GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: KANSAS CITY (62-75) at TEXAS (63-74)

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (7) VS TEXAS (9) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 .268
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 1 2 1 0 1 5 .305
R Gload 1b 4 1 0 0 1 1 3 .300
J Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
M Sweeney dh 4 2 3 1 0 0 2 .260
M Teahen rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .290
A Gordon 3b-1b 4 0 0 0 0 3 4 .250
J Smith ss 3 1 1 4 0 2 0 .200
J Gathright lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .320
a-E German ph-3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .263
J LaRue c 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .145
b-S Costa ph-lf 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .236

Totals 32 7 10 7 5 9 17

a-walked for J Gathright in the 8th; b-grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop for J Larue in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (29, K Millwood); M Sweeney 2 (13, K Millwood 2);
J Gathright (7, K Millwood). HR - J Smith (5, 4th inning off K Millwood 2 on, 2
Out). SF - J Smith. RBI - M Sweeney (32), J Smith 4 (14), M Teahen (54), M
Grudzielanek (45). 2-out RBI - M Sweeney, J Smith 3. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M Sweeney 2, M Grudzielanek 2, J Gathright 1, M Teahen 1.
GIDP - R Gload. Team LOB - 8.

FIELDING: E - J LaRue (4, throw). DP: 2 (B Buckner-J Smith-R Gload, R Gload-J
Smith-B Buckner).


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto 1b 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 .268
a-M Byrd ph-cf 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .300
I Kinsler 2b 4 2 3 2 1 0 0 .272
M Young ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .306
J Botts lf 4 1 3 2 0 1 1 .224
N Cruz pr-rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
B Wilkerson rf-1b 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 .239
H Blalock dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .277
J Saltalamacchia c 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 .255
D Murphy cf-rf-lf 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .404
R Vazquez 3b 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 .242

Totals 31 9 13 8 4 4 12

a-popped out to shortstop for F Catalanotto in the 6th.

BATTING: 2B - I Kinsler (20, B Buckner); J Botts 2 (6, N Musser, B Buckner); D
Murphy (7, J Gobble). 3B - R Vazquez (3, B Buckner). HR - B Wilkerson (20, 1st
inning off B Buckner 1 on, 1 Out), J Saltalamacchia (6, 1st inning off B
Buckner 0 on, 2 Out). S - R Vazquez. SF - M Byrd. RBI - I Kinsler 2 (55), J
Botts 2 (10), B Wilkerson 2 (61), J Saltalamacchia (16), M Byrd (57). 2-out RBI
- J Saltalamacchia. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - H Blalock 1. GIDP
- H Blalock, F Catalanotto. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: SB - I Kinsler (18, 3rd base off L Nunez/J LaRue), M Young (12,
2nd base off L Nunez/J LaRue). CS - I Kinsler (2, 2nd base by N Musser/J
LaRue), N Cruz (3, 2nd base by J Gobble/J LaRue).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Benoit-I Kinsler-M Young-B Wilkerson).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 100 320 01 -- 7
TEXAS - 510 000 21 -- 9
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Buckner 4 7 6 6 3 2 2 5.40
N Musser 1 2/3 2 0 0 1 1 0 4.18
L Nunez 1/3 3 2 2 0 0 0 4.54
J Gobble 1 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 0 3.40
D Riske 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.29

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Millwood 5 8 6 6 3 7 1 5.30
J Wright 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.88
J Rheinecker 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.62
F Francisco 1/3 1 1 1 1 0 0 4.77
J Benoit 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.62

B Buckner pitched to 1 batter in the 5th.
L Nunez pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

HBP - H Blalock (by J Gobble); D DeJesus (by F Francisco). Pitches-strikes: B
Buckner 74-45; N Musser 30-18; L Nunez 15-9; J Gobble 26-14; D Riske 4-4; K
Millwood 98-64; J Wright 17-9; J Rheinecker 10-8; F Francisco 16-7; J Benoit
3-3. Ground balls-fly balls: B Buckner 8-2; N Musser 1-2; L Nunez 0-1; J Gobble
1-1; D Riske 0-2; K Millwood 3-5; J Wright 2-0; J Rheinecker 1-1; F Francisco
1-0; J Benoit 2-0. Batters faced: B Buckner 20; N Musser 7; L Nunez 4; J Gobble
5; D Riske 2; K Millwood 26; J Wright 5; J Rheinecker 3; F Francisco 4; J
Benoit 1.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Angel Campos. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

