime Weather: 84 degrees, Clear, wind in from right at 12 mph.


KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus struck out looking. M Grudzielanek struck out
swinging. M Teahen walked. M Sweeney grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: F Catalanotto walked. I Kinsler popped out to shortstop. M Young
grounded out to second, F Catalanotto to second. J Botts grounded out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 0.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: A Gordon flied out to left. B Butler grounded out to
shortstop. J Gathright grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 2ND: B Wilkerson walked. D Murphy struck out swinging, B Wilkerson
stole second. H Blalock doubled to deep right, B Wilkerson scored. G Laird
struck out swinging. R Vazquez lined out to first. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 1.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: J Buck struck out swinging. T Pena Jr struck out looking.
D DeJesus flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 3RD: F Catalanotto hit by pitch. I Kinsler popped out to second.
M Young walked, F Catalanotto to second. J Botts lined into double play, second
to shortstop, F Catalanotto doubled off second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 1.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: M Grudzielanek singled to deep right. M Teahen grounded
into fielder's choice to third, M Grudzielanek out at second. M Sweeney lined
out to left. A Gordon flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 4TH: B Wilkerson struck out looking. D Murphy struck out swinging.
H Blalock walked. G Laird grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
H Blalock out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 1.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: B Butler grounded out to second. J Gathright grounded out
to third. J Buck flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0,
TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 5TH: R Vazquez flied out to center. F Catalanotto singled to left.
F Catalanotto safe at second on error by first baseman B Butler. I Kinsler
flied out to right. M Young singled to center, F Catalanotto scored. J Botts
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 2.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: T Pena Jr grounded out to second. D DeJesus walked.
M Grudzielanek flied out to right. M Teahen singled to left, D DeJesus to
second. M Sweeney hit by pitch, D DeJesus to third, M Teahen to second.
A Gordon struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 6TH: J Bale relieved K Davies. B Wilkerson singled to right.
D Murphy flied out to left, B Wilkerson to second. H Blalock singled to left
center, B Wilkerson scored, H Blalock to second advancing on throw. G Laird
lined out to left. R Vazquez grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, TEXAS 3.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: W Littleton relieved V Padilla. B Butler grounded out to
third. J Gathright singled to center. J Buck homered to right center,
J Gathright scored. T Pena Jr popped out to second. B White relieved
W Littleton. D DeJesus singled to right. M Grudzielanek flied out to center.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, TEXAS 3.

TEXAS 7TH: R Braun relieved J Bale. F Catalanotto grounded out to third.
I Kinsler grounded out to third. M Young singled to center. J Botts flied out
to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, TEXAS 3.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: M Byrd in center field. N Cruz in right field. B Wilkerson
at first base. D Murphy in left field. M Teahen struck out swinging. J Wright
relieved B White. S Costa hit for M Sweeney. S Costa grounded out to shortstop.
A Gordon singled to shallow right. A Gordon picked off first.(0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, TEXAS 3.

TEXAS 8TH: J Soria relieved R Braun. B Wilkerson struck out swinging.
D Murphy grounded out to first. H Blalock struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, TEXAS 3.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: J Benoit relieved J Wright. B Butler lined out to
shortstop. J Gathright grounded out to second. J Buck struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2, TEXAS 3.</div>

 

Rangers edge Royals in series finale

<h3>TEXAS 3, KANSAS CITY 2</h3>By John Tranchina
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) - With both teams' starters engaged ina genuine pitchers' duel, the Texas Rangers and Kansas CityRoyals waited until the other went to the bullpen to score someruns.


Texas starter Vicente Padilla threw six scoreless innings,allowing just two hits, walking two and striking out five tolead the Rangers to a 3-2 victory over Kansas City Wednesdaynight. Hank Blalock had two hits and two RBI for the Rangers,who have won nine of their last 11 and seven of eight at home.

Three relievers bridged the gap to Joaquin Benoit, who pitched aflawless ninth for his third save of the season, preserving thewin for Padilla (5-9). With both starting pitchers surrenderingjust five hits midway through the sixth inning, it seemed likea tight, low-scoring game would be the result.


Then each team's offense woke up once the relievers came in.

In each of the first three innings, Kansas City starter KyleDavies (6-12) gave the Rangers' leadoff batter a free pass,either by walk or by hitting them with a pitch.


In the second, Texas capitalized when Brad Wilkerson, who walkedto start the inning, stole second and came around to score onBlalock's double into the right-field corner.


That was the only hit off Davies through the first four innings.

In the fifth, a single by Frank Catalanotto with one out led toanother Texas run. When first baseman Billy Butler couldn'thold on to Davies' pickoff throw, Catalanotto took second andlater scored when Michael Young lined a single into center.

Davies, who was 0-2 with a 12.27 ERA in his two previous startsin this ballpark, pitched five innings, giving up just two runson three hits, while walking four, hitting one and striking outfive.


Padilla was even more impressive, not allowing his first hituntil Mark Grudzielanek led off the fourth with a single toright. He didn't allow a Royal beyond first base until gettinginto trouble in the sixth.


