GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (53-67) at OAKLAND (60-62)

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Smith at first base.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 9
OAKLAND 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: S Stewart (.297, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: A Gordon at third base.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 9
OAKLAND 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: S Stewart (.297, 0-FOR-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 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 9 12 0
OAKLAND 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 4 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER AND JOHN BUCK

OAK - DAN MEYER, KIKO CALERO (5TH), SANTIAGO CASILLA
(7TH), JAY MARSHALL (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI

HOME RUNS: KAN - EMIL BROWN (5) OFF DAN MEYER IN THE 1ST, 1 ON

OAK - NICK SWISHER (15) OFF BRIAN BANNISTER IN THE 1ST, 0 ON</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 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 9 12 0
OAKLAND 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 4 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER AND JOHN BUCK

OAK - DAN MEYER, KIKO CALERO (5TH), SANTIAGO CASILLA
(7TH), JAY MARSHALL (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI


WP - BRIAN BANNISTER (9-7)
LP - DAN MEYER (0-1)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: KAN - EMIL BROWN (5) OFF DAN MEYER IN THE 1ST, 1 ON

OAK - NICK SWISHER (15) OFF BRIAN BANNISTER IN THE 1ST, 0 ON


TIME: 2:38 ATT: 18,185

PROBABLES: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ (7-11, 5.78)
OAK - CHAD GAUDIN (9-8, 4.12)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (9) VS OAKLAND (2) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
E German 3b-2b 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 .280
J Gathright cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .342
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 1 2 2 0 0 1 .304
J Smith 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
B Butler dh 4 2 2 2 1 1 2 .312
M Teahen rf 5 1 1 1 0 0 2 .284
E Brown lf 4 1 1 2 1 0 0 .227
A Gordon 1b-3b 4 0 1 0 1 1 3 .245
J Buck c 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .233
T Pena Jr ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .269

Totals 38 9 12 7 4 2 12

BATTING: 2B - B Butler (13, D Meyer). 3B - M Grudzielanek (3, D Meyer); M
Teahen (7, D Meyer). HR - E Brown (5, 1st inning off D Meyer 1 on, 2 Out). S -
J Gathright. RBI - M Grudzielanek 2 (40), B Butler 2 (37), E Brown 2 (45), M
Teahen (52). 2-out RBI - E Brown 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A
Gordon 2. GIDP - M Teahen, J Buck. Team LOB - 7.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (M Grudzielanek-T Pena Jr-A Gordon).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
T Buck cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .288
J DaVanon pr-cf 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
S Stewart lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .296
N Swisher 1b 4 1 1 2 0 1 1 .256
J Cust rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .269
M Piazza dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
M Ellis 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .260
J Hannahan 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167
D Murphy ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .217
K Suzuki c 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .250

Totals 30 2 4 2 1 4 5

BATTING: 2B - J Cust (13, B Bannister); T Buck (22, B Bannister). HR - N
Swisher (15, 1st inning off B Bannister 0 on, 2 Out). RBI - N Swisher 2 (59).
2-out RBI - N Swisher. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Piazza 1.
GIDP - J Hannahan. Team LOB - 2.

FIELDING: E - J Cust (3, fly ball). DP: 2 (N Swisher-D Murphy, K Calero-M
Ellis-N Swisher).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 402 000 201 -- 9
OAKLAND - 100 001 000 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Bannister (W, 9-7) 9 4 2 2 1 4 1 3.31

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
D Meyer (L, 0-1) 4 5 6 3 2 0 1 6.75
K Calero 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 5.77
S Casilla 2 3 2 2 0 1 0 3.58
J Marshall 1 3 1 1 1 1 0 5.45

WP - D Meyer, S Casilla. IBB - E Brown (by J Marshall). Pitches-strikes: B
Bannister 111-73; D Meyer 93-59; K Calero 24-14; S Casilla 33-23; J Marshall
28-18. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bannister 15-8; D Meyer 3-9; K Calero 5-1; S
Casilla 2-4; J Marshall 2-0. Batters faced: B Bannister 31; D Meyer 20; K
Calero 6; S Casilla 10; J Marshall 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Dana Demuth. 1B--Kerwin Danley. 2B--Doug Eddings. 3B--Mike
Muchlinski.