Weather: 82 degrees, drizzle. Wind: 9 mph, in from right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - PITCHING CHANGE
TEX: C.J. WILSON (2-1, 2.77) IN THE 9TH
SITUATION: NO RUNS IN, NONE ON, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 7, TEXAS 9

DUE UP FOR KANSASCITY: M TEAHEN (.290, 2-FOR-4, RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: C Wilson relieved J Benoit.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 7
TEXAS 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: M Teahen (.290, 2-FOR-4, RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: E Brown hit for A Gordon.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, M TEAHEN ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 7
TEXAS 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: E Brown (.245, 6 HR, 55 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: B Butler hit for J Smith.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, E BROWN ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 7
TEXAS 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: B Butler (.302, 6 HR, 44 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ESTEBAN GERMAN SCORED EMIL BROWN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, E GERMAN ON FIRST, B BUTLER ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 8
TEXAS 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: S COSTA (.236, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: T Pena Jr hit for S Costa.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, E GERMAN ON FIRST, B BUTLER ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 8
TEXAS 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: T Pena Jr (.259, 1 HR, 41 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL AT TEXAS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Huber ran for B Butler.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, E GERMAN ON FIRST, J HUBER ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: KANSAS CITY 8
TEXAS 9 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR KANSAS CITY: T Pena Jr (.259, 1 HR, 41 RBI)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 1 1 8 12 1
TEXAS 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 x 9 13 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER, NEAL MUSSER (5TH), LEO NUNEZ (6TH), JIMMY
GOBBLE (7TH), DAVID RISKE (8TH) AND JASON LARUE, JOHN BUCK
(8TH)

TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD, JAMEY WRIGHT (6TH), JOHN
RHEINECKER (7TH), FRANK FRANCISCO (8TH), JOAQUIN BENOIT (8TH),
C.J. WILSON (9TH) AND JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA

HOME RUNS: KAN - JASON SMITH (5) OFF KEVIN MILLWOOD IN THE 4TH, 2 ON

TEX - BRAD WILKERSON (20) OFF BILLY BUCKNER IN THE 1ST, 1 ON
JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA (6) OFF BILLY BUCKNER IN THE 1ST, 0
ON</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
KANSAS CITY 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 1 1 8 12 1
TEXAS 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 x 9 13 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: KAN - BILLY BUCKNER, NEAL MUSSER (5TH), LEO NUNEZ (6TH), JIMMY
GOBBLE (7TH), DAVID RISKE (8TH) AND JASON LARUE, JOHN BUCK
(8TH)

TEX - KEVIN MILLWOOD, JAMEY WRIGHT (6TH), JOHN
RHEINECKER (7TH), FRANK FRANCISCO (8TH), JOAQUIN BENOIT (8TH),
C.J. WILSON (9TH) AND JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA


WP - JOHN RHEINECKER (2-1)
LP - LEO NUNEZ (2-3)
SAVE - C.J. WILSON (11)

HOME RUNS: KAN - JASON SMITH (5) OFF KEVIN MILLWOOD IN THE 4TH, 2 ON

TEX - BRAD WILKERSON (20) OFF BILLY BUCKNER IN THE 1ST, 1 ON
JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA (6) OFF BILLY BUCKNER IN THE 1ST, 0
ON


TIME: 3:33 ATT: 18,892

PROBABLES: KAN - KYLE DAVIES (2-3, 6.75)
TEX - VICENTE PADILLA (4-9, 6.36)</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">KANSAS CITY (8) VS TEXAS (9) - FINAL

