GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (21-38) at CLEVELAND (35-21)

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (4) VS CLEVELAND (2) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 .260
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 1 2 0 0 1 3 .265
M Teahen rf 4 0 2 1 1 0 1 .282
M Sweeney dh 5 0 0 0 0 2 6 .243
A Gordon 3b 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 .173
R Shealy 1b 4 1 1 2 0 1 1 .215
J LaRue c 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 .129
T Pena Jr ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .262
J Gathright lf 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 .667

Totals 37 4 11 4 3 7 23

BATTING: 2B - A Gordon (9, P Byrd); J Gathright (1, P Byrd); D DeJesus (12, P
Byrd). HR - R Shealy (3, 4th inning off P Byrd 0 on, 0 Out). S - J Gathright.
RBI - D DeJesus (15), M Teahen (28), R Shealy 2 (15). 2-out RBI - R Shealy.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J LaRue 1, D DeJesus 1, T Pena Jr 1,
A Gordon 1. Team LOB - 10.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Gathright (1, 2nd base off P Byrd/K Shoppach).

FIELDING: E - A Gordon (9, throw).


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 4 0 2 0 0 1 2 .275
C Blake 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .280
T Hafner dh 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .271
F Gutierrez pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
V Martinez 1b 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 .316
T Nixon rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .265
a-R Garko ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .325
J Michaels rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
J Peralta ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293
D Dellucci lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .243
J Barfield 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .239
K Shoppach c 2 2 0 0 1 0 1 .358

Totals 30 2 7 2 1 4 11

a-struck out swinging for T Nixon in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - T Hafner (7, B Bannister). 3B - D Dellucci (2, B Bannister). SF -
V Martinez. RBI - T Hafner (42), V Martinez (51). 2-out RBI - T Hafner. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - V Martinez 1, C Blake 1, J Barfield 1, R
Garko 1. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: CS - G Sizemore (2, 2nd base by B Bannister/J LaRue).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Barfield-V Martinez).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 002 110 000 -- 4
CLEVELAND - 000 001 01 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Bannister 7 5 1 0 0 2 0 3.33
Z Greinke 1/3 1 1 1 1 1 0 5.25
J Gobble 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.53
D Riske 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.77

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
P Byrd 6 10 4 4 1 4 1 3.80
R Perez 2 1/3 1 0 0 2 1 0 0.00
R Hernandez 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.14
A Fultz 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.65

IBB - D DeJesus (by P Byrd). Pitches-strikes: B Bannister 98-64; Z Greinke
13-7; J Gobble 8-5; D Riske 3-3; P Byrd 96-72; R Perez 40-22; R Hernandez 6-3;
A Fultz 6-3. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bannister 9-9; Z Greinke 0-0; J Gobble
0-1; D Riske 0-0; P Byrd 7-7; R Perez 4-2; R Hernandez 0-0; A Fultz 0-0.
Batters faced: B Bannister 26; Z Greinke 3; J Gobble 2; D Riske 1; P Byrd 29; R
Perez 10; R Hernandez 1; A Fultz 1.

UMPIRES: HP--Jim Wolf. 1B--Tim Tschida. 2B--Jim Joyce. 3B--Jeff Nelson.

Weather: 63 degrees, clear. Wind: 10 mph, in from right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - PITCHING CHANGE
KAN: OCTAVIO DOTEL (0-0, 4.15) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 2

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: J PERALTA (.293, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: O Dotel relieved D Riske.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 4
CLEVELAND 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: J Peralta (.293, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL AT CLEVELAND - SCORING UPDATE
CASEY BLAKE HIT BY OCTAVIO DOTEL PITCH WITH BASES LOADED
SCORED JHONNY PERALTA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C BLAKE ON FIRST, G SIZEMORE ON SECOND, D
DELLUCCI ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 4
CLEVELAND 3 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CLEVELAND: F GUTIERREZ (.231, 1 HR, 2 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 11 1
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 9 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER, ZACK GREINKE (8TH), JIMMY GOBBLE (8TH), DAVID
RISKE (8TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JASON LARUE

CLE - PAUL BYRD, RAFAEL PEREZ (7TH), ROBERTO HERNANDEZ
(9TH), AARON FULTZ (9TH) AND KELLY SHOPPACH

HOME RUNS: KAN - RYAN SHEALY (3) OFF PAUL BYRD IN THE 4TH, 0 ON

CLE - NONE</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 11 1
CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 9 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - BRIAN BANNISTER, ZACK GREINKE (8TH), JIMMY GOBBLE (8TH), DAVID
RISKE (8TH), OCTAVIO DOTEL (9TH) AND JASON LARUE