T--2:38. Att--18,185.
Weather: 68 degrees, clear. Wind: 14 mph, out to
right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
KANSAS CITY 9
OAKLAND 2 FINAL</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (9) AT OAKLAND (2) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 1ST: E German safe at second on error by right fielder J Cust.
J Gathright sacrificed to first, E German to third. M Grudzielanek tripled to
deep right, E German scored. B Butler doubled to deep left, M Grudzielanek
scored. M Teahen grounded out to second, B Butler to third. E Brown homered
to left center, B Butler scored. A Gordon fouled out to third. (4 Runs,
3 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 4, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: T Buck grounded out to second. S Stewart grounded out to
shortstop. N Swisher homered to center. J Cust doubled to deep right center.
M Piazza grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4,
OAKLAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: M Grudzielanek flied out to center. B Butler walked.
M Teahen tripled to deep right center, B Butler scored. M Teahen scored on
D Meyer's wild pitch. E Brown flied out to center. A Gordon singled to center.
J Buck flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 6TH: T Buck doubled to deep left. J DaVanon ran for T Buck.
S Stewart grounded out to shortstop, J DaVanon to third. N Swisher grounded out
to first, J DaVanon scored. J Cust struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, OAKLAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: J DaVanon in center field. S Casilla relieved K Calero.
T Pena Jr singled to left. E German grounded out to third, T Pena Jr to second.
J Gathright reached on infield single to pitcher, T Pena Jr to third. T Pena Jr
scored, J Gathright to third on wild pitch by S Casilla. M Grudzielanek
grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, J Gathright scored. B Butler struck
out swinging. M Teahen flied out to left. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 8, OAKLAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: J Marshall relieved S Casilla. E German singled to center.
J Gathright reached on infield single to pitcher, E German to second.
M Grudzielanek grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Gathright out at
second, E German to third. B Butler singled to center, E German scored,
M Grudzielanek to second. M Teahen grounded out to pitcher, M Grudzielanek to
third, B Butler to second. E Brown intentionally walked. A Gordon struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 9, OAKLAND 2.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (9) AT OAKLAND (2) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- E German 3B, J Gathright CF, M Grudzielanek 2B,
B Butler DH, M Teahen RF, E Brown LF, A Gordon 1B, J Buck C, T Pena Jr SS,
B Bannister RHP.

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

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

Gametime Weather: 68 degrees, Clear, wind out to right at 14 mph.