KANSAS CITY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D DeJesus cf 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 .268
M Grudzielanek 2b 5 1 2 1 0 1 5 .305
R Gload 1b 4 1 0 0 1 1 3 .300
J Buck c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
M Sweeney dh 5 2 3 1 0 0 2 .259
M Teahen rf 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 .290
A Gordon 3b-1b 4 0 0 0 0 3 4 .250
c-E Brown ph 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .245
J Smith ss 3 1 1 4 0 2 0 .200
d-B Butler ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .305
J Huber pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Gathright lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .320
a-E German ph-3b 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 .265
J LaRue c 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .145
b-S Costa ph-lf 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .236
e-T Pena Jr ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .258

Totals 37 8 12 8 6 9 20

a-walked for J Gathright in the 8th; b-grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop for J Larue in the 8th; c-grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher
for A Gordon in the 9th; d-singled to left for J Smith in the 9th; e-grounded
into fielder's choice to second for S Costa in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - M Grudzielanek (29, K Millwood); M Sweeney 2 (13, K Millwood 2);
J Gathright (7, K Millwood). HR - J Smith (5, 4th inning off K Millwood 2 on, 2
Out). SF - J Smith. RBI - M Sweeney (32), J Smith 4 (14), M Teahen (54), M
Grudzielanek (45), E German (34). 2-out RBI - M Sweeney, J Smith 3, E German.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Sweeney 2, M Grudzielanek 2, J
Gathright 1, T Pena Jr 1, M Teahen 1. GIDP - R Gload. Team LOB - 10.

FIELDING: E - J LaRue (4, throw). DP: 2 (B Buckner-J Smith-R Gload, R Gload-J
Smith-B Buckner).


TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Catalanotto 1b 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 .268
a-M Byrd ph-cf 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .300
I Kinsler 2b 4 2 3 2 1 0 0 .272
M Young ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .306
J Botts lf 4 1 3 2 0 1 1 .224
N Cruz pr-rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
B Wilkerson rf-1b 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 .239
H Blalock dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .277
J Saltalamacchia c 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 .255
D Murphy cf-rf-lf 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .404
R Vazquez 3b 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 .242

Totals 31 9 13 8 4 4 12

a-popped out to shortstop for F Catalanotto in the 6th.

BATTING: 2B - I Kinsler (20, B Buckner); J Botts 2 (6, N Musser, B Buckner); D
Murphy (7, J Gobble). 3B - R Vazquez (3, B Buckner). HR - B Wilkerson (20, 1st
inning off B Buckner 1 on, 1 Out), J Saltalamacchia (6, 1st inning off B
Buckner 0 on, 2 Out). S - R Vazquez. SF - M Byrd. RBI - I Kinsler 2 (55), J
Botts 2 (10), B Wilkerson 2 (61), J Saltalamacchia (16), M Byrd (57). 2-out RBI
- J Saltalamacchia. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - H Blalock 1. GIDP
- H Blalock, F Catalanotto. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: SB - I Kinsler (18, 3rd base off L Nunez/J LaRue), M Young (12,
2nd base off L Nunez/J LaRue). CS - I Kinsler (2, 2nd base by N Musser/J
LaRue), N Cruz (3, 2nd base by J Gobble/J LaRue).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Benoit-I Kinsler-M Young-B Wilkerson).


----------------------------------------------------
KANSAS CITY - 100 320 011 -- 8
TEXAS - 510 000 21x -- 9
----------------------------------------------------

KANSAS CITY ip h r er bb so hr era
B Buckner 4 7 6 6 3 2 2 5.40
N Musser 1 2/3 2 0 0 1 1 0 4.18
L Nunez (L, 2-3) 1/3 3 2 2 0 0 0 4.54
J Gobble 1 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 0 3.40
D Riske 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.29

TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
K Millwood 5 8 6 6 3 7 1 5.30
J Wright 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.88
J Rheinecker (W, 2-1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.62
F Francisco (H, 18) 1/3 1 1 1 1 0 0 4.77
J Benoit (H, 17) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.61
C Wilson (S, 11) 2/3 2 1 1 1 0 0 2.89

B Buckner pitched to 1 batter in the 5th.
L Nunez pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

