Royals crush Rays in game played on the surface of the sun

I will complete this recap without mentioning the Royals former right field prospect by name. Not going to be too difficult as he was never really a factor in a 11-1 laugher on Monday afternoon.

Some notes:

-- Jeremy Guthrie continues to defy the Lords of Regression. He again allowed plenty of base runners - nine in five innings - yet somehow Houdini'd himself into allowing only a single run. The Rays wore him down, forcing him to throw 108 pitches in five innings, but he kept the ball in the park which isn't an easy thing to do on a day like Monday and the Rays were never able to get to him for a big inning.

Five innings from the starter, followed by four from the bullpen and the Royals win.

-- I watched Jeremy Hellickson's previous start last week in Baltimore. It was a frustrating experience. The guy nibbled, walked hitters, left pitches over the plate and slowed the game to a crawl. He was all over the place. Looks like the same guy was on the mound today for the Rays. Not that I'm complaining. The Rays announcers were all over Hellickson. It's a frustration they know too well in Tampa.

-- Billy Butler had himself a day. Three hits in three official at bats with a pair of walks - both intentional. Three runs, a home run and three RBI. He saw a total of 19 pitches in his three at bats. And on my drive home, callers to the post game show were lined up to crap all over him. Sounds about right.

-- Alcides Escobar gets the Jeff Zimmerman Hacker of the Game award. Dude saw seven pitches in four at bats. Seven pitches. No confirmation on what flavor of popsicle he was eating while sitting in the dugout.

-- Every starter for the Royals not named Escobar touched home at least once.

-- Joe Maddon got ejected. I wish Joe Maddon was the manager of the Royals.

-- The Royals run totals against the Rays:
8, 9, 10, 7, 3, 5, 11