GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: CHI WHITE SOX (33-42) at KANSAS CITY (33-46)

Royals rout White Sox for fifth straight win

<h3>KANSAS CITY 8, CHI WHITE SOX 1</h3>KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Brian Bannister pitched 6 1/3strong innings and Esteban German and Shane Costa drove in tworuns apiece as the Kansas City Royals posted their fifthconsecutive victory Friday, an 8-1 triumph over the ChicagoWhite Sox.

Bannister (5-4) allowed one run and four hits, walking four andstriking out five in becoming just the second Royal since June2003 to win five games in a single month. The righthander, whohas won five of his last six starts, lowered his ERA in June to2.77.

"Early in the game, I wasn't pitching to contact," Bannistersaid. "I just decided in the second inning to just bear downand pitch to contact, make the batters get aggressive, and itpaid off me.

"I've been really working hard on a couple of pitches I couldthrow to lefties, especially a slider. I got (Jim) Thome out onit and a couple of other guys out on it."

Kansas City manager Buddy Bell was very impressed withBannister's performance.

"Bannister was really good, except for the one inning when hegot out of the zone and walked the bases loaded after a single,"Bell said.

Zack Greinke relieved Bannister and allowed just one hit whilestriking out two in 2 2/3 innings for his first career save.

After the White Sox took a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout by JuanUribe in the second, German drove in the first of eight straightruns for the Royals with an infield single in the third. Costaignited a two-run rally in the fourth with a one-out double andscored two batters later on Billy Butler's base hit.

Kansas City broke out for three more runs in the seventh tobuild a 6-1 cushion. German plated the first run of the framewith a single and Costa drove in the other two with a base hitof his own two batters afterward.

"It was good to see Shane get that," Royals third baseman AlexGordon said. "In a lot of other parks, that's probably gone."

That hit ended the night for Jose Contreras (5-9), who yieldedsix runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings. The Cuban righthanderstruck out three but walked three and hit a pair of batters.

"I didn't have the split do anything at all," Contreras saidthrough an interpreter. "And when I got ahead in the count, Ithrew the ball right down the middle. Location has been aproblem the last few starts."

The loss was Contreras' fifth in six decisions overall and thirdin a row against the Royals after winning his first seven vs.the club.

"Pitchers set the pace," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said."Bannister threw the ball really well. Contreras was cruisingand got into trouble and couldn't get out of it. But when youscore one run, you don't deserve to win many games."

Gordon went 2-for-3 and scored a run for Kansas City. He hasraised his average from .187 to .240 since June 8, an increaseof 53 points.

Rob Mackowiak collected two hits for the White Sox, who hadtheir four-game winning streak snapped.