HBP - H Blalock (by J Gobble); D DeJesus (by F Francisco). Pitches-strikes: B
Buckner 74-45; N Musser 30-18; L Nunez 15-9; J Gobble 26-14; D Riske 4-4; K
Millwood 98-64; J Wright 17-9; J Rheinecker 10-8; F Francisco 16-7; J Benoit
6-5; C Wilson 17-11. Ground balls-fly balls: B Buckner 8-2; N Musser 1-2; L
Nunez 0-1; J Gobble 1-1; D Riske 0-2; K Millwood 3-5; J Wright 2-0; J
Rheinecker 1-1; F Francisco 1-0; J Benoit 2-1; C Wilson 2-0. Batters faced: B
Buckner 20; N Musser 7; L Nunez 4; J Gobble 5; D Riske 2; K Millwood 26; J
Wright 5; J Rheinecker 3; F Francisco 4; J Benoit 2; C Wilson 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Paul Emmel. 1B--Dan Iassogna. 2B--Angel Campos. 3B--Ron Kulpa.

T--3:33. Att--18,892.
Weather: 82 degrees, drizzle. Wind: 9 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
KANSAS CITY 8
TEXAS 9 FINAL</div>

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (8) AT TEXAS (9) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus struck out looking. M Grudzielanek doubled to
deep center. R Gload struck out swinging. M Sweeney doubled to center,
M Grudzielanek scored. M Teahen flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: F Catalanotto walked. I Kinsler doubled to left, F Catalanotto
scored. M Young grounded out to second, I Kinsler to third. J Botts doubled
to deep left, I Kinsler scored. B Wilkerson homered to left center, J Botts
scored. H Blalock grounded out to second. J Saltalamacchia homered to right
center. D Murphy grounded out to first. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 2ND: R Vazquez tripled to right. F Catalanotto grounded out to
shortstop. I Kinsler singled to center, R Vazquez scored. M Young lined out
to right. J Botts struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 1,
TEXAS 6.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: R Gload grounded out to second. M Sweeney singled to
left. M Teahen singled to center, M Sweeney to second. A Gordon struck out
looking. J Smith homered to right, M Sweeney and M Teahen scored. J Gathright
doubled to deep left. J LaRue walked. D DeJesus walked, J Gathright to third,
J LaRue to second. M Grudzielanek flied out to center. (3 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, TEXAS 6.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: R Gload walked. M Sweeney doubled to deep right, R Gload
to third. M Teahen singled to right, R Gload scored, M Sweeney to third,
M Teahen to second advancing on throw. A Gordon struck out looking. J Smith hit
sacrifice fly to center, M Sweeney scored, M Teahen to third. J Gathright
flied out to left. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 7TH: I Kinsler reached on infield single to shortstop. M Young
singled to left, I Kinsler to second. I Kinsler stole third, M Young stole
second. I Kinsler scored on throwing error by catcher J LaRue. J Botts singled
to center, M Young scored. N Cruz ran for J Botts. J Gobble relieved L Nunez.
N Cruz caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. B Wilkerson struck out
swinging. H Blalock hit by pitch. J Saltalamacchia flied out to right.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 6, TEXAS 8.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: N Cruz in right field. D Murphy in left field. E German
hit for J Gathright. F Francisco relieved J Rheinecker. E German walked.
S Costa hit for J LaRue. S Costa grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
E German out at second. D DeJesus hit by pitch, S Costa to second.
M Grudzielanek singled to left center, S Costa scored, D DeJesus to third.
J Benoit relieved F Francisco. R Gload grounded into double play, pitcher to
second to shortstop to first, M Grudzielanek out at second.(1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7, TEXAS 8.

