GAME THREAD: AL: CHI WHITE SOX (65-85) at KANSAS CITY (64-85)

Meche wins second straight as Royals edge White Sox

<h3>KANSAS CITY 3, CHI WHITE SOX 2</h3>By Pat Madden
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- The Kansas City Royals used amasterful pitching performance by staff ace Gil Meche to hand theChicago White Sox a 3-2 defeat on Tuesday.


Meche (9-12) outdueled White Sox starter Gavin Floyd to earn hissecond consecutive victory after a string of six losses. Therighthander held Chicago in check for seven innings, allowingfour hits and two runs while striking out five.


Floyd (1-4), who was making his first start of the seasonagainst the Royals, gave up three runs on nine hits while tyinga season high with six strikeouts in six innings.


David DeJesus, Mark Grudzielanek and Jason Smith each collectedtwo hits for Kansas City, which won for just the third time inits last 13 outings.


Kansas City took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning on arun-scoring double by Ross Gload and a two-run single by BillyButler.


Chicago cut the margin to 3-1 in the fourth inning on sloppydefensive play by the Royals. Josh Fields walked to open theinning, moved to second on Jim Thome's single and scored onthird baseman Smith's error.


The White Sox got another run in the sixth inning as Fieldsscored on a Darin Erstad groundout after opening the frame withhis second double of the contest.


Three Kansas City relievers combined to pitch a perfect eighthinning, setting up Joakim Soria's 16th save of the season in theninth.


Fields had a double and a triple for the White Sox, who fellone-half game behind the Royals in the basement of the AmericanLeague Central Division.

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at KANSAS CITY

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CHI WHITE SOX (2) AT KANSAS CITY (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus singled to left. M Grudzielanek singled to
left, D DeJesus to second. R Gload doubled to deep right center, D DeJesus
scored, M Grudzielanek to third. B Butler singled to right, M Grudzielanek and
R Gload scored. M Teahen struck out swinging. J Smith struck out swinging.
J Gathright struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 0,
KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 4TH: J Fields walked. J Thome singled to right, J Fields to
second. J Dye popped into double play, first to third to second to center,
J Thome doubled off first. D Erstad safe at first on error by third baseman
J Smith, J Fields scored. A Pierzynski lined out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
1 Error) CHI WHITE SOX 1, KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 6TH: J Fields doubled to deep left center. J Thome walked.
J Dye flied out to right, J Fields to third. D Erstad grounded into fielder's
choice to shortstop, J Fields scored, J Thome out at second. A Pierzynski
grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, KANSAS CITY 3.</div>

 

AL: CHI WHITE SOX at KANSAS CITY

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

Chi White Sox Starting Lineups -- J Owens CF, J Fields LF, J Thome DH, J Dye RF,
D Erstad 1B, A Pierzynski C, J Uribe SS, D Richar 2B, A Cintron 3B, G Floyd RHP.

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, R Gload 1B,
B Butler DH, M Teahen RF, J Smith 3B, J Gathright LF, J Buck C, T Pena Jr SS,
G Meche RHP.

Umpires -- Chris Guccione (HP), James Hoye (1B), Phil Cuzzi (2B), Tom Hallion (3B).

Gametime Weather: 70 degrees, Overcast, wind right to left at 6 mph.


CHI WHITE SOX 1ST: J Owens grounded out to first. J Fields doubled to
center. J Thome flied out to left, J Fields to third. J Dye grounded out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 0, KANSAS CITY 0.

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus singled to left. M Grudzielanek singled to
left, D DeJesus to second. R Gload doubled to deep right center, D DeJesus
scored, M Grudzielanek to third. B Butler singled to right, M Grudzielanek and
R Gload scored. M Teahen struck out swinging. J Smith struck out swinging.
J Gathright struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 0,
KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 2ND: D Erstad grounded out to shortstop. A Pierzynski flied
out to left. J Uribe struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHI WHITE SOX 0, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: J Buck fouled out to first. T Pena Jr grounded out to
pitcher. D DeJesus singled to center. M Grudzielanek singled to left center,
D DeJesus to third. R Gload grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
CHI WHITE SOX 0, KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 3RD: D Richar struck out looking. A Cintron flied out to
left. J Owens struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 0,
KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: B Butler grounded out to third. M Teahen grounded out to
second. J Smith tripled to deep right. J Gathright grounded out to third.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 0, KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 4TH: J Fields walked. J Thome singled to right, J Fields to
second. J Dye popped into double play, first to third to second to center,
J Thome doubled off first. D Erstad safe at first on error by third baseman
J Smith, J Fields scored. A Pierzynski lined out to shortstop. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
1 Error) CHI WHITE SOX 1, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: J Buck safe at first on throwing error by shortstop
J Uribe. T Pena Jr sacrificed to pitcher, J Buck to second. D DeJesus hit by
pitch. M Grudzielanek struck out swinging. R Gload walked, J Buck to third,
D DeJesus to second. B Butler grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
R Gload out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) CHI WHITE SOX 1, KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 5TH: J Uribe lined out to shortstop. D Richar hit a ground
rule double to left. A Cintron grounded out to first, D Richar to third.
J Owens flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 1,
KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: M Teahen struck out swinging. J Smith doubled to deep
right. J Gathright fouled out to third. J Buck struck out looking. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 1, KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 6TH: J Fields doubled to deep left center. J Thome walked.
J Dye flied out to right, J Fields to third. D Erstad grounded into fielder's
choice to shortstop, J Fields scored, J Thome out at second. A Pierzynski
grounded out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: T Pena Jr singled to left center. D DeJesus grounded into
double play, shortstop to first, T Pena Jr out at second. M Grudzielanek flied
out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 7TH: J Uribe struck out swinging. D Richar flied out to
left. A Cintron struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2,
KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: M Myers relieved G Floyd. R Gload walked. B Butler
grounded into fielder's choice to second, R Gload out at second. M Teahen
flied out to right. J Smith grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
B Butler out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 8TH: J Gobble relieved G Meche. L Terrero hit for J Owens.
L Terrero grounded out to shortstop. J Peralta relieved J Gobble. J Fields flied
out to right. J Bale relieved J Peralta. J Thome grounded out to pitcher.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, KANSAS CITY 3.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: L Terrero in center field. J Gathright struck out
swinging. E Wassermann relieved M Myers. J Buck grounded out to pitcher.
T Pena Jr grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2,
KANSAS CITY 3.

