Will Smith pitched two-hit ball over seven innings in the longest of his five major league starts, Lorenzo Cain hit a two-run homer in the first, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Smith (2-3) allowed a run, struck out four and walked four against the club that drafted him in 2007 and traded him to Kansas City in 2010. The only hits against the 23-year-old left-hander came in the first inning — a line-drive single through the box by Torii Hunter and an RBI single by Mark Trumbo that followed a walk to Albert Pujols.

Jonathan Broxton allowed two singles during a scoreless ninth for his 23rd save in 27 chances.

Garrett Richards (3-2) gave up four runs, five hits and three walks in five innings. The 24-year-old right-hander is trying to secure the fifth spot in the Angels’ rotation.

— Associated Press —

Kendrys Morales has started 63 games for the Los Angeles Angels as their designated hitter and another six at first base. This time, manager Mike Scioscia needed him off the bench and he delivered.

Pinch-hitting with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Morales came through with a rare three-run single to help the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Monday night.

”I’m usually ready to go in by the seventh inning,” Morales said through a translator. ”The pitch was up, and I took advantage of it.”

Alberto Callaspo, who spent two-plus seasons with the Royals, started the tiebreaking rally with a two-out single against reliever Greg Holland (4-3). Maicer Izturis bounced a double over the head of first baseman Eric Hosmer and down the line.

Third base coach Dino Ebel, respecting the strong arm of right fielder Jeff Francoeur, held Callaspo at third. Peter Bourjos, batting .223, drew a walk and zipped around the bases when Morales drove a 1-1 pitch to right-center while batting for Bobby Wilson.

”Kansas City has some power arms out of the ‘pen, and we were fortunate to get some things going – especially with two outs,” Scioscia said. ”I think there’s still some upside to Kendrys. I think he’s getting comfortable. He’s been through a stretch this month where he’s just lost his comfort zone in the box and was chasing a lot of pitches. Hopefully this can start to get him back to where he is. We need him swinging the bat.”

Royals manager Ned Yost was more upset about the walk to Bourjos than the hit by Morales.

”Greg got two outs, then came the hit by Callaspo and the bouncer over Eric,” Yost said. ”Then he walked Bourjos on four pitches, and that was the game. Greg got a fastball up to Morales and he hit a laser beam, but the walk to Bourjos is what killed him, because we knew they would send up Morales to hit. We’re giving up walks in crucial situations, and we’ve got to find ways to eliminate that.”

Kevin Jepsen (1-1) pitched 1 1-3 innings of two-hit relief after taking over for starter C.J. Wilson. Scott Downs worked a perfect ninth for his ninth save in 11 chances.

Angels rookie Mike Trout extended his franchise-record streak to 15 consecutive games with a run scored, three shy of the AL mark set by Red Rolfe of the Yankees in 1939 and equaled by Kenny Lofton of the Indians in 2000. The 20-year-old phenom is the first player to score a run in 15 straight games since Matt Holliday did it with Colorado in 2008.

Royals lefty Bruce Chen gave up three runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. Izturis chased the 14-year veteran in the sixth when he punched an opposite-field RBI single to right field to give the Angels a 3-2 lead after Howie Kendrick drew a leadoff walk, advanced on a groundout and stole third.

Royals No. 9 hitter Brayan Pena got Chen off the hook in the seventh with an RBI single.

Wilson allowed three runs and nine hits over 6 2-3 innings and struck out six. The left-hander was one of four players who represented the Angels at the All-Star game a couple of weeks ago in Kansas City, but wasn’t able to pitch because of a blister on his middle finger.

”They had a couple hits that fell in, and it took a lot of pitches to get through the early part of the game. But after that, he settled down,” Scioscia said. ”He really had much better command as the game went on.”

Wilson finished July 0-2 with a 4.55 ERA in five starts – the first time he has gone winless in a calendar month since becoming a full-time starter in 2010 with Texas.

”You go through streaks where you get lucky and streaks where you get unlucky. You just have to look at the performance you do for yourself,” Wilson said. ”Tonight, I gave up three runs. I’m upset about that.”

The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the third with Alex Gordon’s RBI single and a long sacrifice fly from Lorenzo Cain, robbed of a home run by Bourjos on a towering drive to left-center.

”It wasn’t a great play, but it was a good play,” Yost said. ”Their outfielders are so fast, so they can play deep.”