CLE - PAUL BYRD, RAFAEL PEREZ (7TH), ROBERTO HERNANDEZ
(9TH), AARON FULTZ (9TH) AND KELLY SHOPPACH


WP - BRIAN BANNISTER (2-3)
LP - PAUL BYRD (6-2)
SAVE - OCTAVIO DOTEL (2)

HOME RUNS: KAN - RYAN SHEALY (3) OFF PAUL BYRD IN THE 4TH, 0 ON

CLE - NONE


TIME: 3:07 ATT: 17,632

PROBABLES: KAN - ODALIS PEREZ (3-5, 5.74)
CLE - FAUSTO CARMONA (6-1, 3.29)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (4) VS CLEVELAND (3) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 .260
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 1 2 0 0 1 3 .265
M Teahen rf 4 0 2 1 1 0 1 .282
M Sweeney dh 5 0 0 0 0 2 6 .243
A Gordon 3b 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 .173
R Shealy 1b 4 1 1 2 0 1 1 .215
J LaRue c 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 .129
T Pena Jr ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .262
J Gathright lf 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 .667

Totals 37 4 11 4 3 7 23

BATTING: 2B - A Gordon (9, P Byrd); J Gathright (1, P Byrd); D DeJesus (12, P
Byrd). HR - R Shealy (3, 4th inning off P Byrd 0 on, 0 Out). S - J Gathright.
RBI - D DeJesus (15), M Teahen (28), R Shealy 2 (15). 2-out RBI - R Shealy.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J LaRue 1, D DeJesus 1, T Pena Jr 1,
A Gordon 1. Team LOB - 10.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Gathright (1, 2nd base off P Byrd/K Shoppach).

FIELDING: E - A Gordon (9, throw).


CLEVELAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
G Sizemore cf 4 0 2 0 1 1 2 .275
C Blake 3b 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 .280
T Hafner dh 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .271
F Gutierrez pr-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .214
V Martinez 1b 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 .316
T Nixon rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .265
a-R Garko ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .325
J Michaels rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
J Peralta ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .296
D Dellucci lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .248
J Barfield 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .239
K Shoppach c 3 2 0 0 1 0 3 .352

Totals 34 3 9 3 2 4 16

a-struck out swinging for T Nixon in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - T Hafner (7, B Bannister). 3B - D Dellucci (2, B Bannister). S -
J Barfield. SF - V Martinez. RBI - T Hafner (42), V Martinez (51), C Blake
(30). 2-out RBI - T Hafner, C Blake. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
V Martinez 1, C Blake 1, J Barfield 1, F Gutierrez 2, R Garko 1. Team LOB - 9.


BASERUNNING: CS - G Sizemore (2, 2nd base by B Bannister/J LaRue).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Barfield-V Martinez).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 002 110 000 -- 4
CLEVELAND - 000 001 011 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Bannister (W, 2-3) 7 5 1 0 0 2 0 3.33
Z Greinke (H, 4) 1/3 1 1 1 1 1 0 5.25
J Gobble (H, 6) 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.53
D Riske (H, 5) 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.77
O Dotel (S, 2) 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 5.06

CLEVELAND ip h r er bb so hr era
P Byrd (L, 6-2) 6 10 4 4 1 4 1 3.80
R Perez 2 1/3 1 0 0 2 1 0 0.00
R Hernandez 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.14
A Fultz 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.65

IBB - D DeJesus (by P Byrd), G Sizemore (by O Dotel). HBP - C Blake (by O
Dotel). Pitches-strikes: B Bannister 98-64; Z Greinke 13-7; J Gobble 8-5; D
Riske 3-3; O Dotel 20-11; P Byrd 96-72; R Perez 40-22; R Hernandez 6-3; A Fultz
6-3. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bannister 9-9; Z Greinke 0-0; J Gobble 0-1; D
Riske 0-0; O Dotel 3-0; P Byrd 7-7; R Perez 4-2; R Hernandez 0-0; A Fultz 0-0.
Batters faced: B Bannister 26; Z Greinke 3; J Gobble 2; D Riske 1; O Dotel 7; P
Byrd 29; R Perez 10; R Hernandez 1; A Fultz 1.

