NewsRoyals take second straight vs. Reds
KC starts first win streak since May as Davies ends skid
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
06/14/09 12:10 AM ET
KANSAS CITY -- How's this for a nice change? Back-to-back victories for the Royals. |
The Royals again defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4, on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium to win two successive games for the first time since May 17-19.
"Hopefully, we can put that skid we were on behind us and that's it," said Billy Butler, who had three hits and two RBIs for the Royals. "That's the only way we're going to forget it, is to get on a different streak." The Royals last won two straight when they beat Baltimore and, after a day off, Cleveland nearly four weeks ago. "It's a result of just playing better in every facet of the game," said Willie Bloomquist, who knocked in three runs and also had three hits. "We're pitching and playing good defense and our offense is starting to come to life a little bit." The Royals piled up 14 hits, all singles except for Mark Teahen's solo home run in the third inning against Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo. "They didn't hit a lot of those balls on the screws. And some of the ground balls they hit were hit hard, but they all went in the hole," Arroyo said. "You know, it was a weird game. They weren't swinging at a lot of balls that were just an inch or two off the plate. They were taking them like they knew they were coming, and then I'd get one strike, and I'd throw a ball on the plate and they seemed to be pretty aggressive putting them in play and it worked out for them." Royals manager Trey Hillman put it a bit more simply. "We're hitting some balls where they're not," he said. Many of the 29,574 fans thought the Royals had another homer when Butler led off the fourth with a drive that shot past the foul pole and landed in the left-field seats. Hillman asked about it, and the umpires opted for the first replay review at Kauffman Stadium. Crew chief Jerry Layne and two umpires went under the stands to check the video replay from New York and emerged to reaffirm third-base ump Tony Randazzo's foul call. Royals starter Kyle Davies (3-6) notched his first victory in eight starts as he went five-plus innings. He had lost his previous five starts after two no-decisions. "You know what? I pitched pretty good during that stretch. There were four quality starts and I just didn't get lucky there," Davies said. "Baseball seems to even itself out a little. I didn't pitch very well today, but I pitched pretty good in some of those games but was just on the short end of the stick." Davies was lifted after issuing a leadoff walk in the sixth. Roman Colon pitched two scoreless innings. "You've got to go right after hitters. You can't back down against anybody," Colon said. "We've been struggling a little bit but it's too early in the season to count us out." In the eighth, John Bale gave up two singles and then struck out three straight. "In that situation, with two guys on, being able to put them away and get out of that jam and bring 'Jack' in that last inning just felt good," Bale said. "Jack," aka closer Joakim Soria, arrived for the ninth and had his first pitch belted over the center-field wall by Ramon Hernandez. Despite a dropped pop fly by second baseman Alberto Callaspo, Soria wrapped up the win. It was not a save situation for Soria but he put the finishing touch on a second straight victory and just the fourth win in the last 15 games. "Obviously, our record shows we've played better at home [17-15] than we have on the road [10-19] so I'm giving that to the great fan support we have," Butler said. "It gives us great confidence."The victory enabled to Royals to edge out of last place in the American League Central, once again passing Cleveland.
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