After walking David DeJesus, Mark Teahen singled to left withtwo outs. Padilla then hit Mike Sweeney on the wrist with apitch, loading the bases, but he recovered by striking out AlexGordon looking.


Texas added another run in the sixth off reliever John Bale.Wilkerson singled to right, and then took second by tagging upon David Murphy's fly out. When Blalock singled to left field,Wilkerson raced around to score, but only after left fielderJoey Gathright's perfect throw slipped past catcher John Buck atthe plate to make it 3-0.


Buck redeemed himself in the seventh by clubbing a two-run homerun to center field off reliever Wes Littleton. It was Buck's18th home run of the season, but it wasn't enough as the Royalswent down in order in the eighth and ninth innings.

 

Rangers edge Royals in series finale

<h3>TEXAS 3, KANSAS CITY 2</h3>By John Tranchina
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) - With both teams' starters engaged ina genuine pitchers' duel, the Texas Rangers and Kansas CityRoyals waited until the other went to the bullpen to score someruns.


Texas starter Vicente Padilla threw six scoreless innings,allowing just two hits, walking two and striking out five tolead the Rangers to a 3-2 victory over Kansas City Wednesdaynight. Hank Blalock had two hits and two RBI for the Rangers,who have won nine of their last 11 and seven of eight at home.

Three relievers bridged the gap to Joaquin Benoit, who pitched aflawless ninth for his third save of the season, preserving thewin for Padilla (5-9).


With both starting pitchers surrendering just five hits midwaythrough the sixth inning, it seemed like a tight, low-scoringgame would be the result.


Then each team's offense woke up once the relievers came in.

In each of the first three innings, Kansas City starter KyleDavies (6-12) gave the Rangers' leadoff batter a free pass,either by walk or by hitting them with a pitch.


In the second, Texas capitalized when Brad Wilkerson, who walkedto start the inning, stole second and came around to score onBlalock's double into the right-field corner.


"It's great to have him back," Wilkerson said of Blalock, whowas playing just his third game after missing 106 days due tothoracic outlet syndrome. "He's the type of hitter that candrive in a lot of runs and knock the ball out of the ballparkand any time you can put a guy like that in your lineup, rightyor lefty on the mound, it's always huge for your team. He cameup with two big hits for us tonight and I'm just glad to see himback."


That was the only hit off Davies through the first four innings.

"The object is to get the first batter you face and I didn't dothat," Davies said. "But I was able to locate my fastball betterand that's some progress."


In the fifth, a single by Frank Catalanotto with one out led toanother Texas run. When first baseman Billy Butler couldn'thold on to Davies' pickoff throw, Catalanotto took second andlater scored when Michael Young lined a single into center.

Davies, who was 0-2 with a 12.27 ERA in his two previous startsin this ballpark, pitched five innings, giving up just two runson three hits, while walking four, hitting one and striking outfive.


Padilla was even more impressive, not allowing his first hituntil Mark Grudzielanek led off the fourth with a single toright. He didn't allow a Royal beyond first base until gettinginto trouble in the sixth.


After walking David DeJesus, Mark Teahen singled to left withtwo outs. Padilla then hit Mike Sweeney on the wrist with apitch, loading the bases, but he recovered by striking out AlexGordon looking.


"He tried to get inside on Sweeney," Texas manager RonWashington said. "The umpire said the ball hit off his hand,the first base umpire said he didn't swing, and ended up loadingthe bases, but he had pitched very well to Gordon all theprevious at-bats and he continued to do what he did to himpreviously, throw the high fastball, get him out front, put himaway late inside."


Padilla threw at least six innings for the third straight start,a stretch where he has posted a 2-0 record.


"He did everything working off his fastball," Washington said."He used his fastball around the zone and opened up the platefor his breaking balls, his changeups. When he uses hisfastball and he uses it in the strike zone, in and out, he'svery effective."


"He was working well with the fastball ahead of the count," saidcatcher Gerald Laird. "He mixed in some offspeed pitches. Butmostly it was good fastballs. He made pitches when he had to."

Texas added another run in the sixth off reliever John Bale.Wilkerson singled to right, and then took second by tagging upon David Murphy's fly out. When Blalock singled to left field,Wilkerson raced around to score, but only after left fielderJoey Gathright's perfect throw slipped past catcher John Buck atthe plate to make it 3-0.


"It was a situation where it was a ball I thought was going tobe caught for sure," Wilkerson said of his decision to tag up."I go back and I get 10 feet off the bag, and see that they'renot in good position to make the throw, so I just keep going andtake that extra base."


"Every now and then, you've got to play small ball, and Wilkydid a great job of tagging up on that ball," said Catalanotto."That's a big play in the game, and if we can do the littlethings, we can win the close games, the one-run games."

Buck redeemed himself in the seventh by clubbing a two-run homerun to center field off reliever Wes Littleton. It was Buck's18th home run of the season, but it wasn't enough as the Royalswent down in order in the eighth and ninth innings.

"You can't show up for 150 games, you've got to show up for162," said Kansas City manager Buddy Bell. "If you don't showup for 162, you're going to get hammered. That's what happenedto us the last two nights. We had no energy. I don'tunderstand how you can do that and that's my responsibility.You've got to care more than that."