KANSAS CITY 1ST: E German safe at second on error by right fielder J Cust.
J Gathright sacrificed to first, E German to third. M Grudzielanek tripled to
deep right, E German scored. B Butler doubled to deep left, M Grudzielanek
scored. M Teahen grounded out to second, B Butler to third. E Brown homered
to left center, B Butler scored. A Gordon fouled out to third. (4 Runs,
3 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 4, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: T Buck grounded out to second. S Stewart grounded out to
shortstop. N Swisher homered to center. J Cust doubled to deep right center.
M Piazza grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4,
OAKLAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: J Buck flied out to right. T Pena Jr fouled out to first.
E German walked. J Gathright grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 2ND: M Ellis singled to center. J Hannahan grounded into double
play, second to shortstop to first, M Ellis out at second. D Murphy fouled out
to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, OAKLAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: M Grudzielanek flied out to center. B Butler walked.
M Teahen tripled to deep right center, B Butler scored. M Teahen scored on
D Meyer's wild pitch. E Brown flied out to center. A Gordon singled to center.
J Buck flied out to center. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 3RD: K Suzuki walked. T Buck fouled out to third. S Stewart
struck out swinging. N Swisher struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 6, OAKLAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: T Pena Jr flied out to right. E German flied out to
center. J Gathright flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6,
OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 4TH: J Cust grounded out to second. M Piazza grounded out to
shortstop. M Ellis flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 6, OAKLAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: K Calero relieved D Meyer. M Grudzielanek singled to
right. B Butler grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, M Grudzielanek
out at second. M Teahen grounded into double play, first to shortstop,
B Butler out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 5TH: J Hannahan grounded out to first. D Murphy grounded out to
first. K Suzuki struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6,
OAKLAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: E Brown popped out to first. A Gordon walked. J Buck
grounded into double play, pitcher to second to first, A Gordon out at
second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 6TH: T Buck doubled to deep left. J DaVanon ran for T Buck.
S Stewart grounded out to shortstop, J DaVanon to third. N Swisher grounded out
to first, J DaVanon scored. J Cust struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, OAKLAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: J DaVanon in center field. S Casilla relieved K Calero.
T Pena Jr singled to left. E German grounded out to third, T Pena Jr to second.
J Gathright reached on infield single to pitcher, T Pena Jr to third. T Pena Jr
scored, J Gathright to third on wild pitch by S Casilla. M Grudzielanek
grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, J Gathright scored. B Butler struck
out swinging. M Teahen flied out to left. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 8, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 7TH: M Piazza grounded out to shortstop. M Ellis popped out to
first. J Hannahan lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 8,
OAKLAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: E Brown flied out to left. A Gordon flied out to right.
J Buck singled to left. T Pena Jr fouled out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 8, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 8TH: D Murphy fouled out to first. K Suzuki grounded out to
shortstop. J DaVanon grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 8, OAKLAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: J Marshall relieved S Casilla. E German singled to center.
J Gathright reached on infield single to pitcher, E German to second.
M Grudzielanek grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Gathright out at
second, E German to third. B Butler singled to center, E German scored,
M Grudzielanek to second. M Teahen grounded out to pitcher, M Grudzielanek to
third, B Butler to second. E Brown intentionally walked. A Gordon struck out
swinging. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 9, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 9TH: E German at second base. J Smith at first base. A Gordon at
third base. S Stewart flied out to right. N Swisher flied out to right.
J Cust grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 9, OAKLAND 2.</div>

 

Bannister goes the distance as Royals pound A's

<h3>KANSAS CITY 9, OAKLAND 2</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Brian Bannister used nine inningsto show Dan Meyer how it is done.


Bannister notched his first complete game and the Kansas CityRoyals made it a long night for Meyer as they posted a 9-2victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

The Royals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning againstMeyer, a rookie lefthander who was making his first careerappearance for Oakland.


Bannister (9-7) allowed two runs and four hits for the win. Hestruck out four and walked just one.


Oakland answered with a solo home run by Nick Swisher in thefirst, but managed little else against Bannister.


Bannister had retired nine straight until the A's half of thesixth. Travis Buck led off with a double to left but hurtstrained his left hamstring after rounding second base. JeffDaVanon, who came in as a pinch runner, became the 50th playerused by the Athletics in 2007, highlighting what has been aninjury plagued campaign for the A's. DaVanon would score on agrounder for the A's second run.


Meyer (0-1) was acquired in December 16, 2004 from the AtlantaBraves as part of the trade for Tim Hudson along withrighthanded pitcher Juan Cruz and outfielder Charles Thomas.

In the first, leadoff batter Esteban German hit what looked like<div class="pre">a routine fly ball to right. Oakland right fielder Jack Cust</div>camped under the ball only to see it fall out of his glove andGerman ended up on second base.


Joey Gathright sacrificed German to third and he would scoreafter a triple by Mark Grudzielanek. Billy Butler followed witha run-scoring double and Emil Brown capped off the scoring witha booming two-run homer to left.


The Royals scored two more runs in the third inning. Butlerwalked and scored on a triple to right center by Mark Teahen.Teahen would later score on a wild pitch.


In the seventh, the Royals scored two more runs off relieverSantiago Casilla.


Tony Pena singled to left, advanced to third and scored on awild pitch. Joey Gathright who reached base on an infield hit,advanced to third on the wild pitch. He would score on afielder's choice hit back to the pitcher.


Casilla made an ill-advised attempt to try to throw out therunner at home instead of throwing to first for the sure out.Instead, Gathright slid around catcher Kurt Suzuki who was notexpecting the ball and had gestured that Casilla throw to first.