TEXAS 8TH: J Buck catching. A Gordon at first base. E German at third base.
S Costa in left field. D Murphy doubled to deep right. R Vazquez sacrificed to
first, D Murphy to third. D Riske relieved J Gobble. M Byrd hit sacrifice fly
to center, D Murphy scored. I Kinsler lined out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7, TEXAS 9.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: M Sweeney popped out to third. C Wilson relieved
J Benoit. M Teahen walked. E Brown hit for A Gordon. E Brown grounded into
fielder's choice to pitcher, M Teahen out at second. B Butler hit for J Smith.
B Butler singled to left, E Brown to second. E German singled to center,
E Brown scored, B Butler to second. T Pena Jr hit for S Costa. J Huber ran for
B Butler. T Pena Jr grounded into fielder's choice to second, E German out at
second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 8, TEXAS 9.</div>

 

Rangers edge Royals in rain-soaked battle

<h3>TEXAS 9, KANSAS CITY 8</h3>By John Tranchina
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- The Texas Rangers employed aggressivebaserunning to varying degrees of success, but it paid off in theend with a 9-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

The Rangers swiped three bases and were caught stealing twice,but it was a double-steal in the seventh inning that helped leadthem to victory. With Ian Kinsler and Michael Young stealingthird and second, respectively, the throw from Royals catcherJason LaRue ended up in left field, allowing Kinsler to scorethe game-winning run.


The Rangers tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, whenMarlon Byrd lifted a sacrifice fly to center, plating DavidMurphy, who doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to thirdon a sacrifice by Ramon Vazquez.


The run proved crucial, as the Royals scored once in the ninthon a single by Esteban German off C.J. Wilson before Tony PenaJr. grounded out to end the game.


Both Kinsler and Jason Botts had three hits and two RBI, andBrad Wilkerson and rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia each hit homeruns for the Rangers, who have won eight of their last 10 andsix of seven home games.


A steady rain fell throughout most of the game, getting heavy attimes, but it was never delayed.


With the scored tied, 6-6, after Kansas City rebounded from a6-1 second-inning deficit, the Rangers surged ahead in theseventh. Kinsler led off the inning by beating out a slowgrounder that eluded reliever Leo Nunez (2-3). Young's singleto left put runners on first and second, leading to thedouble-steal. After Kinsler came around to score on the botchedthrow, Botts singled up the middle to score Young from second.

Kansas City came back in the eighth, edging back to within oneon Mark Grudzielanek's RBI single but didn't get any closer, asJohn Rheinecker (2-1) pitched a perfect seventh inning to earnthe win and Wilson slammed the door in the ninth to pick up his11th save of the season.


The Royals started rookie Billy Buckner, making his first majorleague start. He had given up just one run in 7 2/3 innings ofrelief work in his first two appearances since being recalledfrom Class AAA Omaha on August 24. But Texas jumped on Bucknerimmediately, clubbing two home runs off him on their way topushing five runs across in the first inning. Buckner walkedFrank Catalanotto to lead off, followed by Kinsler's double downthe left field line that brought Catalanotto home. One outlater, Botts doubled to left field to score Kinsler and thenWilkerson launched his 20th home run of the season into theRoyals bullpen beyond the wall in left-center.


It marked the third time in his career that Wilkerson hasreached the 20-homer plateau. After another out, Saltalamacchiabelted his sixth home run since joining the Rangers in the MarkTeixeira trade on July 31, giving Texas a commanding 5-1 lead.

The Rangers kept up the pressure the next inning, tacking onanother run. Vazquez led off with a triple and an out later,Kinsler drove him home with a single up the middle.

Buckner started to settle down after that, allowing just onemore hit in his next two-plus innings of work. He exited afterwalking Kinsler to lead off the fifth, giving up six runs onseven hits, while walking three and striking out two.

Meanwhile, Texas starter Kevin Millwood began impressively, butsprang some leaks as the game went along. After Mike Sweeneydoubled to score Grudzielanek in the top of the first, Millwoodretired eight in a row.


But the Royals got back in the game in the fourth, however,thanks to Jason Smith's three-run home run, with two outs, thatmanaged to just stay fair of the right field foul pole. Evenafter the blast, Millwood loaded the bases by walking both LaRueand David DeJesus after Joey Gathright had doubled to left, butGrudzielanek flew out to center field to end the inning.

In the fifth, the big lead the Rangers had amassed completelyevaporated. Mark Teahen's single to right brought home RossGload to pull Kansas City within one. One out later, withrunners on second and third, Smith very nearly had his secondhome run in as many at-bats, but Texas center fielder Murphy randown his fly ball on the warning track. Sweeney tagged up fromthird to score the tying run.


