<table> </table> September already looks better to the Royals than August.</p><p>Billy Butler drove in four runs for the second time in three games Tuesday night and powered the Royals to a 5-2 victory over the Oakland A&#8217;s at Kauffman Stadium.</p><p>Butler credits a back-to-basics approach for reenergizing his swing while fueling a 16-for-32 surge over the last eight games. His three-run homer in the first inning provided run-starved Zack Greinke with an early boost.</p><p>Greinke, 10-9, took it from there and won for the first time in five starts by limiting the A&#8217;s to two runs and six hits in seven innings while striking out eight and walking one.</p><p>It started with Butler, though.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve gone back to the mentality that I&#8217;m going to let it rip,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and I&#8217;m going to stay through it. I don&#8217;t care if I get jammed. I&#8217;m going to keep my hands inside.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s given me the ability to let balls get deeper and recognize pitches (better) instead of trying to hit them all out in front.&#8221;</p><p>Butler had four RBIs in Saturday&#8217;s 13-3 victory at Detroit. That was the Royals&#8217; last victory in a dreadful 7-20 run through August. Butler finished with three of the Royals&#8217; six hits and raised his average to .281.</p><p>&#8220;My game is to play from the 385 (-foot sign) in left-center over,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The ball dead in, I can hit that ball to left center and drive it well. That&#8217;s the way I&#8217;ve always hit, and I got away from that earlier this year.&#8221;</p><p>Ryan Shealy also homered after rejoining the club earlier in the day as a September call-up from Class AAA Omaha.</p><p>&#8220;No doubt about it,&#8221; Shealy said, &#8220;the big leagues are the place you want to play. I&#8217;m just happy I got to come up at some point this year. I&#8217;m doing anything I can to help the team win this last month.&#8221;</p><p>Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez, 1-3, left after throwing 95 pitches in four innings. He allowed just two hits but both left the park and resulted in four runs. The Royals scored their final run on Butler&#8217;s RBI single against Santiago Casilla.</p><p>Butler&#8217;s homer came on a first-pitch fastball after Mike Aviles reached on a one-out walk and went to third when left fielder Aaron Cunningham muffed Jos&#233; Guillen&#8217;s drive to deep left for a two-base error.</p><p>&#8220;That was almost chin high,&#8221; Gonzalez said. &#8220;You normally don&#8217;t get a good swing like that on a ball that high. Powerful kid, man. He made a good swing on it.&#8221;</p><p>Greinke gave up single runs in the second and fifth innings but each time avoided serious damage by stranding runners in scoring position with less than two outs. Daric Barton had three of Oakland&#8217;s seven hits, including a moon-shot homer in the fifth.</p><p>Each time, though, the Royals reestablished their three-run lead. Shealy homered in the fourth before Butler closed the scoring with his RBI single in the fifth.</p><p>Greinke produced his 19th quality start in 28 outings and boosted his club-leading strikeout total to a career-high 159. Ramon Ramirez worked a one-two-three eighth before Joakim Soria worked the ninth for his 34th save in 37 opportunities.</p><p>&#8220;We got an early lead,&#8221; Greinke said, &#8220;and I was just trying to get deep into the game and keep it a quality start. Getting that early lead makes it easier. It always does. It allows you to attack guys better.&#8221;</p><p>Greinke allowed just one earned run in his three previous starts and still ended up with one loss and two no-decisions. His 10th victory extended his career high and matched Gil Meche for the club lead.</p><p>It also marked the first time since 1999 that two Royals reached double figures in victories. Jos&#233; Rosado and Jeff Suppan each won 10 that year.</p><p>Butler said he switched back to his old approach at the suggestion of hitting coach Mike Barnett.</p><p>&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t working with what I was doing,&#8221; Butler said. &#8220;I really didn&#8217;t have a mentality when I went up there. I was confused. I was, maybe, letting other things get to me. It just got to the point where I decided to go back to the basics.&#8221;