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Butler leads 16-hit attack as Royals top Blue Jays

Aug 26, 2011 - 6:22 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Billy Butler finished 4-for-5 with two RBI and a pair of doubles to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 9-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of a three game series at Rogers Centre.

Melky Cabrera collected three of his team's 16 hits, including a solo home run. Rookie Mike Moustakas added an RBI single and a run-scoring double for the Royals, who took two of three in this series.

Jeff Francis (5-14) gave up two runs on six hits over six-plus innings to earn the win. He fanned five and walked three to post his first win since July 29. Thursday marked the first time Francis, a Vancouver native, pitched in the majors in his home country.

"He really did a nice job keeping them off-balance," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He really worked down good tonight, changed speeds really well."

J.P. Arencibia and Edwin Encarnacion smacked two-run home runs, while Jose Bautista added a double and a run scored for the Blue Jays, losers in four of their last six games.

Brett Cecil (4-7) surrendered five runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings to absorb the loss, his third in a row. Cecil struck out three while walking one.

Blue Jays manager John Farrell departed the game in the bottom of the ninth inning due to muscle pain on his left side and went to a local hospital to be examined.

"Just about the eighth inning, John was gone for a second and came back. In the top of the ninth, he wasn't feeling very good," Jays bench coach Don Wakamatsu said. "He felt some pain in his left side. We both kind of decided best to go in the bottom of the ninth to go check it out."

Farrell was released from the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia. He's expected to be with the team Friday for the start of a home series vs. the Rays, according to the Blue Jays website.

Kansas City opened the scoring in the third inning and stayed in front for good. Salvador Perez led off the frame with a double to left and after the next two batters made outs, it looked as if the Royals would strand Perez at third, but Johnny Giavotella came through by driving Perez home with a sharp single up the middle.

Butler smacked a ground-rule double over the right field wall and advanced to third on a groundout by Eric Hosmer to begin the fourth. Following a fly-out by Jeff Francoeur, Moustakas singled home Butler.

Kansas City added two more runs in the sixth. Cabrera doubled to right to leadoff the frame and Butler singled to left. Francoeur knocked home Cabrera with a single. Butler then advanced to third on a groundout by Moustakas and crossed the plate on a double into the left-center field gap by Perez for a 4-0 lead.

Bautista started the Toronto sixth with a double to center. He was stranded there however, as Francis fanned Encarnacion and Adam Lind to get the first two outs of the inning. Brett Lawrie made solid contact, driving the ball to the deepest part of the park. Cabrera got turned around a few times trying to track the ball, but recovered to make the catch and end the inning.

Cabrera gave the Royals a 5-0 lead in the seventh when he smashed a ball off the facing of the third deck for his 17th home run of the season.

Toronto finally got on the board in the home half of the inning when Kelly Johnson ripped a single to left for his first hit as a Blue Jay, and Arencibia cracked a Francis offering deep into the seats in left to cut it to a 5-2 game.

The Royals tacked on two more runs in the eighth on Butler's two-run double to left.

The Jays got two runs back in the home eighth when Lawrie tripled in a run then scored on a sacrifice fly by Arencibia.

But, the Royals cemented the win with two more runs in the ninth inning courtesy of an RBI double by Moustakas and a sacrifice fly by Mitch Maier.

Encarnacion's homer in the ninth off Joakim Soria capped the scoring.

Game Notes

Toronto is 19-15 this season against left-handed starters...Bautista has reached base in 108 of his 117 games played this season...It was Johnson's first game as a member of the Blue Jays...Moustakas extended his hitting streak to eight games...It was Arencibia's 20th home run of the year.