Millwood left after five innings, after surrendering six runs oneight hits, walking three and striking out seven. It was hisshortest outing in six starts.

 

AL: KANSAS CITY at TEXAS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY (8) AT TEXAS (9) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kansas City Starting Lineups -- D DeJesus CF, M Grudzielanek 2B, R Gload 1B,
M Sweeney DH, M Teahen RF, A Gordon 3B, J Smith SS, J Gathright LF, J LaRue C,
B Buckner RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- F Catalanotto 1B, I Kinsler 2B, M Young SS, J Botts LF,
B Wilkerson RF, H Blalock DH, J Saltalamacchia C, D Murphy CF, R Vazquez 3B,
K Millwood RHP.

Umpires -- Paul Emmel (HP), Dan Iassogna (1B), Angel Campos (2B), Ron Kulpa (3B).

Gametime Weather: 82 degrees, Drizzle, wind in from right at 9 mph.


KANSAS CITY 1ST: D DeJesus struck out looking. M Grudzielanek doubled to
deep center. R Gload struck out swinging. M Sweeney doubled to center,
M Grudzielanek scored. M Teahen flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: F Catalanotto walked. I Kinsler doubled to left, F Catalanotto
scored. M Young grounded out to second, I Kinsler to third. J Botts doubled
to deep left, I Kinsler scored. B Wilkerson homered to left center, J Botts
scored. H Blalock grounded out to second. J Saltalamacchia homered to right
center. D Murphy grounded out to first. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 5.

KANSAS CITY 2ND: A Gordon struck out swinging. J Smith struck out
swinging. J Gathright grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 5.

TEXAS 2ND: R Vazquez tripled to right. F Catalanotto grounded out to
shortstop. I Kinsler singled to center, R Vazquez scored. M Young lined out
to right. J Botts struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 1,
TEXAS 6.

KANSAS CITY 3RD: J LaRue lined out to left. D DeJesus struck out looking.
M Grudzielanek grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 3RD: B Wilkerson walked. H Blalock grounded into double play,
pitcher to shortstop to first, B Wilkerson out at second. J Saltalamacchia
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 1, TEXAS 6.

KANSAS CITY 4TH: R Gload grounded out to second. M Sweeney singled to
left. M Teahen singled to center, M Sweeney to second. A Gordon struck out
looking. J Smith homered to right, M Sweeney and M Teahen scored. J Gathright
doubled to deep left. J LaRue walked. D DeJesus walked, J Gathright to third,
J LaRue to second. M Grudzielanek flied out to center. (3 Runs, 4 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 4TH: D Murphy singled to left. R Vazquez bunt popped out foul to
catcher. F Catalanotto grounded into double play, first to shortstop to
pitcher, D Murphy out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 4, TEXAS 6.

KANSAS CITY 5TH: R Gload walked. M Sweeney doubled to deep right, R Gload
to third. M Teahen singled to right, R Gload scored, M Sweeney to third,
M Teahen to second advancing on throw. A Gordon struck out looking. J Smith hit
sacrifice fly to center, M Sweeney scored, M Teahen to third. J Gathright
flied out to left. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 5TH: I Kinsler walked. N Musser relieved B Buckner. M Young struck
out swinging. I Kinsler caught stealing second, catcher to second. J Botts
doubled to deep right. B Wilkerson walked. H Blalock grounded out to second.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, TEXAS 6.

KANSAS CITY 6TH: J Wright relieved K Millwood. J LaRue singled to center.
D DeJesus walked, J LaRue to second. M Grudzielanek struck out swinging.
R Gload grounded out to first, J LaRue to third, D DeJesus to second. M Sweeney
grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 6TH: J Saltalamacchia flied out to center. D Murphy flied out to
left. R Vazquez singled to right. M Byrd hit for F Catalanotto. L Nunez
relieved N Musser. M Byrd popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
KANSAS CITY 6, TEXAS 6.

