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Royals' Getz delivers a win, this time

Jun 26, 2011 - 5:01 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - A night after committing a costly error, Chris Getz found redemption in the form of a two-out, eighth-inning RBI single, lifting the Kansas City Royals over Chicago Cubs, 3-2, to even a three-game interleague tilt.

With runners on second and third, Getz, who fumbled a potential ninth-inning double play ball in the Royals' series-opening loss, slapped a 2-2 cutter from Jeff Samardzija up the middle. The ball deflected off Samardzija's hand and rolled to short, allowing Jeff Francoeur to score the go-ahead run.

"That's the great thing about baseball," said Getz. "You come back the next day. I don't have to wait a week. You show up the next day and you can do something to help the team."

Samardzija (5-4) was charged with the loss for the Cubs, who have dropped five of seven.

"It's tough to see that ball just go up the middle," said Samardzija. "I kind of peeked back and they were shaded that way, too, so [Starlin Castro] probably would have had it and it was just a reaction play. I thought I had a shot at it and it's unfortunate."

Greg Holland (2-1) worked a perfect eighth as the Royals put the brakes on a six-game losing streak. Joakim Soria struck out the side in the ninth to record his 12th save of the season.

Carlos Zambrano and Danny Duffy battled to a push, as both starters allowed just two runs over seven innings while striking out two. For the rookie Duffy, the seven innings marked a career high.

Chicago's only runs came courtesy of back-to-back homers from Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto.

In a game where scoring was at a premium, the Cubs left one on the board early, placing runners on first and second with one down in the third before Jeff Baker singled between third and short. Reed Johnson attempted to score from second on play, but was cut down at the plate, as Alex Gordon recorded his major-league leading 12th outfield assist.

The Royals spoiled scoring chances in the early going as well. They placed runners on the corners with one down in both the second and third innings, but were unable to push any across, thanks to a double play and a pair of pop ups, respectively.

With men on first and second and one down in the fifth, Kansas City finally broke through with consecutive RBI singles by Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler. Gordon then flared a single to right to load the bases, but Zambrano worked out of the jam as Mitch Maier lined out to short and Mike Moustakas popped out in foul territory.

The Cubs evened the slate the next half inning with two swings of the bat, as Ramirez and Soto belted back-to-back home runs over the fence in left.

Game Notes

The Cubs have dropped their last six interleague series since taking two of three from Oakland on June 15-17 of last season...Zambrano is still searching for his franchise-record 10th interleague play win...Duffy made his eighth major league start...The Royals have a major-league leading 29 outfield assists...The Royals recorded a club record-tying three outfield assists against Chicago on Friday night...Gordon extended his hit streak to 12 games.