American League Roundup

Royals 3, Blue Jays 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jeff Francoeur drove in two runs, helping Luke Hochevar win for the first time in seven starts, and Kansas City survived Joakim Soria's shaky ninth to beat Toronto. It was just the Royals' fourth win in the 11-game stand at Kauffman Stadium.

Soria, reclaiming the closer role he lost May 30 after back-to-back blown saves, loaded the bases in the ninth but got his eighth save in 13 opportunities.

Hochevar (4-6) allowed two runs in the fourth but nothing else in seven innings. Ricky Romero (5-6) pitched an eight-inning complete game for Toronto.

Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Rivera hit one-out singles off Soria, a two-time all-star, then Mike McCoy, after being down 0-2, drew his fourth walk of the day to load the bases with two out. But Soria got Corey Patterson on an infield pop-up, giving the Royals their fifth win in 19 games.

Toronto 000 200 000 – 2 8 1

Kansas City 003 000 00x – 3 8 0

Toronto AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

 McCoy ss 1   0   0   0   4   0   .241

C.Patterson lf 4   0   0   0   0   0   .288

Bautista rf 3   1   0   0   1   1   .345

Lind 1b 4   1   3   0   0   1   .329

Arencibia c 4   0   1   2   0   1   .249

A.Hill 2b 3   0   0   0   1   0   .246

Encarnacion dh 4   0   2   0   0   0   .264

R.Davis cf 3   0   0   0   0   1   .259

a-J.Rivera ph 1   0   1   0   0   0   .249

J.Nix 3b 4   0   1   0   0   1   .202

Totals 31   2   8   2   6   5   

Kansas City AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

 Maier lf 4   0   1   0   0   0   .321

Me.Cabrera cf 4   1   0   0   0   0   .269

Hosmer 1b 4   1   2   1   0   0   .309

Francoeur rf 3   0   1   2   0   1   .281

Butler dh 2   0   1   0   2   1   .301

Betemit 3b 4   0   1   0   0   1   .289

Aviles 2b 3   0   0   0   0   0   .213

Getz 2b 0   0   0   0   0   0   .241

Treanor c 2   0   1   0   0   1   .216

A.Escobar ss 2   1   1   0   0   0   .212

Totals 28   3   8   3   2   4   

 a-singled for R.Davis in the 9th. E: Bautista (3). LOB: Toronto 9, Kansas City 6. 2B: Maier (2), Betemit (14). 3B: Arencibia (3). RBIs: Arencibia 2 (34), Hosmer (21), Francoeur 2 (40). SB: Francoeur (7). CS: Aviles (2). S: C.Patterson, A.Escobar. RLSP: Toronto 6 (Encarnacion, C.Patterson 3, Arencibia 2); Kansas City 4 (Hosmer, Aviles, Me.Cabrera, Betemit). RA: Maier. GIDP: C.Patterson, A.Hill, J.Nix, Betemit. DP: Toronto 1 (McCoy, A.Hill, Lind); Kansas City 3 (Betemit, Aviles, Hosmer), (Aviles, A.Escobar, Hosmer), (A.Escobar, Aviles, Hosmer).

Toronto IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

 R.Romero (L 5-6) 8   8   3   3   2   4   112   3.18

Kansas City IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Hochevar (W 4-6) 7   6   2   2   3   3   98   5.04

Crow (H 5) 1   0   0   0   2   1   20   1.47

Soria (S 8) 1   2   0   0   1   1   28   5.14

HBP: by R.Romero (Treanor, Francoeur). WP: Crow. Umpires: Home, Jim Joyce; first, Ron Kulpa; second, Jim Wolf; third, Derryl Cousins.

T: 2:27. A: 13,941 (37,903).

DETROIT - After a long night, the Detroit Tigers were battling fatigue as much as the Seattle Mariners.

Luckily for them, Justin Verlander made sure they didn't have much to do Thursday night.

"I knew I was the only guy that got a good night's sleep, so I better do a good job," he said. "If I don't, my early flight was all for naught."

