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Meche, Royals silence White Sox

Jul 20, 2008 - 3:49 AM By Rory Spears PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Gil Meche pitched 6 1/3 solid innings as the Kansas City Royals defeated the American League Central Division -leading Chicago White Sox for just the second time in eight meetings this season with a 9-1 triumph on Saturday.

Meche (7-9) allowed just one run and two hits, walking one and striking out six in notching his first win since June 27.

John Buck belted his sixth home run of the year - a two-run shot in the fifth inning - and Billy Butler hit his fourth blast of the season and second in as many games.

"When I went up there (to the plate), I was looking for a good pitch to hit," Butler said. "The pitch was left over the plate and I just got the barrel on it. It's a good feeling to hit one in back-to-back games."

Meche was strong right from the start, retiring the first seven batters he faced before yielding a double by Joe Crede. Meche then set down another nine batters before Alexei Ramirez reached in the sixth inning with a triple.

"I had a good, live fastball, and I used it a lot," Meche said. "The key was pitching in a lot, mixing my pitches and being able to keep them off-balance."

The Royals built a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning, when Buck homered off White Sox starter Gavin Floyd after Ross Gload reached on third baseman Crede's error. Butler added a run-scoring single to cap the three-run frame.

"I got a cutter that (Floyd) left over the plate," Buck said. "It was just a matter of putting a good swing on it."

Chicago broke through against Meche in the sixth inning, when Ramirez scored on a sacrifice fly by Orlando Cabrera.

"We didn't get much tonight against Meche," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He threw the ball great and was outstanding. His breaking ball kept us off-balance."

Butler increased Kansas City's lead to 5-1 in the eighth, when his blast scored David DeJesus. Butler's three RBI gave him seven for the series.

"Driving in runs means more to me than the home runs," Butler said. "The spot I am hitting in the lineup hasn't been the best for me, so it's nice to help the team again today."

After an RBI single by Buck, Mike Aviles followed with a three-run double to give the Royals a 9-1 advantage.

"Gil was great right from the start," Aviles said. "The rest of us were just out there trying to get him some runs."

Floyd (10-6), who was attempting to beat the Royals for the second time this season, lasted only six innings. Coming off his shortest outing of the season, a 2 2/3-inning effort on July 11th against Texas, he yielded three runs - one earned - four hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

"The pitch to Buck I would like back, since he hit it out of the park," Floyd said. "Sometimes you just miss with your location, and I did that a bit tonight."