TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2006
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3B
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Royals squeak by Indians in front of small crowd
BY DOUG TUCKER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Doug Mientkiewicz drove in two runs and John Buck hit his first homer of the season to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Cleveland Indians 4-3 Monday night.
Mike Wood (3-0) threw 4 1-3 shutout innings in relief of Denny Bautista, who gave up four hits and two runs in three-plus
innings in his first start since going on the disabled list April 14 with a sore right pectoral muscle.
Wood gave up just three hits and did not issue a walk. Aimiorix Burgos got the last four outs for his fifth save in six opportunities.
It's the second time this year the Royals have beaten Paul Byrd (4-3), who won a career-best 17 games for Kansas City in 2002.
Mientkiewicz gave the Royals a 2-1 lead in the first with a two-run single after Esteban German walked and Mark Grudzielanek doubled to start the innings.
Buck led off the fifth with a homer and vent 2-for-3 to raise his batting average to .217. After Buck's homer, the Royals loaded the bases with none out on two singles and Byrd's throwing error to third on Mientkiewicz's sacrifice bunt.
But Byrd escaped with only one run on Emil Brown's sacrifice fly.
Byrd went seven innings, allowing nine hits and four runs, three earned, with two walks and no strikeouts.
Grady Sizemore tripled on Bautista's third pitch of the game and scored on Jason Michaels' groundout to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.
The lanky right-hander did
not allow another run until the fourth when Victor Martinez doubled — extending his AL-best hitting streak to 16 games. He scored on Casey Blake's
—and scored on Casey Blake's sacrifice fly off wood.
Sizemore hit a solo homer in the ninth.
Notes:
Notes:
■ Bautista was reinstated from the 15-day DL and Joe Mays was designated for assignment. The Royals asked Mays to accept a minor league assignment but manager Buddy Bell aced his task declined.
Martinez has reached base in 31 of 52 games.
Cleveland RHP Rafael Betancourt is scheduled to throw a 40-pitch bulpen on Tuesday in Cleveland. He was put on the DL with a back injury.
The crowd of 9,029 was the smallest of the year.
MAJOR LEAGUES
Colorado Rockies' Matt Holliday is congratulated by teammate Brad Hawpe after hitting a solo home run, his second of the game, as St. Louis Cardinals' Yadier Molina watches in the seventh inning of their baseball game Monday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
Rockies win fourth straight
BY JIM SALTER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — Jeff Francis had another strong start and Matt Holliday hit two homers Monday night to lead the Colorado Rockies to their fourth straight victory, 6-2 over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Cardinals.
Francis (2-2) allowed six hits, struck out one and walked three in 7 2-3 innings. He had a scoreless streak of 14 2-3 innings snapped when Hector Luna singled home So Taguchi with two outs in the eighth. Francis was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in April. He is 2-0 in May with a 0.61 ERA.
Holliday was 3-for-4 and scored three runs. He hit both homers leading off innings against Cardinals starter Jason Marquis (3-4). His shots in the third and seventh innings gave him nine for the season. He also singled and scored in the fifth and was hit by a pitch in the first.
first Brad Hawpe singled twice and drove in three runs for the Rockies (20-13), who moved seven games over 500 for the first time since July 7, 2000, when they were 45-38.
they were Marquis has gone the other direction for St. Louis, which lost for the first time in four games. He has lost his last four decisions, largely due to wildness. His ERA was 2.79 after his first three starts,
all wins. It is 8.73 in his four losses.
wins. It is 6-7 in 13 innings.
Marquis allowed four walks in 19 1-3 innings in his first three starts. In the four games since he has walked 13 in 22 2-3 innings.
That wildness was costly again Monday. With two outs and one on in the first he walked Garrett Atkins and hit Holiday. Hawpe followed with a two-run single to right.
Atkins led off the fifth with a double, moved to third on Holliday's single, and scored on a single by Hawpe.
scored by a single.
Jim Edmonds drove in a run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly for St. Louis and Brian Fuentes came on with runners on first and third and got two outs for his eighth save in nine chances.
Notes:
eight save in nine in Francis, a rookie last season, is 2-0 lifetime against St. Louis, allowing one run in 13-2-3 innings, with both wins coming in St. Louis. He pitched six shutout innings in a 7-0 win over the Cardinals on June 30, 2005.
Albert Pujols of the Cardinals walked in the first, his 31st of the season. Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu leads the NL with 34.
The Cardinals are 12-5 in their inaugural season in the new Busch Stadium.
All 17 games at the new stadium have been sold out.
The Rockies have gone eight straight games without an error.