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Verlander, Guillen lead Tigers to fifth straight win

May 5, 2007 - 5:21 AM KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- The Kansas City Royals still have not figured out Justin Verlander.

Verlander tossed seven-plus impressive innings and Carlos Guillen went 3-for-4 with two RBI as the Detroit Tigers extended their winning streak to five games Friday with a 6-3 triumph over the Royals.

After going 3-0 against Kansas City en route to the American League Rookie of the Year Award last season, Verlander (2-1) has continued his dominance vs. his AL Central Division rivals this year. The 24-year-old righthander posted his first victory of the season at home against the Royals on April 16, allowing three runs in six innings, and came up with a much stronger performance in this one.

"I had good fastball location, good life on it," Verlander said. "I was using mostly that most of the night and mixed in some off-speed pitches."

"When he throws like he did tonight, you're going to beat a lot of teams," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I think it's coincidental. He's throwing 97-98 (miles per hour) pretty much the whole game, and going up a little higher when you need to, you're going to beat a lot of teams."

Staked to an early 2-0 lead, Verlander rolled through seven scoreless innings, yielding just six hits while striking out three without a walk. With Detroit ahead, 6-0, he started the eighth but walked leadoff hitter David DeJesus and allowed an infield single by Mark Grudzielanek before exiting.

Bobby Seay came on and retired the first batter he faced before Mark Sweeney drilled a two-run double into the left-center field gap. That closed the book on Verlander, who improved to 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in five career outings at Kauffman Stadium and 5-0 with a 1.58 ERA in six starts overall against the Royals.

"They've just happened to catch me on some good days," Verlander said. "I've had some good stuff against them."

Rookie Billy Butler drove in a run with a single off Jason Grilli to cut Kansas City's deficit to three. But Fernando Rodney recorded the final out of the inning and Todd Jones struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 11th save.

Guillen provided the early advantage for Verlander with a two-out, two-run double in the first inning. He delivered a base hit in the third but became one of Detroit's 13 runners left on base before singling and scoring during the Tigers' four-run fifth.

With the three-hit performance, Guillen raised his lifetime average vs. Kansas City to .312 (98-for-314).

"That was a thing of beauty, going the other way two or three times," Leyland said. "That's the kind of stuff you've got to have to win games. A two-out hit, that's when you win games."

Royals starter Brian Bannister (0-2) never recovered from a tough opening inning, escaping jams in both the third and fourth frames before failing to make it out of the fifth. Guillen began the rally with a one-out single and Sean Casey hit a two-out RBI double to chase the righthander.

Craig Monroe greeted Todd Wellemeyer with a base hit and Brandon Inge plated Casey with a single for a 4-0 bulge. Curtis Granderson drew a walk to load the bases, and Wellemeyer issued another walk to Placido Polanco, forcing in another run.

Neal Musser relieved Wellemeyer but also struggled with his control, walking Gary Sheffield to bring in Inge for a 6-0 cushion.

Bannister lasted 4 2/3 innings, surrendering four runs - two earned - and eight hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.

"I was just trying to keep it as close as I can against a guy who's throwing 100 miles an hour," Bannister said.

"His command wasn't there tonight," Kansas City manager Buddy Bell said. "I don't know if it's one of those things where he was trying to be predictable with his pitches. He did pitch out of some jams against a good-hitting team."