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Butler, Guillen homer, Royals beat White Sox 7-6

Jul 1, 2010 - 4:04 AM By DOUG TUCKER AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo.(AP) -- If it's true that the most effective Jose Guillen is an angry Jose Guillen, some fans who were sitting behind the visitor's dugout Wednesday night should probably be given free season tickets to the Royals.

The moody outfielder hit a three-run homer, then made a great, crash-into-the-wall catch in the ninth inning, leading Kansas City to a 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

As he crossed the plate following his homer off Tony Pena in the seventh, Guillen appeared to shout something in the direction of the visitor's dugout.

"Somebody was bugging me a little bit," Guillen said. "Told him to shush his mouth."

Guillen, who was taken out of the outfield and made full time designated hitter before Trey Hillman was fired as manager on May 13, would not say if he was angry at someone in the dugout or in the stands.

"I just hope all those negative people who say I cannot play outfield, they kept watching. That's it. That's all I want to say," he said. "That was a great motivation they give me this year. A message to them, all those people who say I cannot play outfield. They know who they are. And that's it. Simple as that. All right? Great catch. That's it. I still have it."

According to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, nobody in the dugout was razzing him.

"That was some fans was all over Guillen in previous at-bats," he said. "Right behind our dugout."

Billy Butler homered in the first, ending Jake Peavy's streak of 21 2-3 scoreless innings, and Zack Greinke survived a five-run eighth as the Royals took two of three from the White Sox and wound up a 4-2 home stand.

Peavy (7-6) was charged with three runs on seven hits in six innings, with two walks and five strikeouts. The loss ended a three-game winning personal winning streak for the veteran right-hander.

"In the first inning, I didn't make any good pitches to be honest with you," said Peavy. "I was mechanically off and the stuff wasn't that good. I just wasn't going to walk anybody. I wasn't hitting spots. I made a mechanical adjustment and got better as the game went on."

Greinke (4-8) won for the third time in four starts. He sailed into the eighth with a 7-1 lead, but gave up four runs on four singles and a bases-loaded triple by Brent Lillibridge without getting an out.

"It all happened so fast. He was cruising to that point. Just really cruising," manager Ned Yost said. "And it happened. In a matter of six or seven pitches, they put five runs on the board. But he settled down and got the last three outs."

Joakim Soria relieved Greinke to begin the ninth and closed for his 20th save in 22 opportunities, aided by Guillen's great catch on Mark Kotsay's leadoff drive.

"I thought that ball was in the fountains," Ozzie Guillen said. "Soon as he hit that ball, I know we've got a tie game. Guillen is a pretty good outfielder. I've played with him. Obviously, he's a little slow, but he can still play some outfield. I think he's a pretty good outfielder."

Yost, who replaced Hillman on May 14, said he never considered lifting Guillen for defense when the Royals took a one-run lead into the ninth.

"He made a heck of a play in the eighth, he made a great catch in the ninth," Yost said. "You watch him play, and he has done nothing that tells me I need to defense for him. He's been very solid in right field."

Chicago, which had had won six straight series during a 16-3 surge, has lost three of four since an 11-game winning streak.

Omar Vizquel's one-out triple in the fourth nudged the 21-year veteran past Luis Aparicio for second on all-time among shortstops with 2,675 hits. Alex Rios followed with an RBI single that tied it at 1.

NOTES: KC outfielder David DeJesus, batting a team-best .331 but 0 for 11 against Peavy, got the night off. ... Umpire Alfonso Marquez, who left Monday night's game with shortness of breath and heat stress and was treated at a hospital, worked home plate. Marquez also sat out Tuesday night. ... Reliever Erick Threets threw out Callaspo from a sitting position after fielding his hard grounder behind his back. ... Greinke became the 12th Royal to pitch 1,000 innings.