Royals end losing streak against Orioles at 12 games

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The inning is just a teaching moment for Butler now because Bannister was that good and Joakim Soria pitched a perfect ninth inning in a nonsave situation.

Soria’s outing is worth noting because his last time out on Thursday, he struggled for the first time all season, retiring just one of the four batters he faced.

Joel Peralta bailed him out that night, and Soria still hasn’t given up a run all season after pitching a perfect ninth inning on just 10 pitches.

“Last time, my balance was a little bit off,” he said. “Just a little bit with my upper body, that was the only difference.”

The big story from Sunday, though, was Bannister.

A self-described streaky pitcher, Bannister had given up 19 runs in his last four starts, all losses.

But this was the good Banny, and that means throwing strikes, which he did 75 times in 110 pitches (his season high is 111 and his career high is 116) overall.

Twenty-one of the 28 batters he faced saw first-pitch strikes, and Bannister faced just four more than the minimum in evening his record at 4-4 and lowering his ERA from 4.46 to 3.75.

“I’m a competitor and I hate losing,” he said.

“It was just important that I prove that to myself and go out there and pitch the way that I pitch. Not necessarily just getting a win, but pitching efficiently, and getting deep into a game, and really pitching the way that got me to this level.”

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To reach Sam Mellinger, national baseball reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4365 or send e-mail to smellinger@kcstar.com