KANSAS CITY 7TH: M Byrd in center field. B Wilkerson at first base. D Murphy
in right field. J Rheinecker relieved J Wright. M Teahen grounded out to shortstop.
A Gordon flied out to right. J Smith struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 6, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 7TH: I Kinsler reached on infield single to shortstop. M Young
singled to left, I Kinsler to second. I Kinsler stole third, M Young stole
second. I Kinsler scored on throwing error by catcher J LaRue. J Botts singled
to center, M Young scored. N Cruz ran for J Botts. J Gobble relieved L Nunez.
N Cruz caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. B Wilkerson struck out
swinging. H Blalock hit by pitch. J Saltalamacchia flied out to right.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) KANSAS CITY 6, TEXAS 8.

KANSAS CITY 8TH: N Cruz in right field. D Murphy in left field. E German
hit for J Gathright. F Francisco relieved J Rheinecker. E German walked.
S Costa hit for J LaRue. S Costa grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
E German out at second. D DeJesus hit by pitch, S Costa to second.
M Grudzielanek singled to left center, S Costa scored, D DeJesus to third.
J Benoit relieved F Francisco. R Gload grounded into double play, pitcher to
second to shortstop to first, M Grudzielanek out at second.(1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7, TEXAS 8.

TEXAS 8TH: J Buck catching. A Gordon at first base. E German at third base.
S Costa in left field. D Murphy doubled to deep right. R Vazquez sacrificed to
first, D Murphy to third. D Riske relieved J Gobble. M Byrd hit sacrifice fly
to center, D Murphy scored. I Kinsler lined out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 7, TEXAS 9.

KANSAS CITY 9TH: M Sweeney popped out to third. C Wilson relieved
J Benoit. M Teahen walked. E Brown hit for A Gordon. E Brown grounded into
fielder's choice to pitcher, M Teahen out at second. B Butler hit for J Smith.
B Butler singled to left, E Brown to second. E German singled to center,
E Brown scored, B Butler to second. T Pena Jr hit for S Costa. J Huber ran for
B Butler. T Pena Jr grounded into fielder's choice to second, E German out at
second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) KANSAS CITY 8, TEXAS 9.</div>

 

Rangers edge Royals in rain-soaked battle

<h3>TEXAS 9, KANSAS CITY 8</h3>By John Tranchina
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- The Texas Rangers employedaggressive baserunning to varying degrees of success, but itpaid off in the end with a 9-8 victory over the Kansas CityRoyals on Tuesday night.


The Rangers swiped three bases and were caught stealing twice,but it was a double-steal in the seventh inning that helped leadthem to victory. With Ian Kinsler and Michael Young stealingthird and second, respectively, the throw from Royals catcherJason LaRue ended up in left field, allowing Kinsler to scorethe game-winning run.


The Rangers tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, whenMarlon Byrd lifted a sacrifice fly to center, plating DavidMurphy, who doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to thirdon a sacrifice by Ramon Vazquez.


The run proved crucial, as the Royals scored once in the ninthon a single by Esteban German off C.J. Wilson before Tony PenaJr. grounded out to end the game.


Both Kinsler and Jason Botts had three hits and two RBI, andBrad Wilkerson and rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia each hit homeruns for the Rangers, who have won eight of their last 10 andsix of seven home games.


"It's been a good stretch," said Kinsler, who extended hisseason-long hitting streak to 10 games. "Obviously, my thirdhit tonight was a little lucky. I've been getting a couple oflucky hits here and there, but I've been seeing the ball prettygood and I feel comfortable at the plate."


"That was a battle out there, one of those nights where it waskind of a battle of willpower," Wilkerson said. "It wasfortunate for us - after blowing that lead, it would have beendisappointing to lose this game, even though it was a tough,rainy night."


A steady rain fell throughout most of the game, getting heavy attimes, but it was never delayed.


"At first, it doesn't really affect you," Kinsler said of therainfall. "When it just kept coming, it was probably around thefifth or sixth, it gets pretty wet out there. And the(batters) box, they keep throwing the dirt on top of it, it justgets piled up, and it gets really messy. And the infield's thesame way, you've got to be careful. It's tough, but it'ssomething that you've got to deal with."


