Cain, Aoki power Royals to 6-2 win over White Sox KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Perhaps the Royals are rousing from their offensive slumber at just the right time. Lorenzo Cain hit a three-run homer, Nori Aoki kept up his tear at the plate and Kansas City roughed up Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale in a 6-2 victory Wednesday night that allowed the Royals to creep within a half-game of first-place Detroit in the AL Central. The same bunch of Tigers that arrive for a three-game set starting Friday night. Alcides Escobar also homered for a Royals lineup that had been scuffling for weeks, and Aoki went 3 for 4 to finish with 11 hits in the series. Yordano Ventura (13-10) allowed three hits and two walks over seven innings, the lone run off him coming on a sacrifice fly. Weve got our minds right and were going to go out and win some ballgames, Cain said. Meanwhile, Sale (12-4) was cuffed for a season-high five earned runs on nine hits over five innings. It was arguably the three-time All-Stars worst start since Aug. 23, 2013, when he gave up eight runs over seven innings in a loss to the Rangers. Its not exactly what the doctor ordered, Sale said. You know what youre going to get with this team every time. And theyre fighting, especially in the position they are in now, every pitch is big. The White Sox loaded the bases with nobody out in the third inning, and Adam Eaton staked them to a lead with his sacrifice fly. But Ventura calmly struck out the next two batters to get out of trouble, and then kept Chicago guessing with a blazing fastball all night. It didnt take Kansas City long to take the lead for good. In the bottom of the third, Escobar and Aoki hit back-to-back singles before Cain sent a pitch over the left-field wall. The three-run homer was the first allowed by Sale on an 0-2 count in his career — 164 appearances and nearly 670 batters over parts of five seasons. Fighting Chris Sale is always tough, Cain said. Hes one of the best in the game. He didnt look like it on this night. Escobar added his solo shot off Sale with two outs in the fourth. Escobars third homer of the season and first since May 11 landed in almost the exact same spot as Cains home run. Just trying to see the ball, Escobar said. Ive always felt really good against him. Aoki doubled in the first inning, singled in the third and fourth and walked in the sixth, earning a standing ovation. His 11 hits against the White Sox broke the Royals record for a three-game series that had been shared by George Brett (1982) and Willie Wilson (1980). It was also the first time a Kansas City player had three hits in three straight games since Mike Sweeney accomplished the feat from July 8-10, 2005, according to STATS. Hes hotter than a firecracker, Royals manager Ned Yost said. You cant explain it. MORE YORDANO Venturas 13 wins are the most by a Royals rookie since Tom Gordon had 17 in 1989. He also has 21 quality starts, surpassing Bob Johnsons record of 20 set in 1970. MORE AOKI Aoki reached base 13 times in the series, counting his two walks. The last big league player to accomplish that feat was Kevin Kouzmanoff for San Diego during the 2009 season. SERIES UPDATE The Royals improved to 10-5 against the White Sox, clinching the season series for the fourth consecutive year. The teams meet four times in Chicago next week to finish the regular season. TRAINERS ROOM White Sox: DH-1B Paul Konerko, out since breaking his left hand on Sept. 2, will likely return this weekend in Tampa Bay. Give him a couple of at-bats and if hes up for it he can probably DH one of those games and see how it feels, manager Robin Ventura said. Royals: INF Christian Colon (broken middle finger) was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Sept. 7. There was no word on whether the Royals are adding another player to the roster. UP NEXT White Sox: LHP Jose Quintana (8-10, 3.30 ERA) starts Friday nights opener in Tampa Bay. Royals: LHP Jason Vargas (11-9, 3.41) tries to bounce back from a loss to Boston in the opener of a crucial three-game series against the Tigers on Friday night. David Price hit hard, Tigers lose to Twins 8-4 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — David Price was hit hard in a disappointing outing and the Minnesota Twins beat Detroit 8-4 Wednesday night to tighten the AL Central race ahead of the Tigers big weekend series in Kansas City. Danny Santana tripled, doubled and drove in two runs for the Twins. Kyle Gibson (12-11) recovered from a rough start to pitch last-place Minnesota to its second straight win over the division leaders. The Tigers ended the night with a half-game lead over the second-place Royals, who beat the Chicago White Sox 6-2. Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera went 4 for 5 with a pair of doubles but was thrown out after a costly mistake on the bases in the seventh. With the Twins up 6-4 and Torii Hunter on first, Cabrera doubled to advance Hunter to third. Victor Martinez grounded to first base and Cabrera — apparently expecting Hunter to break for the plate — was caught off second and tagged out for an inning-ending double play. Brian Dozier narrowly missed his 21st homer in the sixth when he drove in Santana to put Minnesota up 5-4. The ball hit off the top of the center-field wall and Dozier settled for a triple off reliever Al Albuquerque. Santana reached on a double against Price (14-12), who allowed five runs, eight hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. He fell to 3-4 since coming to the Tigers in a July 31 trade with Tampa Bay. Santana had three hits and finished a home run short of the cycle. He also scored three times. Joe Mauer and Santana each added an RBI single in the eighth for insurance. Gibson allowed four runs and seven baserunners in the first two innings but retired 10 of the final 13 batters he faced. TRAINERS ROOM Tigers: C Alex Avila missed his third straight game with concussion-like symptoms and remains day to day. ... RHP Anibal Sanchez will throw another bullpen session Thursday in Kansas City as he tries to come back from a strained left pectoral muscle. If all goes well, Sanchez is expected to throw a simulated game on Sunday. Twins: All-Star closer Glen Perkins will have his pitching arm examined Thursday, general manager Terry Ryan told reporters before the game. Perkins blew a chance for his 35th save on Tuesday night when he allowed a three-run homer in the ninth. ... INF Eduardo Escobar (shoulder) and OF Oswaldo Arcia (back) are both day to day. UP NEXT The Tigers announced their starting rotation for their series against Kansas City. Justin Verlander (13-12) will start Friday against LHP Jason Vargas (11-9). Detroit will send Max Scherzer to the mound on Saturday, and Rick Porcello on Sunday. Minnesota RHP Phil Hughes (15-10) will try to become the sixth AL pitcher to win 16 games on Friday when the Twins begin their weekend series against Cleveland. Hell face Indians righty Trevor Bauer (5-8).
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 04:21:16 +0000
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