UMPIRES: HP--Jim Wolf. 1B--Tim Tschida. 2B--Jim Joyce. 3B--Jeff Nelson.

T--3:07. Att--17,632.
Weather: 63 degrees, clear. Wind: 10 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

Bannister pitches Royals past Indians

<h3>KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 3</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Brian Bannister pitched seven solidinnings and Ryan Shealy drove in two runs as the Kansas CityRoyals defeated the Cleveland Indians, 4-3, on Wednesday.

The win snapped the Royals' three-game losing streak and wasjust Kansas City's third victory in its last 13 games.

Bannister (2-3) held the majors' second-highest scoring team toonly one unearned run while scattering five hits. He struck outtwo and did not walk a batter.

It was the second strong start in a row for Bannister, whoallowed one run in eight innings in his last start against TampaBay.

Bannister improved to 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his last fivestarts since being recalled from Class AAA Buffalo on May 13.The 26-year-old righthander has issued only two walks in hislast three starts, and none in his last two.

After Cleveland rallied for a run in the eighth off relieversZack Greinke and Jimmy Gobble to pull within 4-2, closer OctavioDotel gave up a run before getting out of a bases-loaded jam inthe ninth to pick up his second save of the season.

The Royals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third. JoeyGathright and David DeJesus hit back-to-back doubles off Indiansstarter Paul Byrd (6-2) to start the inning. After MarkGrudzielanek's groundout advanced DeJesus to third, Mark Teahenfollowed with a single to right.

Shealy extended the lead to 3-0 with a solo home run to leftfield off Byrd to lead off the fourth. It was his third homerun of the season.

Shealy drove his second run of the game to stake the Royals to4-0 lead on a failed fielder's choice in the fifth. Withrunners on first and third and two out, Shealy hit a ground ballto shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who fielded the ball but decidedto try and force Teahen at second instead of trying to getShealy at first, but the throw to second was late.

Byrd saw his five-game winning streak snapped as he allowed fourruns on 10 hits in six innings. He also allowed his first walkin 48 innings when he issued an intentional pass to Teahen inthe sixth.

Despite allowing at least nine hits in his previous threeoutings, Byrd had been bidding to win his fifth straightdecision, which he had accomplished in 2001 with the Royals.

Travis Hafner had an RBI double and Victor Martinez knocked in arun with a sacrifice fly in the eighth for the Indians, whofell to 20-7 at home this season. Casey Blake also had a singlein the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 15 games.

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
KANSAS CITY 4
CLEVELAND 3 FINAL</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (4) AT CLEVELAND (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 3RD: J Gathright doubled to left. D DeJesus doubled to deep
right, J Gathright scored. M Grudzielanek grounded out to second, D DeJesus to
third. M Teahen singled to right, D DeJesus scored. M Sweeney flied out to
center. A Gordon flied out to right. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 2,
CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: R Shealy homered to left. J LaRue grounded out to third.
T Pena Jr struck out swinging. J Gathright singled to center. J Gathright
stole second. D DeJesus grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 3, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: M Grudzielanek singled to center. M Teahen singled to
right, M Grudzielanek to third. M Sweeney struck out swinging. A Gordon
popped out to shortstop. R Shealy grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
M Grudzielanek scored, M Teahen to second. J LaRue struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 6TH: K Shoppach safe at first on throwing error by third baseman
A Gordon. G Sizemore flied out to center. C Blake struck out looking.
T Hafner doubled to deep right, K Shoppach scored. V Martinez grounded out to
second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 8TH: Z Greinke relieved B Bannister. K Shoppach walked.
G Sizemore struck out swinging. C Blake singled to left, K Shoppach to second.
J Gobble relieved Z Greinke. T Hafner singled to shallow left, K Shoppach to
third, C Blake to second. F Gutierrez ran for T Hafner. V Martinez hit
sacrifice fly to right, K Shoppach scored, C Blake to third. R Garko hit for
T Nixon. D Riske relieved J Gobble. R Garko struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: O Dotel relieved D Riske. J Peralta reached on infield
single to shortstop. D Dellucci singled to right, J Peralta to second.
J Barfield sacrificed to pitcher, J Peralta to third, D Dellucci to second.
K Shoppach grounded out to third. G Sizemore intentionally walked. C Blake hit
by pitch, J Peralta scored, D Dellucci to third, G Sizemore to second.
F Gutierrez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Blake out at second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 3.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at CLEVELAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (4) AT CLEVELAND (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, M Teahen RF,
M Sweeney DH, A Gordon 3B, R Shealy 1B, J LaRue C, T Pena Jr SS, J Gathright LF,
B Bannister RHP.

