Royals return to winning ways by beating Giants
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
File this one under harder than it had to be. Cross-reference it under had to have. But file it under the win column, too. The Royals evened their three-game series Saturday night against the San Francisco Giants with a 5-3 victory at Kauffman Stadium.
Interesting. That was manager Trey Hillman’s word. DH José Guillen went further.
“Every day,” Guillen said, “it seems we come out and score two or three (quick) runs and by the fifth or sixth inning, it’s like, ‘Here we go.’ Somehow, the other team finds a way to come back and tie the game or come close.
“It’s kind of crazy. It’s only here at home. When we’re away, and we get the lead by three or four runs, we get those wins easily. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Let’s try.
Gil Meche was in top form early before fueling his exit in the sixth inning with a costly throwing error on a potential double-play grounder that helped trim a 3-0 lead to 3-2.
“That was a freak play,” Meche said. “I turned to go to second. Unfortunately, my foot actually hit the rubber and kind of knocked me off a little bit. … Fortunately, it didn’t cost us.”
It got tense, though — especially since the Royals blew a 4-0 lead in Friday’s 9-4 loss.
Guillen halted the slide this time with a booming two-run homer in the seventh inning against reliever Billy Sadler. It followed a one-out walk by Alex Hinshaw to Alex Gordon.
Sadler tested Guillen with four straight fastballs, and Guillen pumped the last one 422 feet over the left-field wall for a 5-2 lead.
“I guess (Mark) Grudzielanek is good protection in that situation,” Guillen joked. “I guess he’s scared to pitch to Grudzielanek, so he’s coming at me and challenging me with his fastball.”
Grudzielanek was the next hitter.
Guillen’s homer put the Royals just three outs away from Joakim Soria in the ninth, but those outs didn’t come easily.
Ramon Ramirez worked himself into a quick jam in the eighth inning by issuing a leadoff walk to Ray Durham after being ahead 1-2 in the count. Durham went to second on a passed ball before first baseman Ross Gload helped Ramirez by snagging a hard grounder by Randy Winn.
Durham went to third on the play, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Bengie Molina. But Gload’s play kept the inning from getting out of hand and got the game to Soria.
That was that. Soria pitched a one-two-three ninth for his 19th save in 20 opportunities. Two strikeouts and a routine fly out. Ballgame.
The Royals head into today’s series finale against Giants ace Tim Lincecum knowing they can’t get swept. They also won for the sixth time in seven games and improved to 32-43.
Mike Aviles had three of the Royals’ seven hits, including a two-run single in the fourth that extended the lead to 3-0. Giants starter Kevin Correia, 1-5, lasted just five innings before departing after allowing three runs and six hits.
Meche, 5-8, got his second straight victory after giving up two runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings. One of the runs was unearned, which enabled him to trim his ERA to 4.91 — the first time it’s been below 5.00 since early April.
“He’s got good stuff, and it was tough to see,” Giants center fielder Aaron Rowand said. “That combination’s never good as a hitter.”
Meche struck out the side in the first inning and struck out six of the first 10 hitters. That’s not necessarily as positive as it might appear.
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To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, call 816-234-4352 or send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com
Bob Dutton’s vlog | Royals 5, Giants 3
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