The loss snapped a four game winning streak for the Athleticswho fell back to three games under .500 (60-63) and nine gamesback in the wild card race.

 

Bannister goes the distance as Royals pound A's

<h3>KANSAS CITY 9, OAKLAND 2</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Brian Bannister used nine inningsto show Dan Meyer how it is done.


Bannister notched his first complete game and the Kansas CityRoyals made it a long night for Meyer as they posted a 9-2victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

The Royals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning againstMeyer, a rookie lefthander who was making his first careerappearance for Oakland.


Bannister (9-7) allowed two runs and four hits for the win. Hestruck out four and walked just one.


"He wasn't struggling early but he couldn't find the strikezone," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "All of a sudden he wasthrowing just about whatever he wanted to whenever he wanted."

"The last (complete game) was in double A, I threw a four hitshutout so that was tied for the best I've done in a nine inninggame," Bannister said. "It is weird because people do make abigger deal of it now. 15-20 years ago, it was a very standardthing to do."


Oakland answered with a solo home run by Nick Swisher in thefirst, but managed little else against Bannister.


Bannister had retired nine straight until the A's half of thesixth. Travis Buck led off with a double to left but hurtstrained his left hamstring after rounding second base.

Jeff DaVanon, who came in as a pinch runner, became the 50thplayer used by the Athletics in 2007, highlighting what has beenan injury plagued campaign for the A's. DaVanon would score ona grounder for the A's second run.


"The guys are playing as hard as they can every night andoccassionally it happens," A's manager Bob Geren said. "They'vegiving a great effort every night and that's all I could askfor."


Meyer (0-1) was acquired in December 16, 2004 from the AtlantaBraves as part of the trade for Tim Hudson along withrighthanded pitcher Juan Cruz and outfielder Charles Thomas.

"I'm way past where I was two years ago," Meyer said. "But nowjust getting here for me is not the accomplishment, I want tostay here. I want to help contribute and want to do what I canto keep us in the ballgame, help us win and tonight I didn't getit done."


In the first, leadoff batter Esteban German hit what looked likea routine fly ball to right. Oakland right fielder Jack Custcamped under the ball only to see it fall out of his glove andGerman ended up on second base.


"I don't know, it's a routine play and I don't know whathappened," Cust said, "It hit off the heel of my glove andpopped out. We never really recovered from that and itsnowballed from there. We didn't get much going off Bannistereither. It stunk for Dan (Meyer) because he made a good pitchand we should have had an out but it just didn't happen."

Joey Gathright sacrificed German to third and he would scoreafter a triple by Mark Grudzielanek. Billy Butler followed witha run-scoring double and Emil Brown capped off the scoring witha booming two-run homer to left.


"We added onto (the lead) too so we didn't sit right there,"Brown said. "Most of the credit should go to the pitcherbecause he pitched good. He gave up a couple of runs but itdidn't seem like he had many situations where he could be hurt."

The Royals scored two more runs in the third inning. Butlerwalked and scored on a triple to right center by Mark Teahen.Teahen would later score on a wild pitch.


"Hopefully this will give us a little momentum offensively thatwe need," Bell said.


Meyer lasted only four innings allowing six runs and five hits.

"Tonight they took advantage and hurt me," Meyer said. "They didwhat they're supposed to do and that was hit mistakes and theydid a good job of it. My job is to change speeds, keep them offbalance and I struggled with that tonight."


"I think he left a few pitches over the middle of the plate andit didn't seem like he had his best location today but ithappens," Brown said. "Everybody's not going to have their Agame every time they go out."


In the seventh, the Royals scored two more runs off relieverSantiago Casilla.


Tony Pena singled to left, advanced to third and scored on awild pitch. Joey Gathright who reached base on an infield hit,advanced to third on the wild pitch. He would score on afielder's choice hit back to the pitcher.


Casilla made an ill-advised attempt to try to throw out therunner at home instead of throwing to first for the sure out.Instead, Gathright slid around catcher Kurt Suzuki who was notexpecting the ball and had gestured that Casilla throw to first.