Cleveland Starting Lineups -- G Sizemore CF, C Blake 3B, T Hafner DH, V
Martinez 1B, T Nixon RF, J Peralta SS, D Dellucci LF, J Barfield 2B,
K Shoppach C, P Byrd RHP.

Umpires -- Jim Wolf (HP), Tim Tschida (1B), Jim Joyce (2B), Jeff Nelson (3B).


Gametime Weather: 63 degrees, Clear, wind in from right at 10 mph.


KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus flied out to center. M Grudzielanek singled to
left. M Teahen flied out to center. M Sweeney grounded into fielder's choice
to shortstop, M Grudzielanek out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 1ST: G Sizemore singled to center. G Sizemore caught stealing
second, catcher to second. C Blake grounded out to third. T Hafner flied out
to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: A Gordon doubled to deep right. R Shealy struck out
swinging. J LaRue flied out to left. T Pena Jr grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 2ND: V Martinez grounded out to first. T Nixon flied out to
center. J Peralta flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 0, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: J Gathright doubled to left. D DeJesus doubled to deep
right, J Gathright scored. M Grudzielanek grounded out to second, D DeJesus to
third. M Teahen singled to right, D DeJesus scored. M Sweeney flied out to
center. A Gordon flied out to right. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 2, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 3RD: D Dellucci grounded out to second. J Barfield singled to
right. K Shoppach flied out to center. G Sizemore singled to center,
J Barfield to second. C Blake flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 2, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: R Shealy homered to left. J LaRue grounded out to third.
T Pena Jr struck out swinging. J Gathright singled to center. J Gathright
stole second. D DeJesus grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 3, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 4TH: T Hafner grounded out to first. V Martinez grounded out to
second. T Nixon grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 3, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: M Grudzielanek singled to center. M Teahen singled to
right, M Grudzielanek to third. M Sweeney struck out swinging. A Gordon
popped out to shortstop. R Shealy grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
M Grudzielanek scored, M Teahen to second. J LaRue struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 5TH: J Peralta grounded out to third. D Dellucci flied out to
left. J Barfield lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 0.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: T Pena Jr singled to left. J Gathright sacrificed to
pitcher, T Pena Jr to second. D DeJesus intentionally walked. M Grudzielanek
lined into double play, second to first, D DeJesus doubled off first.(0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 0.

CLEVELAND 6TH: K Shoppach safe at first on throwing error by third baseman
A Gordon. G Sizemore flied out to center. C Blake struck out looking.
T Hafner doubled to deep right, K Shoppach scored. V Martinez grounded out to
second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: R Perez relieved P Byrd. M Teahen grounded out to first.
M Sweeney fouled out to catcher. A Gordon grounded out to first. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 7TH: T Nixon struck out swinging. J Peralta grounded out to
shortstop. D Dellucci tripled to deep center. J Barfield lined out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 1.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: R Shealy flied out to right. J LaRue walked. T Pena Jr
grounded into fielder's choice to second, J LaRue out at second. J Gathright
grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 1.

CLEVELAND 8TH: Z Greinke relieved B Bannister. K Shoppach walked.
G Sizemore struck out swinging. C Blake singled to left, K Shoppach to second.
J Gobble relieved Z Greinke. T Hafner singled to shallow left, K Shoppach to
third, C Blake to second. F Gutierrez ran for T Hafner. V Martinez hit
sacrifice fly to right, K Shoppach scored, C Blake to third. R Garko hit for
T Nixon. D Riske relieved J Gobble. R Garko struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 2.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: J Michaels in right field. D DeJesus singled to right.
M Grudzielanek struck out swinging. M Teahen walked, D DeJesus to second.
R Hernandez relieved R Perez. M Sweeney struck out looking. A Fultz relieved
R Hernandez. A Gordon struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 2.

