Post by lazarus on Jun 21, 2003 11:48:44 GMT -5
Posted on Sat, Jun. 21, 2003
Royals beat Cardinals 10-4 in series opener
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
ST. LOUIS - Round one to the Royals. By a knockout.
Desi Relaford delivered the first blow in the 2003 Show-Me Series when he opened Friday's game with a home run that started the Royals toward a 10-4 romp over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Royals pounded out 15 hits, including two more homers, in brushing aside Cardinals ace Matt Morris and a collection of relievers in front of 38,226 at Busch Stadium.
"Hey, we've got a good lineup," Relaford said, "and we're swinging the bats well. When we've got it going, we're pretty tough to beat."
Something else.
Jose Lima, sporting a new slider, pitched 51/3 strong innings and looked a lot more like the guy who won 20 games for Houston in 1999 than the retread arm who was laboring in an independent league a few weeks ago.
Lima, 1-0, learned to throw the slider only last Tuesday while working on the side with pitching coach John Cumberland.
"That's something they didn't know about," Lima said. "They were looking for my change-up, but I threw only about six change-ups all night. I picked up that slider real quick, and I'm not afraid to throw it at any time."
The Royals did their offensive damage without All-Star first baseman Mike Sweeney, who missed his second game because of tightness in his upper back.
And Carlos Beltran, who had 29 hits in his last 63 at-bats, went hitless in three at-bats -- although he reached base twice, once on a walk and once as a hit batsman.
But it didn't matter, because Relaford, Ken Harvey and Raul Ibanez each contributed three hits. Michael Tucker and Brent Mayne had two hits apiece, and Angel Berroa contributed a two-run homer.
"We know what kind of firepower they have over there," Harvey said. "We knew we had to continue to put pressure on them. Today, collectively, we did the job."
The Royals won for the ninth time in 13 games and pulled within one game of first-place Minnesota in the American League Central. The Twins lost 3-2 at Milwaukee.
The Royals even overcame two errors by third baseman Joe Randa, who entered the game with a streak of 75 games without a miscue.
Randa's first error came in the first inning when he bobbled Eduardo Perez's leadoff grounder. Randa's throw to first was late, which resulted in his first error since Sept. 7, 2002.
Randa's second error occurred in the fourth inning on a throw that pulled Harvey away from first on a grounder by Mike Matheny. It was Randa's first two-error game since April 23, 2002, against the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.
Lima pitched around both. In fact, Lima was superb for five innings before weakening in the sixth. He allowed just four hits and two runs in 51/3 innings.
"He showed up and did a good job," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He made a lot of good pitches in key situations. And Tony (Pena) got him out at just the right time."
Jason Grimsley, Sean Lowe and D.J. Carrasco followed Lima in protecting the victory, which left the Royals and Cardinals in an 11-11 tie in their annual interleague battles.
The Royals took a 5-0 lead with a four-run fifth that finished Morris, 7-5. Ibanez delivered the key blow with a three-run double.
After the Cardinals chased Lima with a three-run sixth, the Royals answered with four runs in the seventh on two-run homers by Harvey and Berroa.
The Cardinals scored once in the seventh against Lowe, but the Royals answered in the eighth on Harvey's RBI single. It was Harvey's fourth RBI of the night and 10th in the last four games.
"I feel good at the plate," he said.
He had plenty of company.
Royals beat Cardinals 10-4 in series opener
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
ST. LOUIS - Round one to the Royals. By a knockout.
Desi Relaford delivered the first blow in the 2003 Show-Me Series when he opened Friday's game with a home run that started the Royals toward a 10-4 romp over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Royals pounded out 15 hits, including two more homers, in brushing aside Cardinals ace Matt Morris and a collection of relievers in front of 38,226 at Busch Stadium.
"Hey, we've got a good lineup," Relaford said, "and we're swinging the bats well. When we've got it going, we're pretty tough to beat."
Something else.
Jose Lima, sporting a new slider, pitched 51/3 strong innings and looked a lot more like the guy who won 20 games for Houston in 1999 than the retread arm who was laboring in an independent league a few weeks ago.
Lima, 1-0, learned to throw the slider only last Tuesday while working on the side with pitching coach John Cumberland.
"That's something they didn't know about," Lima said. "They were looking for my change-up, but I threw only about six change-ups all night. I picked up that slider real quick, and I'm not afraid to throw it at any time."
The Royals did their offensive damage without All-Star first baseman Mike Sweeney, who missed his second game because of tightness in his upper back.
And Carlos Beltran, who had 29 hits in his last 63 at-bats, went hitless in three at-bats -- although he reached base twice, once on a walk and once as a hit batsman.
But it didn't matter, because Relaford, Ken Harvey and Raul Ibanez each contributed three hits. Michael Tucker and Brent Mayne had two hits apiece, and Angel Berroa contributed a two-run homer.
"We know what kind of firepower they have over there," Harvey said. "We knew we had to continue to put pressure on them. Today, collectively, we did the job."
The Royals won for the ninth time in 13 games and pulled within one game of first-place Minnesota in the American League Central. The Twins lost 3-2 at Milwaukee.
The Royals even overcame two errors by third baseman Joe Randa, who entered the game with a streak of 75 games without a miscue.
Randa's first error came in the first inning when he bobbled Eduardo Perez's leadoff grounder. Randa's throw to first was late, which resulted in his first error since Sept. 7, 2002.
Randa's second error occurred in the fourth inning on a throw that pulled Harvey away from first on a grounder by Mike Matheny. It was Randa's first two-error game since April 23, 2002, against the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.
Lima pitched around both. In fact, Lima was superb for five innings before weakening in the sixth. He allowed just four hits and two runs in 51/3 innings.
"He showed up and did a good job," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He made a lot of good pitches in key situations. And Tony (Pena) got him out at just the right time."
Jason Grimsley, Sean Lowe and D.J. Carrasco followed Lima in protecting the victory, which left the Royals and Cardinals in an 11-11 tie in their annual interleague battles.
The Royals took a 5-0 lead with a four-run fifth that finished Morris, 7-5. Ibanez delivered the key blow with a three-run double.
After the Cardinals chased Lima with a three-run sixth, the Royals answered with four runs in the seventh on two-run homers by Harvey and Berroa.
The Cardinals scored once in the seventh against Lowe, but the Royals answered in the eighth on Harvey's RBI single. It was Harvey's fourth RBI of the night and 10th in the last four games.
"I feel good at the plate," he said.
He had plenty of company.