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 Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie pitched six strong innings, catcher
Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer, and the Royals rallied for a 5-3
victory against the Oakland A's on Sunday, sweeping the three-game
series at the O.co Coliseum.
The sweep was the reigning AL champion's first against Oakland since
Sept. 2-4, 2008, at Kauffman Stadium and the Royals' first at the
Coliseum since July 28-30, 2008.
Oakland won five consecutive games before the Royals came to town
with their brooms.
"It's huge," Guthrie said of the sweep. "This team has been playing
well lately. Overall, we know they're a competitive team. We got
some late runs and were able to win a couple of different ways. It
was a big series for us, and hopefully we can carry that momentum
down in (Houston) and play another very tough AL West team."
The Royals (44-28) own the American League's best record. They won
their fourth straight game, improving to 5-1 on their nine-game road
trip and moving a season-high 16 games over .500.
Guthrie (6-5) allowed two runs on seven hits, walked one and struck
out a season-high seven. He struck out the side in the second and
sixth innings. In the second inning, he recorded his 1,000th career
strikeout, fanning A's first baseman Ike Davis.
"It's 1,000 more than I probably ever thought I'd have 10 years
ago," Guthrie said. "It's a great accomplishment to be able to get
there and have the endurance to get to that number."
Perez had a milestone day, too. He collected his 500th career hit in
the eighth-inning when he homered off A's reliever Edward Mujica.
"Means a lot," said Perez, who drove in three runs and scored twice
Sunday. "It's pretty special to me."
A's right-hander Jesse Chavez (4-6) gave up three runs on six hits
over 5 2/3 innings, snapping his two-game winning streak. He struck
out four and walked two.
"We had a good thing going, and then we had a bump to start our
homestand," Chavez said. "It's something we don't want to do."
The Royals trailed 2-0 entering the sixth inning, but they scored
three runs to take the lead and knock Chavez out of the game.
Third baseman Mike Moustakas drilled a leadoff double to
right-center and moved to third on first baseman Kendrys Morales'
sharp single to right. With one out, Perez hit a slow ground ball
that third baseman Max Muncy fielded cleanly on the run, but his
throw home was late and off target. Moustakas scored on a fielder's
choice, and the runners advanced to second and third on Muncy's
error.
"I feel like I made the right decision," Muncy said. "I just didn't
make the play. I just rushed myself. I had plenty of time, and I
rushed myself and made a bad throw on it."
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Chavez walked left fielder Alex Gordon intentionally, and right
fielder Alex Rios hit a sacrifice fly to center as the Royals pulled
even. Second baseman Omar Infante lined an RBI single to right,
putting Kansas City ahead 3-2 and ending Chavez's day.
The Royals extended their lead to 5-2 in the eighth. Pinch hitter
Lorenzo Cain grounded a leadoff single to center, and Perez crushed
Mujica's 3-2, belt-high fastball deep into the left field seats for
his 12th home run of the season.
"He left a pitch up and I hit it pretty good," Perez said.
The A's cut Kansas City's lead to 5-3 with a run in the eighth off
reliever Kelvin Herrera. Second baseman Ben Zobrist hit a leadoff
single, moved to third on designated hitter Billy Butler's double
and scored on Davis' sacrifice fly.
A's right fielder Josh Reddick drove in a run in the third inning on
the 500th hit of his career. It came just one pitch after he fouled
a ball hard off his right shin and spent a few minutes on the ground
in pain while a trainer examined him.
Reddick and the A's experienced more pain when the Royals completed
their sweep.
"We don't just all of a sudden after five games lose our intensity
and our focus," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "We just got beat. They
played better than we did."
NOTES: Royals CF Lorenzo Cain was out of the starting lineup Sunday
after tweaking a hamstring Saturday in the sixth inning while
stealing third base in a double steal. Cain pinch-hit in the eighth
inning Sunday and singled. He likely will start at designated hitter
Monday at Houston. ... Royals 1B Eric Hosmer sprained his left ring
finger while stealing second base Saturday. He started at designated
hitter Sunday but left in the eighth inning. He is day-to-day. ...
Royals SS Alcides Escobar (right index finger split nail bed) was
injured in the bottom of the seventh fielding a ground ball and left
the game after the top of the eighth. He is day-to-day. ... Oakland
CF Billy Burns returned to the lineup after missing two games with
strained left hip flexor, but he is not 100 healthy. "He's good
enough to play," A's manager Bob Melvin said. ... Oakland 3B Brett
Lawrie and SS Marcus Semien were out of the starting lineup, getting
rare days off. Semien entered in the seventh inning and went
1-for-2.
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