Royals Recap: Kottaras, Dyson Go Back-To-Back in 7-6 Win

Power from unexpected places and and a lot of help from their opponent, helped propel the Kansas City Royals (35-38) to a 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox (31-42) Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.

June 23, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Jarrod Dyson (1) celebrates after scoring with teammate Alcides Escobar (2) against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

On the Mound

James Shields started and it was obvious right away, he wasn’t sharp. Two walks and 2 singles led to 2 runs for the Sox in the first. Shields went on to labor through 5 innings, giving up a total of 4 runs, 7 hits and 3 walks, while only striking out 4. The good news is that he kept his team in the ball game on a day he did not have his plus stuff. Tim Collins and Kelvin Herrera each surrendered a run in 7th before Luke Hochevar put a halt to any more Chicago scoring with a scoreless 8th. Luke was the beneficiary of the the Royals’ 8th and got his first win of the season. Greg Holland closed out the game for his 16th save.

At the Plate

Who knew that George Kottaras and Jarrod Dyson would be the source of power for the Royals this game. The two back-ups each hit their second homers of the season with back-to-back jacks in the fifth inning. Alex Gordon also had a good day with 2 hits and 2 RBI. Mike Moustakas added 2 hits and David Lough 3 in the win. Eric Hosmer, batting third, went 0-5.

The win was great but the White Sox had a big hand in the Royals’ victory. The Sox committed 2 key errors that directly led to Kansas City’s 3 runs in the 8th. At this point, no one should care how the wins occur; just be happy when they do.

The Royals did amass 12 hits on the day.

This and That

It was the first time the Royals have had back-to-back home runs in a game this season. Of course, with as few home runs as the Royals hit, the odds are against it happening very often.

Going into this game, Eric Hosmer had been hitting .364 this season when batting third. After his 0-5, that average dropped to .296. For his career, when batting third, Hosmer is hitting .247.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Jarrod “That what speed do” Dyson was 2-3 with a walk, homer, 2 runs, and a RBI. Dyson is back and the POG!

• James Shields – 7
• Alex Gordon – 9
  
• Wade Davis – 4
• Lorenzo Cain – 5
• Luis Mendoza – 3
• Billy Butler – 6
• Ervin Santana – 6
• Miguel Tejada – 3
  
• Jeremy Guthrie -3
• Eric Hosmer – 5
  
• Chris Getz
• Mike Moustakas – 3
  
• Aaron Crow
• Jarrod Dyson – 2
  
• David Lough – 4
• Alcides Escobar – 3
• J.C. Gutierrez
• Jeff Francoeur
• Bruce Chen
• Salvador Perez – 3

The White Sox

The 3 runs the Royals scored against Jesse Crain were unearned. Crain had not allowed a run in 29 innings before Sunday. Crain did, however, not help himself. He did allow 2 hits and a walk, and one of the errors was his. Adam Dunn went 2-4 on the day, hitting his 20th home run. He drove in 4, giving him 48 on the year. He has put up those numbers despite hitting just .193 on the season.

Up Next

All of the AL Central except Cleveland is off today, including the Royals. On Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves will visit Kauffman Stadium for the first time ever. Ervin Santana (5-5, 2.64 ERA) will go for the Royals and Kris Medlen (4-7, 2.96 ERA) will get the call for the Braves.

AL Central Notes

Detroit Tigers (42-32): Austin Jackson, Miguel Cabrera, and Prince Fielder all tallied 2 hits in Detroit’s 7-5 win over the Red Sox. Justin Verlander continued his little slump, going just 5 innings, allowing 4 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, iwth just 4 strikeouts – almost human. In fact, it was an identical line to that of James Shields on Sunday.

Cleveland Indians (38-36): Cleveland fell 5-3 to the Twins Sunday, despite 3 hits from the hot Michael Bourn and Jason Kipnis, plus a home run by Drew Stubbs. Unfortunately for the Indians, other than those 7 hits, the rest of the team only managed one other.

Minnesota Twins (34-38): The Twins wracked up 12 hits Sunday in their victory in Cleveland, including 2 each by Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit, Josh Willingham, Oswaldo Arcia, and Chris Parmelee. Glen Perkins earned his 19th save of the season.