The Angels tied it in the bottom half. Albert Pujols delivered the first run with a groundout after a leadoff single by Trout and a double by Torii Hunter. One out later, Kendrick doubled home Hunter.

Chen is 0-2 with a 9.25 ERA in his last five starts, after going 7-2 over his previous 10 outings. He pitched six scoreless innings against the Angels on opening day and ended up with a no-decision.

— Associated Press —

Ryan Doumit put his name in the Twins’ record book Sunday, accomplishing something no Minnesota player had done in 20 years.

Doumit homered from both sides of the plate and drove in four runs to lead the Twins to a 7-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Doumit became the third Twins player to go deep from both sides in a game. The others were Chili Davis (1992) and Roy Smalley (1986).

”That’s great company,” Doumit said.

And the home runs were no-doubters.

”I had a pretty good idea” that both were out, Doumit said.

Doumit homered to lead off the second inning swinging left-handed. He opened the sixth with his ninth home run, batting right-handed against reliever Tim Collins. It was Doumit’s sixth career multihomer game, the second this season.

Hitting .354 in his past 26 games, Doumit also had a two-run single with two outs in a four-run third to match his career high for RBIs.

”Home runs are always great, but with the bases loaded, him driving it the other way was huge,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ”I thought that was an impressive at-bat. It was a fastball away and he stayed on it and didn’t try to do too much with it and shot it the other way. That was a big hit for us. It was a big day for him and for us.”

The Twins signed Doumit to a $3 million, one-year contract as a free agent in the offseason.

”We’re really happy we got a chance to get this guy,” Gardenhire said. ”It’s paying dividends for us. He’s a force in the middle of our lineup. He can do a lot of things – outfield, catch, DH, first base a little. And he can swing the bat.

”I knew we had to get him in there today some way or another. We were looking at lot of different routes. I wanted to keep Doumit’s bat in there and it worked out pretty good.”

Samuel Deduno (1-0), who made six relief appearances the past two years with San Diego and Colorado, picked up his first big league victory. He limited the Royals to one run and six singles over 6 1-3 innings.

Lorenzo Cain’s sacrifice fly in the fourth scored Mike Moustakas with the only run off Deduno, who was making his third major league start.

”His ball-to-strike ratio was a lot better,” Gardenhire said. ”He threw the ball over a lot more. He was very effective and got us deep into the game.”

Doumit’s big day spoiled the Royals debut of right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, acquired Friday in a trade with the Rockies for Jonathan Sanchez. Guthrie (3-10) yielded four runs on five hits and three walks in five innings.

”I thought he threw the ball OK,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He had a rough third inning, but I didn’t think he made a horrible pitch. He kept the ball down in the zone and I don’t think he elevated all day. He made good pitches and I thought they hit good pitches. I was impressed.”

Guthrie, who led the National League in home runs allowed with 21, hung a breaking ball on a 1-1 count to Doumit, who hit it out to right.

The Twins bunched three hits and two walks off Guthrie in a four-run third. Jamey Carroll led off the inning with a single and, with one out, Ben Revere and Joe Mauer walked.

It appeared Guthrie might escape unscathed after Josh Willingham’s infield popup for the second out, but Doumit delivered a two-run single. Brian Dozier doubled off the left-field wall to drive in two more runs.

Kansas City’s rotation had a 7.38 ERA during a 3-7 homestand. The Royals have lost 15 of 20 and are only a half-game in front of the Twins for last place in the AL Central.

Billy Butler homered, his 19th, with Moustakas aboard in the eighth against Twins reliever Anthony Swarzak. Pinch-hitter Yuniesky Betancourt also connected in the Royals’ two-run ninth.

”As always with Kansas City, it comes down to one or two runs,” Gardenhire said. ”You never feel like they’re out of the game. We’ve had so many of these games. It got close at the end.”

— Associated Press —

Lorenzo Cain is showing the Kansas City Royals what they missed the first half of the season.

Cain drove in three runs, Alex Gordon had three hits and scored twice, and the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 on Saturday night.

Cain delivered run-producing singles in the first and fifth innings and he had an RBI double in the seventh. Cain’s three RBIs matched a career high, accomplished twice in 2010 when he was with Milwaukee.

Cain played in only five games in April because of a torn hip flexor and groin strain.

”That’s one of the main reasons we made the Melky Cabrera trade (to San Francisco) because we felt like Cain was ready to contribute,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He is showing now exactly what we were thinking he would be capable of doing if he was healthy all year long. It’s a nice shot in the arm to have him in the lineup.

