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Tension is growing in the stands, too. Security personnel removed one fan when his heckling of outfielder José Guillen reached the point where Guillen needed to be restrained.
It’s not pretty right now.
“Obviously, it was untimely errors,” manager Trey Hillman said, “and (we were) unable do anything both from the mound and defensively to keep those runs from coming in.”
The Royals didn’t do much offensively, either.
Texas starter Kevin Millwood, 8-7, pitched his second straight complete game. He scattered nine hits in a tidy 94-pitch effort.
“We unloaded on a lot of borderline and bad pitches tonight,” Hillman said. “A veteran pitcher will get you to do that, and offensively you’ve got to be more disciplined. We will eventually get there. That’s part of the experience.”
The Royals nearly got there in the ninth when singles by Billy Butler and Miguel Olivo put the tying and winning runs aboard. Millwood ended the game by retiring pinch hitter Esteban German on a fielder’s-choice grounder to short. German swung at the first pitch.
About those errors:
The Rangers scored in the first inning against Zack Greinke after shortstop Mike Aviles made a bad throw on Joaquin Arias’ leadoff grounder. The winning run scored in the eighth against Ramon Ramirez when Olivo fielded a squibber up the third-base line and threw the ball into right field.
The irony is the Royals also produced several sparkling defensive plays. Joey Gathright and Guillen made leaping catches at the outfield wall, and Aviles atoned for his error with a sparkling run-saving play in the seventh.
Greinke limited the Rangers to one unearned run in six innings, but it was six tough innings. He worked often with runners on base and took a sharp grounder by Michael Young off his right foot in the fifth inning.
“It was just a little bruise,” Greinke said. “I’ll be 100 percent by the next start.”
Texas broke a 1-1 tie after Ramon Ramirez, 2-2, started the eighth by walking Bradley after jumping ahead 0-2 in the count.
Hank Blalock’s topper turned into a run after Olivo threw wildly to first. The ball zoomed up the right-field line past a diving Ross Gload and permitted pinch runner Brandon Boggs to score from first.
“I went too quick,” Olivo said. “I threw the ball without really seeing (the base). Things happen. If I make that play, maybe we’re still playing.”
The error overshadowed a three-hit game for Olivo, who drove in the Royals’ only run with a two-out double in the fifth.
Guillen’s problem with the fan started when Guillen settled for a single on a drive off the left-field wall in the second inning. It escalated when Guillen ended the fourth inning with a fly to left.
“When I got that hit to left field,” Guillen said, “that guy started saying all kinds of stuff. Why didn’t I make it to second? Hey, I hit the ball hard. People who know baseball know the guy (Marlon Byrd) made a nice play. I had no chance to make it to second.
“I can deal with that. But the (next) at-bat, when I hit the ball to left field, he said the magic words. Something personal about my family. I don’t deal well with that. That’s enough right there.”
Third-base coach Luis Silverio and others restrained Guillen; the fan was eventually taken away by security personnel.
“I understand who I am and the money that I’m making,” Guillen said. “I understand that I’m hitting .250, and the fans are expecting a lot more than they’re seeing. But the word he said, trust me, anybody would want to go there and kick his (backside).”
To reach Bob Dutton, send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com.
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