Royals boost offense by acquiring Willingham from Twins
Kansas City is in the thick of the playoff hunt, so the Royals went out and added a solid bat to their roster.
THE KANSAS City Royals bolstered their offense yesterday by acquiring outfielder Josh Willingham from the Minnesota Twins, a move the long-suffering franchise hopes will help them end a playoff drought that stretches back nearly three decades.
Kansas City has won eight straight games, including a 3-2 win over the visiting Oakland Athletics last night to take over the AL Central lead from Detroit, which lost at Pittsburgh. The Royals have not been to the postseason since 1985, when they beat St. Louis to win the World Series.
Shortstop Alcides Escobar drove in two runs in the win over Oakland.
Willingham is expected to arrive in Kansas City in time for tonight's game.
The Twins picked up minor league pitcher Jason Adam in the trade, while the Royals agreed to take on the remainder of Willingham's contract - about $1.8 million of the $7 million that he was making in the final year of his 3-year deal.
Willingham was hitting only .210 for the Twins this season, but his 12 homers in limited at-bats were appealing for a Royals club that has struggled to find power. The 35-year-old Willingham hit a career-best 35 homers with 110 RBI 2 years ago.
"It doesn't soak in immediately," Willingham said. "It's one of those things you don't know what your mind is processing. You know it's going on but you have mixed emotions. Anytime you're saying goodbye to really good friends, it's tough, but at the same time - the other side of it, the baseball side of it - they're winning over there. From a business side, it's good for me."
In other AL games
* At Baltimore, Chris Davis hit a two-run homer in the fifth after replacing the injured Manny Machado (sprained right knee), and the AL East-leading Orioles beat the Yankees, 11-3, to drop New York a season-high seven games out of first place. Nelson Cruz connected with a man on in the seventh and Jonathan Schoop added a three-run shot in the eighth for Baltimore.
* At Arlington, Texas, Drew Smyly allowed three hits, Matt Joyce had a two-run single and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Texas Rangers, 7-0.
* At Houston, Joe Maurer's two-run single in the ninth inning snapped a tie and lifted the Minnesota Twins over the Astros, 4-2.
In NL games
* At Atlanta, Carl Crawford drove in a pair of runs on a pair of singles and Kevin Correia, in his first start for the Los Angeles Dodgers since being dealt by Minnesota, allowed a run on four hits in six innings in a 6-2 win over the Braves.
* At Miami, Giancarlo Stanton hit two home runs and made a spectacular, diving catch in rightfield to help the Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5. Stanton's 13th multihomer game established a franchise career record and he tied Hanley Ramirez for second place on the club's all-time home run list with 148.
* At Chicago, Yovani Gallardo (706) allowed only a run on six hits in seven innings, striking out six, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cubs, 3-1.
In interleague play
* At Pittsburgh, Travis Snider went 3-for-5 with three runs scored anf four RBI and the Pirates won, 11-6, over the Detroit Tigers, who have lost five of their previous six games. Justin Verlander (10-11) lasted an inning for the Tigers, allowing five runs on four hits before leaving with a sore shoulder. He will have an MRI today.