Jeremy Guthrie Strikes out Nine in Royals Win

The Kansas City Royals extended their winning streak to 5 games by scoring 5 runs in the 1st inning, and Jeremy Guthrie struck out 9 to defeat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday night.

The Royals opened the game with 4 consecutive singles, followed by Alex Gordon‘s double. After Salvador Perez struck out, Lorenzo Cain followed with a 2-run double.

The 5 run lead was enough for Jeremy Guthrie to cruise to his 3rd win of the season (3-6).

The Royals have surged to 34-32 on the season, and now trail Detroit by only 1.5 games in the American League Central.

On the Mound

Staked to a 5-run lead, Jeremy Guthrie lasted 5.2 innings, allowing 6 hits, 4 walks, and 2 earned runs with a season-high 9 strikeouts. Guthrie had his hard stuff on Friday night, touching 96 mph and using the high fastball to good effect.

Aaron Crow came on in the 6th inning to get a gassed Guthrie out of a 2-on, 2 out jam. He retired Gordon Beckham on a pop-up to end the threat.

Francisely Bueno pitched a clean inning in the 7th with one strikeout.

Kelvin Herrera followed with another clean inning in the 8th with one strikeout.

Tim Collins finished off the 9th without allowing a run despite opening the inning by giving up an infield single followed by a walk.

At the Plate

The Royals continued to score runs since Dale Sveum took over as batting coach on May 29. In the 14 games since, the Royals have scored 67 runs, for a healthy 4.78 runs per game—compared to their 3.78 runs per game in their first 52 games.

Omar infante led the way with a 3-5 night with 2 runs scored.

Nori Aoki went 2-4, with a single, double, walk and 2 runs scored.

Billy Butler added another 2-4 game with 2 singles, 1 run scored, and 2 RBI’s. Butler is slowly finding his stroke after a horrific opening two months. Hopefully, he’ll start driving the ball soon.

Eric Hosmer also got on base 3 times with a 1-2 day, with 1 single, 2 walks, 1 run scored, and 2 RBI’s.

This and That

Jeremy Guthrie’s victory broke an 11-start streak without a win. Guthrie recovered from a rough 1st two innings in which he gave up 2 runs and had to throw 51 pitches.

Alex Gordon made yet another outstanding diving catch on Conor Gillaspie‘s liner toward left in the 4th inning to strand two Sox baserunners in the 4th.

Alcides Escobar made a diving catch of Alexei Ramirez‘s low liner to end the bottom of the 5th that left Ramirez staring at his Kansas City counterpart.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Picking a player of the game is tough because no one player truly stood out over the rest of the team. The first 3 hitters in the lineup (Aoki, Infante, and Hosmer) each reached base 3 times to set the table for Billy Butler and Lorenzo Cain (2 RBI’s each). I’m going to go with Guthrie for breaking his 11-game winless streak and managing to grind through 5.2 innings despite spotty command (4 walks).

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• Billy Butler – 2
• Lorenzo Cain – 3
• Johnny Giavotella
• Wade Davis
• Norichika Aoki
• Salvador Perez – 3
• Jeremy Guthrie  – 5
• Jason Vargas – 5
• Alex Gordon – 8
• Bruce Chen
• James Shields – 6
• Yordano Ventura – 3
• Mike Moustakas
• Danny Duffy – 4
• Omar Infante – 2
• Mike Moustakas – 3
• Alcides Escobar – 4
• Eric Hosmer – 7
• Michael Mariot
• Casey Coleman

 The White Sox

Adam Eaton had the best game for Chicago, going a perfect 2-2, with 3 walks, 1 run scored and 1 RBI on the day. Eaton’s RBI came in the bottom of the 2nd on a bases-loaded walk with one out.

White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers, on the other hand, was perfectly terrible. He went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts.

Up Next

The White Sox and Royals continue their 3-game series with Chicago Saturday afternoon. The Royals will send Danny Duffy (3-5, 3.26 ERA) to the mound against Hector Noesi (2-4, 5.40 ERA) for the White Sox. Game time is 1:10 CST at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.

Box

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.

2B: A Gordon (19, off J Quintana); L Cain (9, off J Quintana); N Aoki (10, off J Quintana); A Escobar (18, off S Carroll).
SF: E Hosmer (5, off J Quintana).
TB: O Infante 3; N Aoki 3; A Gordon 2; A Escobar 2; B Butler 2; L Cain 2; S Perez; E Hosmer.
RBI: L Cain 2 (26); B Butler 2 (26); E Hosmer 2 (31); A Gordon (36).
Team LOB: 9.
With RISP: 5 for 13.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.

SF: J Abreu (3, off J Guthrie).
HBP: G Beckham (3, by J Guthrie).
TB: A Eaton 2; D Viciedo; A Ramirez; L Garcia; A De Aza; J Abreu.
RBI: J Abreu (51); A Eaton (19).
Team LOB: 11.
With RISP: 0 for 9.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.

Balks: None.
WP: None.
HBP: J Guthrie (8; G Beckham).
IBB: None.
Pickoffs: None.