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Royals rough up O's

Jul 26, 2013 - 3:24 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Jeremy Guthrie tossed six strong innings to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles, 7-1, at Kauffman Stadium.

Guthrie (10-7) scattered six hits and yielded just one run, as the Royals took the final three games of this four-game set to end their seven-game homestand with five wins. The right-hander struck out five and walked one of his former teammates to get to double-digit wins for the first time since 2010 when he was a member of the Orioles.

Billy Butler went 2-for-3 with a homer and two runs scored. Alex Gordon and David Lough each drove in a pair of runs Kansas City, which pounded out 10 hits on the day the club announced that George Brett stepped down as interim hitting coach.

The club's all-time hits leader and Hall of Fame third baseman gave way to Pedro Grifol and returned to his previous position of vice president of baseball operations.

Brett, 60, took over as interim hitting coach on May 30 after the Royals reassigned lead and assistant hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David to the club's minor league organization. However, the role did not suit Brett's desires.

"My lifelong passion after playing was not to be a hitting coach, but (general manager) Dayton (Moore) asked me if I would consider it, and I did, but only on the promise that it would be on an interim basis," said Brett. "There is a ton of talent here and doing this for almost two months has prepared me to be a better advisor to Dayton and his staff. This has been an unbelievable experience for me and now I'm energized to contribute more to this organization as I return to my non-uniformed role."

Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez (8-4) suffered the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits with one walk and no strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

Matt Weiters added a pair of hits and Brian Roberts drove in a run for Baltimore, which has dropped three in a row after winning five straight.

"It was a tough one tonight," said Gonzalez. "It was one of those days. You just have to continue to battle."

Kansas City jumped ahead early, scoring twice in the first and adding another in the second. Salvador Perez drove in Butler in the first and later scored on Lough's base hit. Gordon's sac fly in the second added to the lead.

Baltimore got a run back in the fifth when Roberts drove in Henry Urrutia, but the Royals put the game out of reach in the home half of the frame.

Gordon tripled home the first run and then scored on Eric Hosmer's base hit. Later, with two outs, Hosmer scored on Lough's base hit to make it a 6-1 game.

Butler added a solo homer in the seventh off Baltimore reliever Francisco Rodriguez, who was making his debut with the team after being acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Rodriguez was charged with just the one run and one hit. He did not strike out a batter.

Lough ended 2-for-4.

"They've all been working hard," said Royals manager Ned Yost. "We're starting to get some production. The top five guys drove in all seven runs.

"They've been much more consistent since we've come back from the All-Star Break."

Game Notes

Wieters extended his hit streak to seven games ... Jarrod Dyson went 2-for-3 for KC ... Guthrie had double-digit wins with the Orioles from 2008-1010 ... Guthrie won his first outing vs. Baltimore back on May 9 at Camden Yards, scattering seven hits, one earned run and three walks over six innings ... He improved to 7-2 in 10 home starts this season ... KC won the season series 4-3 ... Gonzalez fell to 6-2 in 11 starts since returning from the 15-day DL on May 21 ... Orioles slugger Chris Davis has not homered in seven games since the All-Star break. He had 37 first-half home runs.