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Royals take aim at four-game sweep of Mariners

Apr 17, 2011 - 2:29 PM (Sports Network) - The Kansas City Royals have been one of the league's biggest surprises this season. This afternoon they will attempt to continue their hot start, as they try to complete a four-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals improved to 10-4 on the young season in improbable fashion on Saturday, as they battered reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez, while Sean O'Sullivan and three other pitchers combined for a seven-hit shutout in a 7-0 win.

O'Sullivan (1-1) gave up five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over five innings. Tim Collins worked one inning, Jeremy Jeffress pitched two frames and Aaron Crow tossed the ninth for the Royals, who have won four straight and are off to their best start since beginning the 2003 campaign 11-3.

"I hadn't been in a game for more than a week, so it was just more or less focusing on what I had to do," said O'Sullivan. "Keep the ball down. Let my teammates play behind me. I'm not trying to do too much myself. With the way this team's playing right now, all I've got to do is go out there and just control what I can control and let these guys play the game behind me."

Alex Gordon extended his hitting streak to 10 games and went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two driven in, while Mike Aviles had two hits and three RBI in the win.

Hernandez (1-2) was tagged for five runs -- two earned -- in five innings. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out six for the Mariners, who have dropped their last four and haven't been swept in a four-game set in KC since it happened from September 15-18, 2008.

"We just didn't play good baseball at all today," said Mariners manager Eric Wedge. "That's what pisses me off more than anything. We just didn't play very good baseball."

Hoping to keep the Royals rolling today will be left-hander Jeff Francis, who has never faced the Mariners. Francis, signed as a free agent this offseason, has yet to receive a decision in any of his three starts this season, but has allowed just six runs in 20 2/3 innings of those outings.

Seattle, meanwhile, will counter with young right-hander Michael Pineda, who earned his first big league win his last time out. Pineda beat the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, holding them to one earned run and five hits over 7 1/3 frames. He also struck out seven batters.

Kansas City won five of its nine meetings with the Mariners last season.