Verlander allowed one run in eight innings as the Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1, after Detroit got home early in the morning after a game Wednesday night in Texas. Verlander pitched so quickly that the "night" game ended at dusk, with the final pitch coming just 16 minutes after sunset.

"We didn't get home until 4 o'clock, so this worked out really well for us," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We sent Justin home earlier, obviously."

Verlander (7-3) struck out a season-best 10 while allowing five hits and a walk. He's 5-0 in his last seven starts with a 2.14 ERA and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 22,090 while returning to the dugout after the eighth.

"I don't feel like this is my best run, but I feel like I'm pitching pretty well," he said. "I just want to keep this momentum going."

Seattle's Brendan Ryan is just glad the Mariners won't face Verlander again this season, unless both make the playoffs.

"It isn't fun facing him, it is not fun at all," Ryan said. "He's throwing 98, he's got closer stuff, and he's got extra pitches on top of that. He throws them all where he wants them, and he throws them on any count. It's tough."

Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his 16th save in as many tries.

Doug Fister (3-7) dropped to 1-4 since May 1, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks in his eight innings. He's 1-12 in 19 career starts against the AL Central.

After the Tigers stranded runners on third with fewer than two outs in both the third and fourth innings, the Mariners went ahead in the fifth.

Greg Halman singled, stole second, moved to third on a flyball, and scored on a wild pitch.

Detroit, though, came back with four in the bottom of the inning. Jhonny Peralta singled and scored on Alex Avila's second triple of the game. With two outs, Don Kelly's single gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead, and Brennan Boesch followed with his eighth homer of the season.

"I kept letting the leadoff hitters get on, and it came back to hurt me in that inning," Fister said. "Avila got me twice when I left sinkers too far over the plate, and Boesch hit a cutter that wasn't far enough inside."

Tigers 4, Mariners 1

Seattle 000 010 000 – 1 5 0

Detroit 000 040 00x – 4 7 0

Seattle AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

I.Suzuki rf 4   0   0   0   0   2   .252

Ryan ss 4   0   2   0   0   2   .261

A.Kennedy 1b 4   0   2   0   0   0   .284

Olivo c 4   0   0   0   0   4   .241

F.Gutierrez cf 4   0   0   0   0   1   .206

Carp dh 2   0   0   0   2   0   .167

Halman lf 4   1   1   0   0   1   .636

L.Rodriguez 3b 3   0   0   0   0   0   .167

Ja.Wilson 2b 3   0   0   0   0   1   .245

Totals 32   1   5   0   2   11   

Detroit AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

A.Jackson cf 4   0   0   0   0   1   .242

Kelly 3b 4   1   2   1   0   0   .253

Boesch rf 3   1   2   2   1   0   .281

C.Wells rf 0   0   0   0   0   0   .254

Mi.Cabrera 1b 4   0   0   0   0   0   .317

V.Martinez dh 3   0   0   0   0   0   .301

Dirks lf 3   0   0   0   0   1   .245

Jh.Peralta ss 3   1   1   0   0   0   .313

Avila c 2   1   2   1   1   0   .297

Raburn 2b 3   0   0   0   0   1   .203

Santiago 2b 0   0   0   0   0   0   .241

Totals 29   4   7   4   2   3   

LOB: Seattle 6, Detroit 3. 2B: Boesch (14). 3B: Avila 2 (3). HR: Boesch (8), off Fister. RBIs: Kelly (6), Boesch 2 (34), Avila (33). SB: Halman (1). RLSP: Seattle 1 (Olivo); Detroit 2 (Kelly, Dirks). RA: L.Rodriguez, Mi.Cabrera. GIDP: Mi.Cabrera, Raburn. DP: Seattle 2 (L.Rodriguez, A.Kennedy), (Ryan, Ja.Wilson, A.Kennedy).

