Royals stay red hot, sweep L.A.

By Joe Warren

Nevada Daily Mail

Exactly two weeks after the lowly Kansas City Royals completed a three-game sweep of the mighty New York Yankees, they did the same thing to another large-market team when they handed the Los Angeles Dodgers a winless visit to Kauffman Stadium with a 9-6 victory Thursday.

The win completed the Royals' second sweep of the season and marked the season-high fifth consecutive win overall for Kansas City.

The Royals (24-41) got an improved performance from Zack Greinke and an offensive explosion in the sixth inning to beat the Dodgers (33-32) for the third time in three days.

Greinke was coming off an outing where he gave up a club record 11 runs and 15 hits, but was markedly better against L.A. Thursday, even though he still was not particularly sharp.

The 21-year-old right hander gave up eight hits and two walks over five innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out four. Greinke also hit two batters and gave up a two-run homer to Jason Grabowski in the fourth.

Greinke labored through each inning, needing 111 pitches to collect 15 outs.

"Even though his pitch count got up there, I thought he was a lot more aggressive," Royals manager Buddy Bell said after the game. "He's a different kid in that he's got so much talent. Sometimes you rely on your talent too much. Hopefully tonight is a stepping stone."

In the debacle that was Greinke's previous outing, Bell purposely left him on the mound despite getting shelled by Arizona June 10. The move was designed to teach him a lesson after Greinke struggled to adapt to the new administration's teachings. Bell felt better about his young ace even though Greinke did not factor in the decision.

"I felt good when he was out there," Bell said. "I felt like he was in control. Sometimes numbers don't tell the whole story."

The Royals got six runs and a season-high seven hits in the sixth inning to turn a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 lead.

The big inning was sparked by an error by short stop Antonio Perez, who was filling in while starter Cesar Izturis got a day off.

After Angel Berroa grounded out to lead off the sixth, David DeJesus singled. Matt Stairs singled to move DeJesus to third. Emil Brown followed with a hard-hit ground ball that Perez misplayed. What looked like a potential inning-ending double play grounder instead squirted into center field allowing DeJesus to score and Stairs to go to second.

Terrence Long singled and on the next play Shane Costa barely beat out a potential double play ball himself, as Long was retired at second on a fielder's choice. Stairs scored on the play.

Former Nevada Griffon Mark Teahen singled to drive in Brown and Alberto Castillo doubled to score Costa and Teahen.

Ruben Gotay finished the scoring with an RBI single that scored Castillo.

Only one of the runs in the sixth was earned as Derek Lowe (5-7) took the loss allowing nine hits and eight runs (three earned) in 5 2/3 innings.

Kansas City scored one run in the first off back-to-back singles by Berroa and DeJesus and a sacrifice fly by Stairs.

Castillo also had an RBI in the second inning when his single drove in Teahen, who had doubled.

Kansas City's other run came in the seventh when Stairs singled, went to third on a single by Brown and scored on a double by Long.

Notes: Castillo finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs ... Teahen was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Long, Stairs, DeJesus and Berroa also finished with two hits each ... the Royals improved to 11-4 since Bell took over on May 31. That record is the best in the American League over the past 15 games ... the Royals became only the third team in history to sweep both the Yankees and Dodgers in the same season, joining the 1997 Seattle Mariners and the 1998 Anaheim Angels.