CHI WHITE SOX 9TH: J Soria relieved J Bale. J Dye struck out looking.
D Erstad struck out swinging. A Pierzynski grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) CHI WHITE SOX 2, KANSAS CITY 3.</div>

 

Meche wins second straight as Royals edge White Sox

<h3>KANSAS CITY 3, CHI WHITE SOX 2</h3>By Pat Madden
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- The Kansas City Royals used amasterful pitching performance by staff ace Gil Meche to hand theChicago White Sox a 3-2 defeat on Tuesday.


Meche (9-12) outdueled White Sox starter Gavin Floyd to earn hissecond consecutive victory after a string of six losses. Therighthander held Chicago in check for seven innings, allowingfour hits and two runs while striking out five.


"We get three right off the bat and it let me go out there and relax a little bit," Meche said. "It seemed like I got better as I went along. In the seventh inning I had the best stuff I had the whole game."

"Gil was outstanding tonight," Royals manager Buddy Bell said of Meche, who surpassed 200 innings pitched in a season for the first time in his career. "He felt like his fastball was as good as it had been in a long time."

Floyd (1-4), who was making his first start of the seasonagainst the Royals, gave up three runs on nine hits while tyinga season high with six strikeouts in six innings.


"Early they hit a couple of good pitches," Floyd said. "I got a little unlucky. I just tried to keep the game close and give the team a chance to win."

"Floyd threw the ball good," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Great performance. I am real happy about it. It's nice to see him have some confidence."

David DeJesus, Mark Grudzielanek and Jason Smith each collectedtwo hits for Kansas City, which won for just the third time inits last 13 outings.


Kansas City took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning on arun-scoring double by Ross Gload and a two-run single by BillyButler.


"That's all we needed," Bell said. "I think we had a runner on first with nobody out in the first inning. That's about all we did the rest of the game. I just felt like we were on the edge all night."

"That's two games in a row where we got him early run support and he did the rest for us," DeJesus said of Meche's performance. "We would have liked to have gotten a few more runs late in the game to give us a little room, but the pitchers came through."

Chicago cut the margin to 3-1 in the fourth inning on sloppydefensive play by the Royals. Josh Fields walked to open theinning, moved to second on Jim Thome's single and scored onthird baseman Smith's error.


The White Sox got another run in the sixth inning as Fieldsscored on a Darin Erstad groundout after opening the frame withhis second double of the contest.


Three Kansas City relievers combined to pitch a perfect eighthinning, setting up Joakim Soria's 16th save of the season in theninth.


Fields had a double and a triple for the White Sox, who fellone-half game behind the Royals in the basement of the AmericanLeague Central Division.

 

Meche wins second straight as Royals edge White Sox

<h3>KANSAS CITY 3, CHI WHITE SOX 2</h3>By Pat Madden
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- The Kansas City Royals used amasterful pitching performance by staff ace Gil Meche to hand theChicago White Sox a 3-2 defeat on Tuesday.


Meche (9-12) outdueled White Sox starter Gavin Floyd to earn hissecond consecutive victory after a string of six losses. Therighthander held Chicago in check for seven innings, allowingfour hits and two runs while striking out five.


"We get three right off the bat and it let me go out there andrelax a little bit," Meche said. "It seemed like I got betteras I went along. In the seventh inning I had the best stuff Ihad the whole game."


"Gil was outstanding tonight," Royals manager Buddy Bell said ofMeche, who surpassed 200 innings pitched in a season for thefirst time in his career. "He felt like his fastball was asgood as it had been in a long time."


Floyd (1-4), who was making his first start of the seasonagainst the Royals, gave up three runs on nine hits while tyinga season high with six strikeouts in six innings.


"Early they hit a couple of good pitches," Floyd said. "I got alittle unlucky. I just tried to keep the game close and givethe team a chance to win."


"Floyd threw the ball good," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillensaid. "Great performance. I am real happy about it. It's niceto see him have some confidence."


David DeJesus, Mark Grudzielanek and Jason Smith each collectedtwo hits for Kansas City, which won for just the third time inits last 13 outings.


Kansas City took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning on arun-scoring double by Ross Gload and a two-run single by BillyButler.


"That's all we needed," Bell said. "I think we had a runner onfirst with nobody out in the first inning. That's about all wedid the rest of the game. I just felt like we were on the edgeall night."


"That's two games in a row where we got him early run supportand he did the rest for us," DeJesus said of Meche'sperformance. "We would have liked to have gotten a few moreruns late in the game to give us a little room, but the pitcherscame through."


Chicago cut the margin to 3-1 in the fourth inning on sloppydefensive play by the Royals. Josh Fields walked to open theinning, moved to second on Jim Thome's single and scored onthird baseman Smith's error.


The White Sox got another run in the sixth inning as Fieldsscored on a Darin Erstad groundout after opening the frame withhis second double of the contest.


Three Kansas City relievers combined to pitch a perfect eighthinning, setting up Joakim Soria's 16th save of the season in theninth.


Fields had a double and a triple for the White Sox, who fellone-half game behind the Royals in the basement of the AmericanLeague Central Division.