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Bannister goes six strong innings as Royals rout Tigers

Sep 25, 2008 - 3:25 AM DETROIT (Ticker) -- It took Brian Bannister nearly three months to win one game. This month, it took him 10 days to pick up two victories.

Bannister tossed six shutout innings and the Royals exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning as Kansas City finished off a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 10-4 victory on Wednesday.

Bannister (9-16), who suffered through a 13-start winless streak earlier this season that he finally snapped on September 14, had one of his best outings of the year to earn his second win in three starts. He held the Tigers to seven hits while striking out four and walking one.

"The most satisfying thing this whole series has been how the team is playing," Bannister said. "The guys right now have a lot of fire and they're playing well together. They're giving the pitching staff a lot of confidence."

Bannister helped keep the Royals' modest hopes alive of avoiding the American League Central cellar for the first time since 2003. The Royals (73-86) have won 11 of 13 to move into sole possession of fourth place, one game better than the last-place Tigers (71-86), who have lost 12 of 13.

"You never want to finish last," Royals catcher John Buck said. "From where we were in August to now, it's really something to hang your hat on for next season."

Kansas City did the bulk of its damage in the fifth off Detroit starter Nate Robertson (7-11). The struggling lefthander's lack of control was his undoing, as he walked four batters in that inning alone - including two with the bases loaded. Alex Gordon added a run-scoring single before Mitch Maier broke it open with a three-run triple to right field to chase Robertson.

"It was really great to get a start and have a couple of hits to help the ballclub win," Maier said.

Robertson, who hasn't won since August 10 and has spent some time in the bullpen in recent weeks after falling out of favor in the rotation, gave up eight runs - seven earned - and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

"I had everything going tonight," Robertson said. "I felt I was in the zone with every pitch. But the walks got to me in the fifth and everything fell apart. The frustration on the calls on pitches really got to me."

Buck and Tony Pena Jr. drove in two runs apiece for the Royals and Jose Guillen collected his team-leading 96th RBI.

"We came up with a lot of clutch hits at the right time," Buck said.

Placido Polanco hit a three-run home run and Mike Hessman added a solo blast to provide the offense for Detroit.

The Tigers managed six runs in this three-game sweep and finished 7-11 against the Royals. If current trends hold, they could be in line for another 90-loss season, which would be their eighth in the last 11 seasons.

"We're just in an offensive funk right now," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We have no excuses, the guys are out there trying every night. We just can't get anything going. It's tough playing in games like these. It's not like what Chicago and Minnesota are playing for tonight."