”He pacing himself when he needs to and is turning it on when he needs to, but he’s really swinging the bat pretty darn good,” Yost added. ”Honestly, he’s about 85 percent.”

Cain, who batted cleanup, is 13 for 31 since being returning July 13.

Gordon had his 34th multihit game and is hitting .352 since moving back to the Royals leadoff spot on May 27.

Luis Mendoza (4-6) made his sixth quality start in seven appearances to collect the victory, but only his second since May 13. He yielded three runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings.

”He pitched into the seventh inning, did a great job again, executed his pitches,” Yost said. ”He battled a little bit up in the zone, but was always able to make the adjustment.”

The Royals scored only one run in three of Mendoza’s previous four starts, but this time they backed him with seven.

”I started up in the zone a little bit,” Mendoza said. ”I just tried to get some groundballs, get below. My job is to get groundballs. I just want to pitch my game, stay aggressive and try to win games.”

Twins rookie left-hander Scott Diamond (8-4) lost for the first time since June 19, spanning five starts. Diamond allowed four runs and 10 hits in six innings.

”They made contact and did a good job of putting the ball in play and found holes,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ”I didn’t think he pitched bad at all. They hit a lot of choppers and were making contact.”

The Royals led off the first five innings with singles. They also hit into five double plays, four in the first five innings.

Gordon started the first inning with a single and scored on Cain’s two-out single.

Mike Moustakas opened the second with a single to center, went to second on Eric Hosmer’s single and scored on Yuniesky Betancourt’s two-out single.

Jeff Francoeur and Betancourt doubled for the first Kansas City run in the eighth. Gordon singled home Betancourt for other run in the inning.

Aaron Crow worked two spotless innings to log his second save.

The Twins made it 2-all in the fourth. Ben Revere started with a triple to the right-field corner and scored on Joe Mauer’s groundout. Josh Willingham, who singled, scored the other run of the inning on Chris Parmelee’s fielder’s choice.

The Royals took a 4-2 lead in the fifth when they were aided by an error by Parmelee at first base. Cain singled Gordon home with the first run of the inning. When Parmelee failed to handle Moustakas’ hard bouncer, Alcides Escobar scored.

The Twins got a run back in the seventh when Jamey Carroll’s double scored Parmelee.

— Associated Press —

Nick Blackburn didn’t get the win Friday night. Still, the Minnesota Twins right-hander needed a solid start like this.

Joe Mauer went 3-for-4 and scored the winning run in the 11th inning to lead the Twins to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Mauer, a career .359 hitter at Kauffman Stadium, led off the 11th with a double off Jonathan Broxton (1-2) and he scored on Josh Willingham’s groundball single to right.

Casey Fien (1-0) worked two perfect innings to pick up his first major-league victory. Glen Perkins worked around Alcides Escobar’s leadoff double in the bottom of the inning to pick up his fifth save in eight opportunities.

Blackburn, who was just recalled from Triple-A Rochester, held the Royals to one run and seven hits over 6 2-3 innings, while walking none and striking out two.

”I just finally put it all together,” Blackburn said. ”I was missing a lot of spots, but with movement as opposed to just floating it in there. One mistake hurt me tonight. Other than that I was pretty pleased with it.”

Blackburn was demoted to the minors July 4 after going 4-5 with an 8.10 ERA in 13 starts and allowing 90 hits in 63 1-3 innings. After going 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two International League starts, he was recalled and replaced Brian Duensing, who was sent back to the bullpen after going 0-4 with a 10.13 ERA in four starts.

”That was a great performance,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ”It was desperately needed by him, for him. He made it look effortless.

”It’s something he’s been working on. He said he was going to stay light on his front side and let the ball come out of his hand. He did it with all of his pitches – good changeup, good sinker and a good slider.”

Blackburn did not reach a three-ball count on any of the 27 batters he faced.

”For the most part, I kept the ball on the ground and there wasn’t a whole lot of great contact,” Blackburn said. ”I felt the movement was keeping guys off balance. It’s definitely confidence boosting.”

Greg Holland, the third Kansas City pitcher, worked out of a 10th-inning jam, which Nick Mastroianni led off with a triple to right.

Holland stranded him by retiring Alexi Casilla on a grounder with the infield in, then struck out Ben Revere and Jamey Carroll. Holland struck out four in two innings.