With the scored tied, 6-6, after Kansas City rebounded from a6-1 second-inning deficit, the Rangers surged ahead in theseventh. Kinsler led off the inning by beating out a slowgrounder that eluded reliever Leo Nunez (2-3). Young's singleto left put runners on first and second, leading to thedouble-steal. After Kinsler came around to score on the botchedthrow, Botts singled up the middle to score Young from second.

"I felt like it was situations where we had to make somethinghappen," Texas manager Ron Washington said of the aggressivebase-running. "They ended up tying it up, and we had to try tomake something happen.


"One, a good throw and he's out," Kansas City manager Buddy Bellsaid. "Two, we can't allow the ball to go into left field.Three, we've got to pay more attention to the runner. So itisn't just one guy's fault."


Kansas City came back in the eighth, edging back to within oneon Mark Grudzielanek's RBI single but didn't get any closer, asJohn Rheinecker (2-1) pitched a perfect seventh inning to earnthe win and Wilson slammed the door in the ninth to pick up his11th save of the season.


The Royals started rookie Billy Buckner, making his first majorleague start. He had given up just one run in 7 2/3 innings ofrelief work in his first two appearances since being recalledfrom Class AAA Omaha on August 24.


But Texas jumped on Buckner immediately, clubbing two home runsoff him on their way to pushing five runs across in the firstinning. Buckner walked Frank Catalanotto to lead off, followedby Kinsler's double down the left field line that broughtCatalanotto home. One out later, Botts doubled to left field toscore Kinsler and then Wilkerson launched his 20th home run ofthe season into the Royals bullpen beyond the wall inleft-center.


"It was a fastball away, and I didn't try to do too much, justtrying to put the ball in play, and let the pitch where I coulddrive it," Wilkerson said. "It felt good to get out to a biglead like that. I just feel glad that I'm back healthy and cancontribute the way I know I'm capable of doing the last fewmonths. It just feels good that the hard work I put in duringthe off-season pays off."


It marked the third time in his career that Wilkerson hasreached the 20-homer plateau. After another out, Saltalamacchiabelted his sixth home run since joining the Rangers in the MarkTeixeira trade on July 31, giving Texas a commanding 5-1 lead.

The Rangers kept up the pressure the next inning, tacking onanother run. Vazquez led off with a triple and an out later,Kinsler drove him home with a single up the middle.

Buckner started to settle down after that, allowing just onemore hit in his next two-plus innings of work. He exited afterwalking Kinsler to lead off the fifth, giving up six runs onseven hits, while walking three and striking out two.

"I thought he was a little more tentative than he has been, butthat's understandable because it's his first start," Bell saidof Buckner. "I thought he did all right after the first."

Meanwhile, Texas starter Kevin Millwood began impressively, butsprang some leaks as the game went along. After Mike Sweeneydoubled to score Grudzielanek in the top of the first, Millwoodretired eight in a row.


But the Royals got back in the game in the fourth, however,thanks to Jason Smith's three-run home run, with two outs, thatmanaged to just stay fair of the right field foul pole. Evenafter the blast, Millwood loaded the bases by walking both LaRueand David DeJesus after Joey Gathright had doubled to left, butGrudzielanek flew out to center field to end the inning.

In the fifth, the big lead the Rangers had amassed completelyevaporated. Mark Teahen's single to right brought home RossGload to pull Kansas City within one. One out later, withrunners on second and third, Smith very nearly had his secondhome run in as many at-bats, but Texas center fielder Murphy randown his fly ball on the warning track. Sweeney tagged up fromthird to score the tying run.


"We had opportunities the whole night and took advantage ofmost," Bell said. "That run we gave up there in the eighth,that was the toughest one of the night."


Millwood left after five innings, after surrendering six runs oneight hits, walking three and striking out seven. It was hisshortest outing in six starts.


"I think starting off the game, I had a good fastball, and Ijust went to it too often," Millwood said. "I didn't mix it upenough. I think that was my biggest problem."


The weather conditions ended up leading to an injury to Royalsfirst-baseman Ross Gload, who hyper-extended his right knee whenhis foot slid off first base as he nearly beat out a groundball. There was no immediate prognosis on the severity.