|
 Guthrie (9-10) weathered a pair of rain delays, pitching seven
innings as the Royals piled up a season high in runs in a 12-6 win
against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday at Target Field.
"Every time we have these days, it seems like he's on the mound,"
said Royals manager Ned Yost. "Just being able to maneuver through
that, made it a great day for us."
After expected rain delayed the start of the game nearly 40 minutes,
Kansas City's bats provided the thunder in the second inning.
Playing in a steady rain, the Royals turned five hits, two walks and
a hit batter into seven runs, providing Guthrie with all the
offensive support he would need.
"That second inning, I don't know if it was the elements, but we had
the swing in it," Royals first baseman Billy Butler said. "We were
making (Twins pitcher Tommy Milone) work, not leaving the strike
zone. He was trying to get us to chase some stuff and then coming to
us when we were squaring it up."
Butler started the inning with a single and drove in a run with
another single later in the inning. In between, shortstop Alcides
Escobar and right fielder Nori Aoki each had two-run singles, and
second baseman Omar Infante's sharp liner bounced off the mound and
under the glove of Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, allowing two
more runs to score.
Milone, making his first home start as a Twin, took the loss,
allowing all seven runs (six earned) on four hits and two walks over
1 1/3 innings, seeing his season ERA jump from 3.52 to 3.99 in the
process. Of his 80 career starts in the majors, Sunday's outing was
the shortest.
"Awful," Milone said. "Couldn't get a good feel. I tried not to walk
guys so I was leaving the ball over the plate. It seemed like every
time I got a new ball, it was immediately soaked. One of those
(outings) where you just need to forget about it."
After a 54-minute rain delay in the fourth inning, Royals left
fielder Alex Gordon added a two-run homer in the fifth inning to
give Kansas City a 9-2 lead.
Guthrie allowed four runs on five hits and two walks while striking
out seven to record his ninth win.
More importantly, Guthrie gobbled up key innings in the middle of
the game following the delay, while the Twins were forced to empty
the bullpen.
[to top of second column] |
"It was huge for us. This was a day we didn't need rain," Yost said.
"The weather was not conducive to pitching, I know that," said Twins
manager Ron Gardenhire. "It was pretty much a mess out there."
Catcher Salvador Perez had a solo homer for the Royals and designated
hitter Josh Willingham, a former Twin, added an RBI double and a late
solo home run, his first in a Kansas City uniform.
Minnesota got a solo home run from first baseman Joe Mauer and two-run
homers by designated Kennys Vargas and right fielder Oswaldo Arcia.
Vargas also had an RBI single in the first that gave the Twins a brief
1-0 lead.
NOTES: Twins 1B Joe Mauer homered in the third inning Sunday, his second
since coming off the disabled list on Monday. Mauer had only two homers
in his previous 303 at-bats this season before going on the DL July 2.
... Twins LHP Tommy Milone lasted only 1 1/3 innings, the shortest start
of his career. Sunday's game marked his 80th career start in the big
leagues. ... Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie lasted seven innings for only the
third time in his last 12 starts dating back to June 13. He had seven
such starts over his first 13 games this season. ... Royals DH Josh
Willingham hit a solo home run in the ninth inning, his 13th of the
season and first as a Royal. He was traded to Kansas City by Minnesota
on Monday.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
