One of the many encouraging signs the Royals showed in their 4-0 victory Sunday afternoon over Baltimore was the way Billy Butler stung the ball in a couple of at-bats.</p><p>Butler&#8217;s average was sliding into the .270s. But he ended Saturday night&#8217;s game with a ringing double off the left-center-field wall.</p><p>In his first at-bat Sunday, he followed Jose Guillen&#8217;s leadoff single in the second with a solid single to left. The Royals wound up scoring a run.</p><p>Butler added a walk in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh for the Royals&#8217; final run.</p><p>&#8220;One of the things I needed was something to get me going, something positive up there,&#8221; said Butler, who raised his average to .286. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been struggling a little bit. I just needed something to get me back in the groove.</p><p>&#8220;Barney (hitting coach Mike Barnett) and I have been working on some stuff. We figured out where I was before, just to get my confidence back.&#8221;</p><p>For the most part, the Royals executed in all phases Sunday.</p><p>&#8220;All around we were a complete team today,&#8221; Butler said. &#8220;Our pitching and our hitting were on the same page today. We need to keep that going.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Great catch</span></strong></p><p>Royals fans showed in the second inning that they appreciate good baseball.</p><p>After Joey Gathright made a spectacular catch in center field and then banged into the wall ending the top of the second, many of the Royals fans gave him a standing ovation.</p><p>&#8220;My only thought was to go get it,&#8221; Gathright said. &#8220;I knew it was going to stay in the park the way the wind was blowing.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Dropped ball</span></strong></p><p>There&#8217;s a reason you are taught to use two hands when catching a pop-up. You can look pretty silly if you drop it using one hand.</p><p>Alex Gordon likes to use one hand on pop-ups, as he did on Melvin Mora&#8217;s sky-high pop-up in the top of the sixth.</p><p>Gordon raced over to the mound area, got underneath the ball and then watched the ball pop out of his glove.</p><p>The error didn&#8217;t cost the Royals. Mora was caught stealing after Nick Markakis struck out.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Pitching matchups</span></strong></p><p>After an off day, the Royals begin a three-game series at home Tuesday against Detroit. In the first game Zack Greinke, 4-1, 1.80 ERA, faces Nate Robertson, 1-4, 6.64; on Wednesday Luke Hochevar, 2-2, 4.94 against Justin Verlander, 1-6, 6.43; and Thursday afternoon, Gil Meche, 2-5, 6.31 ERA vs. Kenny Rogers, 2-3, 6.27.