The loss snapped a four game winning streak for the Athleticswho fell back to three games under .500 (60-63) and nine gamesback in the wild card race.

 

Bannister goes the distance as Royals pound A's

<h3>KANSAS CITY 9, OAKLAND 2</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Brian Bannister used nine inningsto show Dan Meyer how it is done.


Bannister notched his first complete game and the Kansas CityRoyals made it a long night for Meyer as they posted a 9-2victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

The Royals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning againstMeyer, a rookie lefthander who was making his first careerappearance for Oakland.


Bannister (9-7) allowed two runs and four hits for the win. Hestruck out four and walked just one.


"He wasn't struggling early but he couldn't find the strikezone," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "All of a sudden he wasthrowing just about whatever he wanted to whenever he wanted."

"The last (complete game) was in double A, I threw a four-hitshutout so that was tied for the best I've done in a nine-inninggame," Bannister said. "It is weird because people do make abigger deal of it now. Fifteen-twenty years ago, it was a verystandard thing to do."


Oakland answered with a solo home run by Nick Swisher in thefirst, but managed little else against Bannister.


Bannister retired nine straight until the sixth. Travis Buckled off with a double to left but strained his left hamstringafter rounding second base.


Jeff DaVanon, who came in as a pinch runner, became the 50thplayer used by the Athletics in 2007, highlighting what has beenan injury-plagued campaign for the A's. DaVanon would score ona grounder for the A's second run.


"The guys are playing as hard as they can every night andoccassionally it happens," A's manager Bob Geren said. "They'regiving a great effort every night and that's all I could askfor."


Meyer (0-1) was acquired in December 16, 2004 from the AtlantaBraves along with righthanded pitcher Juan Cruz and outfielderCharles Thomas for Tim Hudson


"I'm way past where I was two years ago," Meyer said. "But nowjust getting here for me is not the accomplishment, I want tostay here. I want to help contribute and want to do what I canto keep us in the ballgame, help us win and tonight I didn't getit done."


In the first, leadoff hitter Esteban German hit what looked likea routine fly ball to right. Oakland right fielder Jack Custcamped under the ball only to see it fall out of his glove andGerman ended up on second base.


"I don't know, it's a routine play and I don't know whathappened," Cust said, "It hit off the heel of my glove andpopped out. We never really recovered from that and itsnowballed from there. We didn't get much going off Bannistereither. It stunk for Dan (Meyer) because he made a good pitchand we should have had an out but it just didn't happen."

Joey Gathright sacrificed German to third and he scored after atriple by Mark Grudzielanek. Billy Butler followed with arun-scoring double and Emil Brown capped off the scoring with abooming two-run homer to left.


"We added onto (the lead) too so we didn't sit right there,"Brown said. "Most of the credit should go to the pitcherbecause he pitched good. He gave up a couple of runs but itdidn't seem like he had many situations where he could be hurt."

The Royals scored two more runs in the third inning. Butlerwalked and scored on a triple to right-center by Mark Teahen.Teahen later scored on a wild pitch.


"Hopefully this will give us a little momentum offensively thatwe need," Bell said.


Meyer lasted only four innings, allowing six runs and five hits.

"Tonight they took advantage and hurt me," Meyer said. "They didwhat they're supposed to do and that was hit mistakes and theydid a good job of it. My job is to change speeds, keep them offbalance and I struggled with that tonight."


"I think he left a few pitches over the middle of the plate andit didn't seem like he had his best location today but ithappens," Brown said. "Everybody's not going to have their Agame every time they go out."


In the seventh, the Royals scored two more runs off relieverSantiago Casilla.


Tony Pena singled to left, advanced to third and scored on awild pitch. Gathright who reached base on an infield hit,advanced to third on the wild pitch. He would score on afielder's choice hit back to the pitcher.


Casilla made an ill-advised attempt to try to throw out therunner at home instead of throwing to first for the sure out.Instead, Gathright slid around catcher Kurt Suzuki, who was notexpecting the ball and had gestured that Casilla throw to first.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Athletics,who fell back to three games under .500 (60-63) and nine gamesback in the wild card race.