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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- For the second night in a row, the same
pitcher threw to the same batter, and the same runner came in for
the same score in Kansas City.
"Strange. Very strange," Royals manager Tony Muser said.
Albie Lopez faced Mark Quinn in the bottom of the ninth inning
with Carlos Beltran on base Wednesday night . And for the second
straight night, Quinn put the ball in play and Beltran scored,
giving Kansas City a 7-6 victory over Tampa Bay.
"Talk about déjà vu all over again -- this was weird," said
Kansas City first baseman Mike Sweeney.
Almost equally weird are Jermaine Dye's hot streak and the
string of six straight home games the Royals have won in their last
at-bat.
On Tuesday night, Beltran scored on Lopez's throwing error after
Quinn hit a slow roller to the mound.
In Wednesday night's replay, Quinn singled off Lopez (1-2) after
Dye had hit grand slam and solo homers that boosted his major
league-leading total to 11.
Quinn had looked bad flailing helplessly at Lopez's first two pitches.
"I tend to get a little over-aggressive in RBI situations,"
said Quinn. "You get three strikes, thank God."
"An 0-2 pitch and you lose the game," said Tampa Bay manager
Larry Rothschild. "At this level, you've got to make better
pitches on 0-2."
Dye's two homers gave Kansas City a 5-1 lead. Going back to his
last two at-bats at Seattle on Sunday, he is 8-for-11 with four
homers, three doubles and a single.
Dye's 407-foot slam off Ryan Rupe in the first inning gave him the club record for April with 10 homers and was followed by a
435-foot solo shot off Rupe in the fifth.
Dye, who has homered in six of his last seven games, leads the
majors with 11 home runs, 76 total bases, 21 extra-base hits and an
.884 slugging percentage.
"I have been in this type of mode before, not in the big
leagues," said Dye. "I can't explain it. You're up there and you
don't feel anything. You're on every pitch."
Ricky Bottalico (3-1) pitched a hitless ninth and got the win.
The Devil Rays tied it at 6 with three runs in the eighth.
Kevin Stocker, whose two-run homer in the seventh chased starter
Chad Durbin and made it 6-3, hit an RBI single. With the bases
loaded and two outs, Gerald Williams' two-run single off Jose
Santiago made it 6-all.
Ryan Rupe gave up four in the first on just eight pitches. After Johnny Damon singled, Carlos Febles and Sweeney were hit by pitches
and Dye drove a 1-0 delivery over the fence in center for his
second career slam.
The Royals, who swept the Devil Rays in the two-game series,
have the worst road record in the AL (2-11) and the best home mark
(8-1).
The Devil Rays got a run in the second on Vinny Castilla's RBI
single. In the third, Dye walked and eventually made it 5-1 on Joe
Randa's RBI single.
Game notes
Right-hander Miguel Batista, acquired in a trade with Montreal, arrived in Kansas City on Wednesday. ... Dye's other slam came on Aug. 30, 1997 against St. Louis. ... He's the ninth Royal
to hit home runs in four consecutive games. ... The Devil Rays
released RHP Rick Gorecki, their 20th pick in the expansion draft
from Los Angeles. LHP Chris Michalak was also released. ... The
Royals are 8-1 at home and 0-9 on the road. ... Dean Palmer had
held the Royals' April homer record with 9 in 1998. ... Dave
Martinez was 0-for-4 and his hitting streak was stopped at eight
games.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
Kansas City Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Yankees 2
Minnesota 0
Boston 14
Texas 4
Cleveland 5
Seattle 3
Chi. White Sox 11
Baltimore 6
Kansas City 7
Tampa Bay 6
Anaheim 6
Detroit 1
Toronto 4
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Florida 7
Atlanta 5
Los Angeles 1
Chicago Cubs 13
Houston 8
Montreal 9
Colorado 2
Arizona 10
Philadelphia 4
Pittsburgh 9
San Diego 8
Cincinnati 12
NY Mets 1
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