Gardenhire said he was ”disappointed” the Twins failed to get a run in the 10th, but run producers Mauer and Willingham came through in the 11th.

”It came down to the bullpens and a couple of big hits,” Gardenhire said. ”It starts off with Joe and Willie knocks him in. It’s a couple of huge hits.”

Luke Hochevar, the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, retired the last 10 batters he faced, and allowed five hits, all with two outs, in seven innings. He struck out six and walked none, throwing 67

strikes in 109 pitches.

”I’m just really encouraged with how he threw the ball,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He was mixing his curve and got a couple of outs with his slider, and he located his fastball well.”

Hochevar is 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA in his past seven starts.

Mastroianni homered in the second inning on a 3-1 pitch, the only run Hochevar allowed.

Yuniesky Betancourt’s two-out double to left in the seventh scored Eric Hosmer, who led off the inning with a single, for the only run off Blackburn.

Twins reliever Jared Burton, who worked a scoreless eighth, has not allowed a run in his past 14 appearances, covering 14 2-3 innings.

— Associated Press —

Felix Hernandez worked quickly in the rising heat.

He won his fourth straight decision, Jesus Montero homered and drove in four runs to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 Thursday.

The temperature was 98 at the first pitch and 105 by the time the game ended.

”I was not thinking about the heat,” Hernandez said. ”I know it was hot. I just tried to throw strikes and get quick outs.

”I was not trying to pitch to contact, but just throw strikes,” Hernandez said. ”It’s hot like 103, but I don’t feel it that much. I’m trying to get quick outs and get out of the inning.”

Hernandez (8-5) is 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his past seven starts since a loss to San Diego on June 12. While he leads the majors with 143 strikeouts, Hernandez struck out only three, tying his season low. He allowed one run and eight hits, throwing only 89 pitches in eight innings.

Hernandez worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth, striking out Alcides Escobar and retiring Billy Butler on a grounder.

”He got a lot of quick outs. He was strong again today, a lot of life at end of his pitches and he was down,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. ”He really only had to work that last inning. That was big too. That game gets real close, real quick if one of those guys comes through. He really stepped up right there those last two hitters.”

Hernandez permitted four singles in the first two innings, but got double-play grounders in both to keep his pitch count down.

The Mariners jumped on Royals rookie left-hander Will Smith (1-3) for three runs in the second with Montero leading off the inning with his ninth home run. Michael Saunders had an RBI single and Brendan Ryan added a sacrifice fly.

”It was a bad pitch 1-2,” Smith said. ”That’s supposed to be a pitcher’s count.”

The Mariners increased the lead to 4-0 in the fifth when Ichiro Suzuki doubled and scored on Montero’s single.

Montero had an RBI double off the left-field railing in the seventh inning and added a sacrifice fly in the ninth to match his career high with four RBIs.

Hernandez’s streak of 19 2-3 scoreless innings ended in the fifth, which Eric Hosmer began with a double and scored on Chris Getz’s single.

Smith, just recalled from Triple-A Omaha, gave up four runs on eight hits in 6 1-3 innings, while walking two and striking out five.

The Mariners won three of four against the Royals, who have lost 13 of 17 games.

”I thought it was a great series overall,” Wedge said. ”I loved the way we played, a total team effort. You talk about a vision the way you want your team to play and how you want to go out there and play major league baseball and this is about it. This is what we’re looking for.”

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Royals have a signed veteran catcher Jason Kendall to a 2012 minor league contract.  Kendall will report to Double-A Northwest Arkansas Thursday and is scheduled to start at catcher at Springfield Friday night.

The 38-year-old Kendall is a three-time National League All-Star (1996, 1998, 2000) and a career .288 hitter in 2,085 games for Pittsburgh (1996-2004), Oakland (2005-07), Chicago Cubs (2007), Milwaukee (2008-09) and Kansas City (2010).  Kendall, who is fifth all-time in baseball history with 2,025 games caught, missed the final month of 2010 and all of 2011 with shoulder surgery.

— Royals Media Relations —

Billy Butler took the first pitch from Josh Kinney leading off the ninth inning to get a good look at it.

Two pitches later Butler homered and the Kansas City Royals outlasted the Seattle Mariners 8-7 on Wednesday night.

Butler hit the 1-1 pitch from Kinney (0-1) out to left center for his 18th homer. Butler went 3-for-3 and walked twice.

