GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (20-35) at TAMPA BAY (22-30)

AL: KANSAS CITY (20-35) at TAMPA BAY (22-30)

<h3>Royals look to continue fine play on the road</h3>

<div class="pre">Kansas City (20-35) at Tampa Bay (22-30) 7:10 pm EDT</div>

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- With their seven-game skidhalted and their road woes against the Tampa Bay Devil Raysseemingly over, the Kansas City Royals will attempt to dosomething they been doing a lot of lately - winning on the road.

The Royals continue their four-game series with the Devil Rayson Saturday when they meet at Tropicana Field.

Kansas City, which had dropped seven straight and 11 of 13 heresince the beginning of the 2004 season to Tampa Bay, got aspectacular outing from Brian Bannister on Friday, who allowedjust two hits over eight frames for his first win as a Royal. Inaddition to ending their losing streak, the Royals improved to7-2 in their last nine games away from Kauffman Stadium.

Odalis Perez (2-5, 5.61 ERA), who has yielded three or fewerruns or fewer in five of his previous six starts, attempts tosnap a six-game winless streak as he takes the mound.

He is 1-1 with a 7.84 ERA in two career starts against TampaBay, but has not faced them in nearly six years, when he wasstill with the Atlanta Braves.

The lefthander's one start in which he allowed more than threeruns was his last one, as he surrendered a season-high six runsover 5 2/3 innings in a 7-4 loss to Seattle on Sunday.

The Devil Rays will be looking to get Edwin Jackson (0-6, 7.12)his first win since September 26, 2005. He did not record adecision last season working mostly as a reliever after TampaBay acquired him in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and iswinless in nine starts this season.

Although he did not factor into the decision, the righthander iscoming off one of his finer performances, yielding three runs -two earned - and striking out nine in 6-5 win over the Tigerson Monday.

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY AT TAMPA BAY -- LINEUPS

KANSAS CITY TAMPA BAY
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
David Dejesus CF .257 4 12 Akinori Iwamura 3B .362 1 5
Mark Grudzielanek 2B .268 2 18 B.J. Upton CF .318 8 29
Mark Teahen RF .285 5 26 Carl Crawford LF .296 5 30
Emil Brown LF .211 1 16 Ty Wigginton 1B .246 10 27
Shane Costa DH .189 0 5 Delmon Young RF .249 6 27
Alex Gordon 3B .181 3 8 Brendan Harris SS .305 3 14
Ryan Shealy 1B .231 2 13 Jorge Cantu DH .267 0 2
John Buck C .274 8 18 Dioner Navarro C .188 0 9
Tony Pena Jr SS .265 0 13 Josh Wilson 2B .350 0 1

Odalis Perez LHP (2-5, 5.61) Edwin Jackson RHP (0-6, 7.12)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY
WARMUPS: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ (2-5, 5.61)
TAM - EDWIN JACKSON (0-6, 7.12)

UMPIRES: HP - C.B. BUCKNOR
1B - JOE WEST
2B - ED RAPUANO
3B - ED HICKOX

WEATHER: INDOORS</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY
STARTING BATS: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ AND JOHN BUCK
TAM - EDWIN JACKSON AND DIONER NAVARRO

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: D DEJESUS (.257, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
M GRUDZIELA (.268, 2 HR, 18 RBI)
M TEAHEN (.285, 5 HR, 26 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ
TAM - EDWIN JACKSON

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A IWAMURA (.362, 1 HR, 5 RBI)
B UPTON (.318, 8 HR, 29 RBI)
C CRAWFORD (.296, 5 HR, 30 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (0) VS TAMPA BAY (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
M Grudzielanek 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .268
M Teahen rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .284
E Brown lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .209
S Costa dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .189
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .181
R Shealy 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
J Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265

Totals 3 0 0 0 1 1 2

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Brown 1. Team LOB - 1.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .362
B Upton cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
C Crawford lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
T Wigginton 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
D Young rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249
B Harris ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .305
J Cantu dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
D Navarro c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188
J Wilson 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .350

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - E Jackson (2, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 0 -- 0
TAMPA BAY - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.61

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
E Jackson 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 6.95

Pitches-strikes: E Jackson 19-10. Ground balls-fly balls: E Jackson 1-1.
Batters faced: E Jackson 4.

UMPIRES: HP--C.B. Bucknor. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Ed Hickox.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY
CONFIRMED STARTERS: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ
TAM - EDWIN JACKSON</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ
TAM - EDWIN JACKSON

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: S COSTA (.189, 0 HR, 5 RBI)
A GORDON (.181, 3 HR, 8 RBI)
R SHEALY (.231, 2 HR, 13 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (0) VS TAMPA BAY (0) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
M Grudzielanek 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .268
M Teahen rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .284
E Brown lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .209
S Costa dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .189
A Gordon 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .181
R Shealy 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
J Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274
T Pena Jr ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265

Totals 3 0 0 0 1 1 2

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Brown 1. Team LOB - 1.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .357
B Upton cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
C Crawford lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
T Wigginton 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
D Young rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249
B Harris ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .305
J Cantu dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
D Navarro c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188
J Wilson 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .350

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - E Jackson (2, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 0 -- 0
TAMPA BAY - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.52

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
E Jackson 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 6.95

Pitches-strikes: O Perez 6-5; E Jackson 19-10. Ground balls-fly balls: O
Perez 2-1; E Jackson 1-1. Batters faced: O Perez 3; E Jackson 4.