Seattle IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Fister (L 3-7) 8   7   4   4   2   3   87   3.40

Detroit IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Verlander (W 7-3) 8   5   1   1   1   10   126   2.89

Valverde (S 16) 1   0   0   0   1   1   17   2.89

WP: Verlander. Umpires: Home, Cory Blaser; first, Mike Winters; second, Mike Everitt; third, Chris Guccione.

T: 2:17. A: 22,090 (41,255).

White Sox 9, Athletics 4

CHICAGO - Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko each hit two-run homers, and Chicago spoiled the debut of Oakland interim manager Bob Melvin.

Melvin replaced Bob Geren earlier in the day, but the change couldn't keep Oakland from its 10th straight defeat.

Mark Buehrle (6-4) threw seven strong innings and improved to 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his last seven starts. He allowed seven hits and three runs.

Dunn was back in the lineup after sitting out two games. He was hit by a pitch and scored in Chicago's three-run second. He homered for the first time since May 24, a two-run shot in the third.

Trevor Cahill (6-4) lasted just 22/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. He was unlucky to an extent, allowing four infield hits on dribblers in front of the plate. But he also walked three, hit a batter, and allowed Dunn's two-run blast.

Dunn's homer was the 360th of his career, breaking a tie with Johnny Mize for 74th on the career list.

Oakland 010 000 201 – 4 9 1

Chicago 033 000 03x – 9 15 0

Oakland AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Crisp cf 4   0   0   0   1   2   .257

Pennington ss 3   0   1   0   1   0   .261

C.Jackson 1b 4   0   0   0   0   0   .261

Willingham lf 4   0   0   0   0   1   .234

K.Suzuki c 4   2   2   0   0   0   .244

Matsui dh 4   1   2   2   0   2   .215

Rosales 3b 4   0   1   1   0   1   .182

DeJesus rf 4   1   2   0   0   1   .242

J.Weeks 2b 4   0   1   1   0   0   .364

Totals 35   4   9   4   2   7   

Chicago AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Pierre lf 4   1   2   1   1   0   .260

Al.Ramirez ss 4   1   2   2   1   0   .298

Quentin rf 4   0   1   1   0   1   .270

Lillibridge rf 0   0   0   0   0   0   .282

Konerko 1b 5   1   2   2   0   0   .318

Pierzynski c 4   2   1   0   1   1   .268

Rios cf 5   1   2   0   0   2   .204

A.Dunn dh 3   2   1   2   0   1   .178

Vizquel 3b 3   1   2   1   0   1   .293

Beckham 2b 4   0   2   0   0   0   .244

Totals 36   9   15   9   3   6   

E: Rosales (1). LOB: Oakland 6, Chicago 9. HR: Matsui (4), off Buehrle; A.Dunn (6), off Cahill; Konerko (15), off Fuentes. RBIs: Matsui 2 (22), Rosales (3), J.Weeks (1), Pierre (15), Al.Ramirez 2 (33), Quentin (46), Konerko 2 (49), A.Dunn 2 (25), Vizquel (8). CS: Crisp (6), Rios (4). SF: Quentin, Vizquel. RLSP: Oakland 2 (J.Weeks, Crisp); Chicago 5 (Quentin 4, Pierzynski).

Oakland IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Cahill (L 6-4) 22/3   8   6   6   3   1   74   3.18

Cramer 32/3   4   0   0   0   3   59   1.08

Ziegler 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   4   2.05

Fuentes 1   3   3   3   0   2   23   4.88

Chicago IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Buehrle (W 6-4) 7   7   3   3   1   4   103   3.95

Crain (H 10) 1   0   0   0   1   1   17   3.25

Ohman 1   2   1   1   0   2   23   5.82

IR-S: Cramer 3-0, Ziegler 2-0. HBP: by Cahill (A.Dunn). WP: Ohman. Umpires: Home, Brian O'Nora; first, Alfonso Marquez; second, Ed Hickox; third, Ed Rapuano.

T: 2:51. A: 22,170 (40,615).

Twins 5, Rangers 4

MINNEAPOLIS - Alexi Casilla laced a single to left field to drive in the winning run with two outs in the ninth and lift Minnesota to victory over Texas on a windy, chilly night at Target Field.

