Royals outlast White Sox for 8-7 victory
BY BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
CHICAGO | Esteban German’s bat, José Guillen’s arm and maybe the law of averages. That sums up the Royals’ 8-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.
Having All-Star closer Joakim Soria at the end didn’t hurt either.
The Mexicutioner rolled through the White Sox in the ninth inning and secured a victory that enabled the Royals to win a series here for the first time since Sept. 19-21, 2003.
German provided the game-winning hit with a two-run double with two outs in the eighth inning against left-hander Matt Thornton. Guillen protected that one-run lead by throwing out A.J. Pierzynski at the plate in the Chicago eighth.
Soria struck out two in a one-two-three ninth for his 26th save in 28 opportunities. Ramon Ramirez, 1-1, got the victory. Thornton, 4-2, was the loser.
It was a wild ride.
The Royals built leads of 4-0, 5-2 and 6-5 against Chicago starter John Danks, but the White Sox finally surged ahead 7-6 on Nick Swisher’s two-run homer in the seventh against Ramirez.
It was the first homer allowed all season by Ramirez.
The Royals reclaimed the lead in the eighth against Octavio Dotel and Thornton.
Guillen, still slowed by back spasms, batted for Alex Gordon and reached safely when hit by a Dotel pitch. Guillen stole second before Ross Gload worked a two-out walk against Thornton.
German than yanked a 95-mph fastball into the left-field corner for a two-run double. The Royals led 8-7.
The White Sox nearly tied the game in their eighth by sandwiching two singles around a walk against Ron Mahay, but Guillen threw out A.J. Pierzynski at the plate. Mahay stranded runners at first and third by striking out Jim Thome.
The Royals finished with 11 hits, including three by German and Mike Aviles. David DeJesus drove in three runs. German and Ross Gload each had two RBIs.
Chicago maintained its one-half-game lead over second-place Minnesota in the American League Central Division. The Twins lost 1-0 to Texas.
The White Sox had 15 hits, including homers by Joe Crede and Swisher. Crede’s homer was a three-run blast in the third against Royals starter Brian Bannister that erased a 5-2 deficit.
Thome had two hits and became the 252nd player in history to reach 2,000 in a career. He had a single in the first and got No. 2,000 on a leadoff double in the seventh.
Bannister is a growing concern. He lasted just three innings and squandered those leads of 4-0 and 5-2. That follows his failure to hold an early 5-0 lead in his last start boosted his ERA to 5.49 overall and to 6.49 over his last 17 starts.
The Royals are now left with a decision: How long can they afford to let Bannister continue to work though his difficulties in their rotation? He has options remaining and can be sent to the minors without being exposed to waivers.
Horacio Ramirez, a long-time starter, positioned himself as a possible alternative by working 2 2/3 scoreless innings after replacing Bannister. Ramirez has a 1.15 ERA in nine relief appearances.
Danks had been on a roll until Sunday with no losses in his previous nine starts while compiling a 2.34 ERA. But he gave up four runs in the first inning and single runs in the second and fourth. He also yielded nine hits in four innings.
The Royals opened the game with four straight hits against Danks and raced to a 4-0 lead.
Mark Teahen led off with a single and went to third when Mike Aviles extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double to left center. David DeJesus drove in both runners with a soft single to left.
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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.
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