UMPIRES: HP--C.B. Bucknor. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Ed Hickox.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY TONY PENA JR SCORED SHANE COSTA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, T PENA JR ON FIRST, J BUCK ON SECOND, R
SHEALY ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 1
TAMPA BAY 0 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: D DEJESUS (.256, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL KANSAS CITY AT TAMPA BAY
NOTE: KANSAS CITY SHORTSTOP TONY PENA JR. EXTENDED HIS
HITTING STREAK TO 11 GAMES WITH A SINGLE IN THE SECOND INNING.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY DAVID DEJESUS SCORED RYAN SHEALY AND JOHN BUCK.

SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, D DEJESUS ON SECOND, T PENA JR ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 3
TAMPA BAY 0 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M GRUDZIELANEK (.268, 0-FOR-0, BB)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY MARK GRUDZIELANEK SCORED TONY PENA JR.
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, D DEJESUS ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 4
TAMPA BAY 0 TOP, 2ND

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M TEAHEN (.284, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ
TAM - EDWIN JACKSON

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: T WIGGINTON (.246, 10 HR, 27 RBI)
D YOUNG (.249, 6 HR, 27 RBI)
B HARRIS (.305, 3 HR, 14 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (4) VS TAMPA BAY (0) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 .259
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .266
M Teahen rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .282
E Brown lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .209
S Costa dh 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .189
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .180
R Shealy 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .231
J Buck c 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .280
T Pena Jr ss 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .269

Totals 9 4 3 4 3 3 4

BATTING: 2B - D DeJesus (11, E Jackson). RBI - T Pena Jr (14), D DeJesus 2
(14), M Grudzielanek (19). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Brown 1,
M Teahen 1. Team LOB - 2.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .357
B Upton cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
C Crawford lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
T Wigginton 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246
D Young rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249
B Harris ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .305
J Cantu dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
D Navarro c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188
J Wilson 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .350

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - E Jackson (2, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 04 -- 4
TAMPA BAY - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.52

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
E Jackson 2 3 4 4 3 3 0 7.60

Pitches-strikes: O Perez 6-5; E Jackson 55-32. Ground balls-fly balls: O
Perez 2-1; E Jackson 2-1. Batters faced: O Perez 3; E Jackson 12.

UMPIRES: HP--C.B. Bucknor. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Ed Hickox.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ
TAM - EDWIN JACKSON

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: E BROWN (.209, 0-FOR-1)
S COSTA (.189, 0-FOR-0, BB)
A GORDON (.180, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (4) VS TAMPA BAY (0) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 .259
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .266
M Teahen rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .282
E Brown lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .209
S Costa dh 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .189
A Gordon 3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .180
R Shealy 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .231
J Buck c 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .280
T Pena Jr ss 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .269

Totals 9 4 3 4 3 3 4

BATTING: 2B - D DeJesus (11, E Jackson). RBI - T Pena Jr (14), D DeJesus 2
(14), M Grudzielanek (19). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Brown 1,
M Teahen 1. Team LOB - 2.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .357
B Upton cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
C Crawford lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
T Wigginton 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .245
D Young rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
B Harris ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Cantu dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
D Navarro c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188
J Wilson 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .350

Totals 6 0 0 0 0 1 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - E Jackson (2, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 04 -- 4
TAMPA BAY - 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.43

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
E Jackson 2 3 4 4 3 3 0 7.60

Pitches-strikes: O Perez 20-14; E Jackson 55-32. Ground balls-fly balls: O
Perez 3-2; E Jackson 2-1. Batters faced: O Perez 6; E Jackson 12.

UMPIRES: HP--C.B. Bucknor. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Ed Hickox.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ
TAM - EDWIN JACKSON

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: J CANTU (.267, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
D NAVARRO (.188, 0 HR, 9 RBI)
J WILSON (.350, 0 HR, 1 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (4) VS TAMPA BAY (0) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 .259
M Grudzielanek 2b 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 .266
M Teahen rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .282
E Brown lf 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 .215
S Costa dh 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 .184
A Gordon 3b 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .179
R Shealy 1b 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 .238
J Buck c 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .277
T Pena Jr ss 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .269

Totals 14 4 5 4 3 4 8

BATTING: 2B - D DeJesus (11, E Jackson). RBI - T Pena Jr (14), D DeJesus 2
(14), M Grudzielanek (19). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Brown 1,
J Buck 1, M Teahen 1. Team LOB - 4.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .357
B Upton cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
C Crawford lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
T Wigginton 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .245
D Young rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .248
B Harris ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .303
J Cantu dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
D Navarro c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188
J Wilson 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .350

Totals 6 0 0 0 0 1 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: E - E Jackson (2, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 040 -- 4
TAMPA BAY - 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
O Perez 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.43

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
E Jackson 3 5 4 4 3 4 0 7.43

Pitches-strikes: O Perez 20-14; E Jackson 75-47. Ground balls-fly balls: O
Perez 3-2; E Jackson 3-2. Batters faced: O Perez 6; E Jackson 17.

UMPIRES: HP--C.B. Bucknor. 1B--Joe West. 2B--Ed Rapuano. 3B--Ed Hickox.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY AKINORI IWAMURA SCORED JOSH WILSON.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A IWAMURA ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 4
TAMPA BAY 1 BOTTOM, 3RD

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: B UPTON (.316, 0-FOR-1)</div>