CLEVELAND 9TH: O Dotel relieved D Riske. J Peralta reached on infield
single to shortstop. D Dellucci singled to right, J Peralta to second.
J Barfield sacrificed to pitcher, J Peralta to third, D Dellucci to second.
K Shoppach grounded out to third. G Sizemore intentionally walked. C Blake hit
by pitch, J Peralta scored, D Dellucci to third, G Sizemore to second.
F Gutierrez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Blake out at second.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 3.</div>

 

Bannister pitches Royals past Indians

<h3>KANSAS CITY 4, CLEVELAND 3</h3>CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Brian Bannister pitched seven solidinnings and Ryan Shealy drove in two runs as the Kansas CityRoyals defeated the Cleveland Indians, 4-3, on Wednesday.

The win snapped the Royals' three-game losing streak and wasjust Kansas City's third victory in its last 13 games.

Bannister (2-3) held the majors' second-highest scoring team toonly one unearned run while scattering five hits. He struck outtwo and did not walk a batter in outdueling Paul Byrd.

"One of my favorite pitchers is Paul Byrd," Bannister said."There aren't many righthanders in the league who throw only 90miles per hour. If you have that type of stuff, he is a goodguy to look up to."

It was the second strong start in a row for Bannister, whoallowed one run in eight innings in his last start against TampaBay.

"When you pitch ahead in the count, you always have a chance towin," Indians catcher Victor Martinez said of Bannister."That's what he did. He did a great job tonight."

Bannister improved to 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his last fivestarts since being recalled from Class AAA Buffalo on May 13.The 26-year-old righthander has issued only two walks in hislast three starts, and none in his last two.

"I feel like I am pitching the way I did in the minors,"Bannister said. "In every level you move up there is an<div class="pre">adjustment period. I am back to the basics, and trying to keep</div>the ball down. I am feeling more comfortable and starting tobecome the pitcher I want to."

After Cleveland rallied for a run in the eighth off relieversZack Greinke and Jimmy Gobble to pull within 4-2, closer OctavioDotel gave up a run before getting out of a bases-loaded jam inthe ninth to pick up his second save of the season.

Jhonny Peralta and David Dellucci led off the ninth with singlesand advanced a base on Josh Barfield's sacrifice. Dotelinduced Kelly Shoppach to ground out to third base, bringing upthe top of the Indians' batting order. Grady Sizemore wasintentionally walked to load the bases for Casey Blake, whoextended his hitting streak to 15 games the previous inning.

Dotel quickly got ahead of Blake 1-2 before grazing him on thearm to force in a run and cut the lead to 4-3. But Dotelretired Franklin Gutierrez, who pinch ran for Indians sluggerTravis Hafner in the eighth, on a groundout to short.

"Dotel has got good stuff and competes," Royals manager BuddyBell said. "He doesn't always make it look as easy as you like,but gets the job done."

Indians manager Eric Wedge defended his move to run for Hafner,who represented the tying run at first in the eighth.

"You can't assume you'll load the bases in the ninth with twoouts," Wedge said. "We had a chance to win or tie with our besthitter (in the eighth). The way Victor hit the ball, we were acouple of feet from watching Gutierrez run around the bases."

The Royals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third. JoeyGathright and David DeJesus hit back-to-back doubles off Byrd(6-2) to start the inning. After Mark Grudzielanek's groundoutadvanced DeJesus to third, Mark Teahen followed with a single toright.

"I just wanted to come in and help the team win," saidGathright, who was called up from Class AAA Omaha before thegame. "I did what I was supposed to do."

Shealy extended the lead to 3-0 with a solo home run to leftfield off Byrd to lead off the fourth. It was his third homerun of the season.

Shealy drove his second run of the game to stake the Royals to4-0 lead on a failed fielder's choice in the fifth. Withrunners on first and third and two out, Shealy hit a ground ballto shortstop Peralta, who fielded the ball but decided to tryand force Teahen at second instead of trying to get Shealy atfirst, but the throw to second was late.

Byrd saw his five-game winning streak snapped as he allowed fourruns on 10 hits in six innings. He also allowed his first walkin 48 innings when he issued an intentional pass to Teahen inthe sixth.

"I hung (a breaking pitch) for the home run and threw twofastballs down the middle that I didn't want to, which they hitfor doubles," Byrd said. "That was pretty much the game."

Despite allowing at least nine hits in his previous threeoutings, Byrd had been bidding to win his fifth straightdecision, which he had accomplished in 2001 with the Royals.

Hafner had an RBI double and Victor Martinez knocked in a runwith a sacrifice fly in the eighth for the Indians, who fell to20-7 at home this season.