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Floyd wins for 1st time in 5 weeks

Jun 30, 2010 - 4:23 AM KANSAS CITY, Mo.(AP) -- Finally breaking through and beating Kansas City was only the second-best thing that happened to Gavin Floyd this week.

One day before he pitched into the seventh inning to earn his first win in five weeks as the Chicago White Sox beat the Royals 4-3 on Tuesday night, he and his wife Leanne found out they are going to be parents of a little boy.

"I cannot be happier," Floyd said. "My smile was ear-to-ear yesterday and even today, just thinking about it. It's amazing what God can do. The beauty of having a baby is amazing."

The lad is due in five months, which is almost as long as it seemed for Floyd (3-8) to get his third win.

Floyd, who was 0-3 with a 2.79 ERA in six starts since beating Florida on May 22, held the Royals to three runs, one unearned, and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings. In his previous two 2010 starts against the Royals, Floyd was 0-2, allowing 11 runs and 23 hits in 12 1/3 innings.

Floyd (3-7) entered the game 0-4 in five career starts at Kauffman Stadium and 1-7 with a 5.53 ERA in 10 career starts against the Royals. He beat them for the first time since June 3, 2008.

Royals starter Brian Bannister (7-6) was lifted after four innings, allowing four runs and eight hits on 90 pitches. Bannister lost for the second time in eight starts at Kauffman Stadium.

"I still have failed to come up with a solution for the lineup," Bannister said. "It seems like every time I play against them they come up with a creative way to beat me or something happens. I've had to pitch against them more times than any other team in baseball (15 career starts). They are the one team that gives me more headaches. It's always a struggle out there for me and tonight was no exception.

"They had three doubles where the ball didn't even make it to the outfielders in short left-center. It's just things like that. It was just a bad night. I've pitched a different way 15 different times now and still have not come up with a solution for them."

The White Sox hit four consecutive singles in the third inning for three runs. A.J. Pierzynski and Gordon Beckham had run-producing singles, while Davan Viciedo scored on a grounder by Juan Pierre.

The White Sox made it 4-0 in the fourth when Beckham doubled and scored on Alexei Ramirez's two-out single.

The Royals trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the fifth on Wilson Betemit's double that scored Alberto Callaspo, who led off the inning with a single. Scott Podsednik's single scored Betemit and Yuniesky Betancourt.

"You look at the balls hit off Banny they were well-placed bloop doubles, which we live by those," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "They didn't really crush the ball on him. They weren't bombs away on him by any stretch of the imagination. They were just some well-placed hits."

The Royals loaded the bases on two singles and a walk in the eighth, but J.J. Putz, the third White Sox pitcher, retired Mike Aviles on a fielder's choice grounder to end the inning. Putz worked the ninth to log his second save in three opportunities. White Sox closer Bobby Jenks is on the bereavement list.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was ejected in the fourth inning by home plate umpire Tim Timmons, the fourth time he has been thrown out this season.

Guillen acknowledged he is more nervous watching the game on television in his office.

"I always can relax in the dugout because in the dugout you can control stuff, you can make decisions," Guillen said. "I don't like to watch baseball on TV. I think you're more nervous when you're not involved with the game. I'm not the type of manager who will go down there and make calls when they get kicked out of the game. I let my coaches handle it. I think they do a pretty good job. They're probably better without me."

Notes: Viciedo, a rookie, started at 3B, his third start since the White Sox promoted him June 18 from Triple-A Charlotte. ... OF Andruw Jones, who is hitting .075 (3 for 40) over his past 18 games and has not homered since June 3, was not in the White Sox lineup. ... The Royals' bullpen worked four scoreless innings and has allowed one earned run in 21 2-3 innings over the past eight games. ... Royals C Jason Kendall threw out two of three would-be base stealers. Kendall had thrown out only 18 of 80 runners entering the game.