”Billy is a special hitter,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”He went up in that inning and said, ‘I’m going to take the first pitch and I know it’s going to be a slider and take a good look at it and gauge it.’ He sat on one and then drove it into the stands.

”Billy is not afraid to take a pitch or two to see what it is doing. He’s a special guy, knows velocities, knows exactly what ball is doing, if it cutting or sinking. He studies that stuff real religiously.”

Butler, the Royals’ lone representative in the All-Star game, raised his average to .300, while he tops the club in home runs and with 56 RBIs.

”I just got a good pitch to hit and didn’t miss it there at the end,” Butler said. ”It was big to pick up the pitching staff. It’s obviously been a tough series for them, but they’ve picked us up throughout the season.”

Butler was not sure if the ball was going to clear the fence.

”Never at night here,” Butler said. ”As the night goes on it gets tougher and tougher to hit one out of here. The air gets thicker. Earlier in the game I felt it would have gone a lot further. I knew I had at least a double, got on second base and had a pinch-runner.”

Kinney threw Butler a fastball, but in the wrong spot.

”It was the right pitch,” Kinney said. ”I wanted to keep the ball away from that guy and make him hit it to right field, but the ball just ran right back over the middle of the plate. He’s supposed to hit it. I just missed my spot. You just say, ‘Hey, good AB.’ He got me this time. I’ll get him tomorrow.”

Greg Holland (4-2) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.

Lorenzo Cain, who had a pinch-hit homer Tuesday, homered in the fifth inning with Butler aboard. Cain, who also singled and scored in the Royals’ three-run second inning, is 10-for-20 in his six-game hitting streak.

Royals starter Bruce Chen, who had an 11.85 ERA while giving up 24 hits and 18 runs in 13 2-3 innings in his past three starts, gave up four runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings, walking none and striking out six.

Chen gave up a solo home run to Kyle Seager in the second and a two-run shot to Casper Wells in the fourth. He has allowed nine home runs in 19 innings over his past four starts.

The Royals led 7-4 after five innings. Alex Gordon had a two-run double in the fourth, while Cain homered in the fifth.

The Kansas City bullpen, however, failed to hold the lead after Chen left. The Mariners scored three runs in the seventh off Jose Mijares and Aaron Crow. Jesus Montero hit a two-run single and scored on Seager’s two-out double.

”That would have been a tough one to drop,” Butler said. ”There’s no doubt, putting up seven runs and getting a nice lead and having the lead late in the game and them coming and fighting back. They brought their sticks this series.”

Mariners starter Kevin Millwood, who has not won since May 23, allowed seven runs and 10 hits in five innings.

Mike Moustakas doubled home Butler in the Royals’ three-run second. Brayan Pena’s groundout and Chris Getz’s bunt single drove in the other runs in the inning.

— Associated Press —

The Seattle Mariners’ quick-strike offense has scored 13 runs in the first two innings in winning their first two games at Kansas City.

Justin Smoak and Michael Saunders each hit two-run homers and the Mariners beat the Royals 9-6 Tuesday night.

Every Mariners starter had at least one hit. Jesus Montero went 3 for 4 and drove in two runs.

Smoak homered with Montero aboard in the three-run first inning. It was the second straight game Smoak homered in the first. Montero’s double scored Casper Wells with the first run.

“Those guys are swinging the bats well, too, so we’re going to have score some runs,” Smoak said. “It was good to get on the board early.”

The Mariners, who scored seven runs in the first two innings Monday, added three more runs in the second inning.

“It’s good any time the offense goes out there and puts up early runs like that,” said winning pitcher Blake Beaven. “It gives you more confidence to go out there and get them back in the dugout and let them keep swinging it.”

Saunders homered in the fifth inning off Vin Mazzaro after Miguel Olivo singled to give the Mariners a 9-3 cushion.

“When you set the tone early like that and give yourself some breathing room, it allows our young players to go out there and relax and play and work to their true abilities a little bit easier,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “We’ve had some guys that have been struggling and working to find it. It’s been nice to see them put some consistent days together. It’s nice to see us swing the bats like that.”

The Mariners’ three-run second chased left-hander Ryan Verdugo, who was making his big league debut. Kyle Seager doubled home two runs, while Montero singled in the other run.

Beaven (4-6), who was just recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, worked six-plus innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He logged his first victory

since May 30 after going 0-2 with a 15.43 ERA in two June starts, which merited a demotion to the Pacific Coast League.

Verdugo (0-1) yielded six runs on eight hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings.