Jim Hoey (1-2) finished the ninth for the win. Luke Hughes led off the ninth with a double off Mark Lowe (1-0) that a fan picked up before the Rangers could play it. They complained, to no avail.

Arthur Rhodes came in to get the second out, but Casilla hit an opposite-field line drive that was plenty deep enough for Hughes to score.

Rangers starter Derek Holland gave up a solo shot in the second inning to Delmon Young, just his second this season, and a three-run homer to Michael Cuddyer in the fifth to the back of the bullpen measured at 443 feet that made the grounds crew jump up to avoid getting hit.

Texas 100 002 010 – 4 12 1

Minnesota 010 030 001 – 5 10 2

Texas AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Andrus ss 3   0   1   0   0   1   .285

Dav.Murphy dh 4   0   0   0   0   0   .244

b-Napoli ph-dh 1   0   0   0   0   0   .211

J.Hamilton lf 4   2   2   1   1   1   .303

Mi.Young 2b 5   0   0   0   0   3   .304

A.Beltre 3b 5   1   2   1   0   0   .260

N.Cruz rf 4   1   2   1   0   0   .243

Moreland 1b 3   0   1   1   0   1   .310

Torrealba c 4   0   3   0   0   1   .239

En.Chavez cf 2   0   1   0   0   1   .407

a-Gentry ph-cf 1   0   0   0   0   0   .227

Totals 36   4   12   4   1   8   

Minnesota AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Revere cf 4   0   0   0   1   1   .284

A.Casilla ss 5   1   2   1   0   1   .252

Cuddyer rf 4   1   2   3   0   1   .259

Morneau dh 4   0   0   0   0   2   .225

D.Young lf 4   1   3   1   0   0   .233

Valencia 3b 4   0   1   0   0   2   .223

L.Hughes 1b 4   1   1   0   0   2   .258

R.Rivera c 3   0   1   0   0   1   .224

c-Dinkelman ph 1   0   0   0   0   1   .143

Tolbert 2b 3   1   0   0   1   0   .204

Totals 36   5   10   5   2   11   

Two outs when winning run scored.a-grounded into a fielder's choice for En.Chavez in the 8th. c-struck out for R.Rivera in the 9th. E: Moreland (3), Blackburn (1), Valencia (6). LOB: Texas 10, Minnesota 7. 2B: Torrealba (10), L.Hughes (6), R.Rivera (3). HR: J.Hamilton (4), off Blackburn; N.Cruz (15), off Blackburn; D.Young (2), off D.Holland; Cuddyer (8), off D.Holland. RBIs: J.Hamilton (23), A.Beltre (46), N.Cruz (34), Moreland (20), A.Casilla (10), Cuddyer 3 (21), D.Young (15). CS: N.Cruz (2). S: Andrus, En.Chavez. SF: Moreland. RLSP: Texas 6 (Dav.Murphy 2, Torrealba, Mi.Young, Napoli 2); Minnesota 1 (Morneau). RA: Dav.Murphy. DP: Minnesota 1 (R.Rivera, R.Rivera, A.Casilla).

Texas IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

D.Holland 71/3   8   4   4   1   10   112   4.41

M.Lowe (L 1-1) 1   1   1   1   1   1   15   3.86

Rhodes 1/3   1   0   0   0   0   7   5.65

Minnesota IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Blackburn 71/3   10   4   2   1   6   109   3.47

Mijares 0   2   0   0   0   0   9   4.50

Al.Burnett 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   6   5.94

James 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   9   0.00

Hoey (W 1-2) 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   9   9.00

Mijares pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. IR-S: M.Lowe 1-0, Rhodes 2-1, Al.Burnett 2-0, James 3-0. IBB: off Blackburn (J.Hamilton). HBP: by Al.Burnett (Andrus). Umpires: Home, Vic Carapazza; first, Dana DeMuth; second, Paul Nauert; third, Doug Eddings. T: 3:01. A: 38,761 (39,500).