Royals win 7-4, complete sweep of Giants

The Kansas City Royals won their seventh straight game Sunday, defeating the San Francisco Giants 7-4 in front of a lively crowd at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals jumped over Tim Lincecum to start the game, scoring four runs against the former Cy Young award winner in the first frame. Norichika Aoki led off with a single, then Salvador Perez worked a walk to put two runners on. Billy Butler followed with a double down the right field line, plating Aoki.

Lincecum buried a pitch in the dirt while facing Alex Gordon, which bounced away from Andrew Susac and allowed Perez to score from third. The wild pitch mattered little; Gordon crushed a hanging breaking ball later in the at-bat for a two-run homer:

Danny Duffy gave one of the runs back in the top of the second. Pablo Sandoval led off with a single, then advanced two bases thanks to a hit batter and a deep flyball. Susac lined a two-out single to score Sandoval, but Duffy ended the threat with a Gregor Blanco flyout.

The Royals offense had at least one batter reach base against Lincecum in every inning he pitched, and scored three more runs off the righty in the fourth. Alcides Escobar led off the inning with a single, then advanced to second on a Jarrod Dyson bunt. Escobar swiped third, one of seven(!) Royals steals in the game, then Aoki brought him home with a single.

Salvador Perez decided he had seen enough small-ball when he stepped up to the plate later in the fourth, and blasted a two-run jack of his own. He demolished a Juan Gutierrez fastball that stayed up and in, giving the Royals their sixth and seventh runs of the game.

Lincecum only tossed 3 1/3 innings for San Francisco, allowing six runs on seven hits. He issued three walks and only managed to strikeout two hitters. It may be time for the Giants to give Lincecum the Wade Davis treatment.

Duffy settled down after the second inning, but ran into trouble again in the seventh. Walks to Adam Duvall and Joe Panik put two runners on for Susac, who smacked the first double of his MLB career, driving in both runners. Duffy ended up facing one more batter before Ned Yost removed him for Jason Frasor. Frasor surrendered back-to-back singles before recording the final out of the inning, which brought Susac across the plate for Duffy's fourth run of the game.

Duffy only allowed three hits all game, but did issue three walks and hit one batter. He struck out four over 6 2/3 innings, tossing 102 pitches.

Davis and Holland each had a little excitement over the final two innings of the game, but both tossed a scoreless frame to close out the win.

Dyson led the team with three hits, while Gordon and Aoki each had a pair. Dyson and Aoki each stole three bases on the day, including a successful double steal.

The Royals will attempt to let the good times roll when they welcome the Oakland Athletics tomorrow night to Kauffman Stadium. Yordano Ventura will start for the good guys, facing Sonny Gray. 109-53, here we come.