Series With Baltimore Not "For The Birds"

After sweeping the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman back on 4/29-5/1,and taking Monday 5/2 off,the Royals were ready to host the Baltimore Orioles for a three game set,and were hoping for yet another sweep.And,even though a sweep would not be the final result,the Royals would still come away with the series win.So,on that note,the saying "for the birds",that is usually used to describe an unfortunate or uncomfortable situation,could not be used to describe this series from the Royals perspective,or to indicate which team took the series,that took place from Tuesday 5/3 to Thursday 5/5.

The Royals wasted no time in starting off the series on a positive note on Tuesday 5/3 as they put up 6 runs on 9 hits and 1 error,while Baltimore came up on the short end,with only 5 runs,on 10 hits,and 2 errors.Tim Collins (2-1,4.24) got the win for KC,while the Orioles' Jason Burken (0-2,5.54) took the loss.Jeff Francoeur, who has been solid in the lineup since he arrived in KC,led the offense hitting his 7th home run and having 2 runs on 2 hits,and 2 RBI's on the night.Chris Getz scored a run.Outfielder Melky Cabrera had 2 hits and an RBI.DH Billy Butler had 1 run on 1 hit.1B Wilson Betemit had 1 run on 2 hits,and 1 RBI.3B Mike Aviles had 1 hit and 1 RBI.And Catcher Brayan Pena had 1 run and 1 RBI.

On Wednesday,5/4,the Orioles did manage to take flight,as this night would have them sitting in the nest of victory,with 3 runs and also another 10 hits and 1 error,while the Royals got in just 2 runs on 5 hits.Baltimore scored solo runs in the 1st,2nd and 7th innings,and that would be enough,as the Royals score only 1 run in the 2nd and 1 in the 8th.The Orioles' Jake Arrieta

(4-1,4.35) got the win,while the Royal in the loss column was Kyle Davies (1-4,7.32).Jeff Francoeur once again showed his prowess in the batter's box,with his 8th home run,(and 2nd in as many games),while SS Alcides Escobar had 1 run on 1 hit and Melky Cabrera had an RBI in his 2nd straight game.

But,on Thursday,May 5th,the Royals came back into their more common 2011 form,scoring 9 runs on 12 hits,while holding the Orioles to just 1 run on 5 hits.Bruce Chen (4-1,3.59) continued to be impressive on the mound (although getting more than adequate run support that pitchers like Jeff Francis and Kyle Davies have yet to be the regular beneficiaries of always helps),and Chris Tillman (1-3,7.16) suffered the loss.This time,the offensive leader for the Royals,having put up numbers for all three games of the series,was Melky Cabrera,who blasted his 3rd 2011 home run and finished with 3 runs on 3 hits and 4 total RBI's.Chris Getz had 1 run on 2 hits,and 1 RBI.Alex Gordon contributed 1 run on 1 hit and 1 RBI.DH Billy Butler had 1 hit and 1 RBI.1B Wilson Betemit had 1 run on 1 hit and 1 RBI,and SS Escobar had 2 runs on 2 hits.

The next visitors the Royals would be hosting at Kauffman are the Oakland A'S,for a three-game weekend series,that would include Eric Hosmer in the Royal lineup.

As always,I'd like to invite you to visit my friend Troy Olsen-aka Royal Man's site at www.royalmanreport.com and check out the Facebook page of my new friends the Sportsaholix,and their website at sportsaholix.podbean.com both for some great sports podcasts!

John W. "Losh-Man" Losh II