“I got those first two outs and I was trying to take a deep breath,” Verdugo said. “The game is different up here. It’s much quicker.

“I left the ball up a little. I might have been a little too amped up. I was nervous on the drive up here, but it didn’t really affect me,” Verdugo added. “I just really didn’t execute pitches too well. I just left a few pitches up and they took advantage. I know I still have to go out and execute.”

Tim Wilhelmsen worked a spotless ninth for his eighth save in 10 opportunities. Wilhelmsen has not allowed a run in 23 innings over his past 19 games.

Lorenzo Cain hit a two-run pinch-hit homer in the seventh off Mariners reliever Shawn Kelley to cut the lead to 9-6.

Jarrod Dyson and Alex Gordon hit back-to-back triples in Kansas City’s three-run third.

The Royals have lost 12 of 15 to fall a season-low 13 games below .500. They are 15-27 at Kauffman Stadium, the worst home record in the majors.

— Associated Press —

Casper Wells walked back to the dugout after belting a three-run homer in the first inning and a two-run triple in the second, and was already hearing it from his Seattle teammates.

The toughest two legs of the cycle were in the books.

Piece of cake from here, right?

”It was like, geez, thanks guys,” said Wells, whose five RBIs in the first two innings of the Mariners’ 9-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night were a career high.

”Do you tell a pitcher when they’re throwing perfect game, ‘Hey, you’re throwing a perfect game?”’ Wells said with a smile. ”It’s like, ‘Hey, thanks.”’

Wells couldn’t manage a hit in his next three at-bats, though the Mariners hardly needed any more offense. They had already battered Royals starter Jonathan Sanchez for seven runs in 1 1-3 innings and were on their way to their best output since June 20.

Justin Smoak also had a two-run homer off Sanchez (1-6), Ichiro Suzuki added an RBI triple and Dustin Ackley homered to pace one of the worst offenses in the American League.

”I loved the way they turned around some fastballs,” Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. ”If you want to be a good big league hitter, you have to turn around some fastballs.”

Or whatever else Sanchez was throwing.

Jason Vargas (9-7) took advantage of Seattle’s instant offense, giving up homers to Salvador Perez and Billy Butler but still lasting six shaky innings to win his second straight game.

Vargas went the distance in beating Oakland just before the All-Star break.

”When your offense comes out like that,” he said, ”you shouldn’t blow the lead.”

Acquired this past offseason for outfielder Melky Cabrera, the MVP of the All-Star game at Kauffman Stadium just last week, Sanchez has been nothing short of abysmal all year.

He hasn’t gone past the sixth inning since May 28, 2011, and hasn’t allowed fewer than four runs since early June. His already-bloated ERA rose to 7.76, and he’s drawn the ire of Kansas City fans for his almost nonchalant attitude during and after his outings.

”When you work four days in a row to make a start and it doesn’t work, it’s kind of frustrating,” Sanchez said. ”What can I say? I’ve got to look forward and see what happens.”

Sanchez didn’t even give fans a chance to get comfy Monday night.

He walked Ackley on five pitches to start the game, and then watched Suzuki dump a single into left field before Wells belted a three-run homer to left. Jesus Montero added a single and Smoak hit his two-run shot, giving the Mariners a 5-0 lead after just five batters.

Sanchez retired the next batter to get through the inning, but gave up another base hit to Brendan Ryan leading off the second. Ackley added a single and Wells a two-run triple, giving Seattle a 7-0 lead and sending Sanchez on the slow trudge back to the dugout.

He still hasn’t won since his Royals debut on April 8.

”They jumped on a couple of high fastballs for home runs in the first,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”It’s one of those games where they were on him, put seven runs up early and there’s not much we could do.”

All that offense came from a Seattle lineup that came into the night second-to-last in the AL in homers, runs and team batting average (.229), and last in OBP and RBIs.

Perez homered to help Kansas City crack the scoreboard in the third inning, and Butler’s two-run shot with two outs gave the Royals’ sullen fanbase reason to hope – at least for the precious few minutes before Seattle came to the plate in the fourth inning.

Suzuki’s RBI triple put a crimp in their comeback hopes, and Ackley’s homer in the sixth may have dashed them entirely. The Mariners coasted from there to a series-opening victory.

”We can’t control the end result,” Wedge said. ”We just want to go out there, put together good at-bats, turn around some fastballs, and if we do that, the runs will come.”

— Associated Press —