• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Buck's single in 11th lifts KC over Orioles 4-3

Jul 29, 2009 - 3:30 AM By DAVID GINSBURG AP Sports Writer

BALTIMORE(AP) -- The Kansas City Royals finally have a winning streak, thanks to a couple of home runs and a 45-foot single.

Mark Teahen led off the 11th inning by reaching on a dribbler down the line, stole second and scored on a single by John Buck, giving Kansas City a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

By taking two straight from Baltimore to open a four-game series, the Royals have their first winning streak since a three-game run on July 4-6. Billy Butler hit a two-run homer and Willie Bloomquist added a solo shot for Kansas City.

"That's called two in a row. We like it," manager Trey Hillman said. "It means a lot to me. I think these guys still have a lot of pride. ... It's not too late to start a positive streak the same way we had a negative streak getting started out of the All-Star break."

Teahen opened the 11th by topping a ball down the first-base line. Rookie catcher Matt Wieters and pitcher Danys Baez (4-4) watched and hoped the ball would roll foul, but it stopped on the chalk halfway down the line.

"It was tough to see that ground ball," Baez said.

Two outs later, Buck delivered a two-out liner to right.

"You just have to run to the base and hope it stays fair," Teahen said. "It did and it worked out. We were due for a little break here and there."

Jamey Wright (1-3) pitched two perfect innings and Joakim Soria got three outs for his 17th save.

Wieters had a career-high four hits and Adam Jones homered for the Orioles, who have lost nine of 11 since the All-Star break. Baltimore outhit the Royals 11-10 but went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

"We certainly had a lot of guys up in situations when we could have broken through, but it didn't happen," manager Dave Trembley lamented.

Jones said, "We had 10 hits or 11 hits, so I wouldn't say the hits were hard to come by. I'd just say the big hit was terribly hard to come by."

Orioles starter Jason Berken gave up six hits in six innings and left with a 3-2 lead, which put him in position to earn his first win in 12 starts since his major-league debut on May 26.

"Berken did what he had to do. He left the game with a lead and pitched well enough to win," Trembley said.

But Bloomquist tied it in the eighth with a solo homer off reliever Jim Johnson.

Baltimore scored a run in the sixth to snap a tie that had held since the first inning. Nolan Reimold led off with a single and averted a force play by taking off for second before Melvin Mora hit a one-out grounder to third. Wieters then lost his bat after making contact on a soft liner that barely cleared the glove of leaping second baseman Alberto Callaspo, and Reimold scored easily.

Royals starter Brian Bannister, who gave up three runs in six innings, remained winless on the road since May 24.

Butler hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Jones countered with a two-run shot in the bottom half. It was Jones' 16th home run of the season and fourth in 11 games since the All-Star break.

Baltimore loaded the bases in the fifth, but Aubrey Huff hit into a force play at the plate and Nick Markakis grounded out on a 3-2 pitch.

Notes: Reimold went 2 for 4, his fifth consecutive multihit game. ... Bannister has gone five straight starts on the road without a win. ... Baltimore DH Luke Scott went 0 for 5 and is 2 for 32 since the All-Star break.