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Royals pound out 16 hits in rout of Rays

Jul 23, 2011 - 5:52 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - The Kansas City Royals put on a batting clinic Friday at Kauffman Stadium, pounding out 16 hits in a 10-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game series.

Melky Cabrera went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI, while Billy Butler blasted a solo home run. Eric Hosmer also chipped in with a pair of RBI for the Royals, who have won three consecutive games.

Luke Hochevar (6-8) went 5 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on six hits while walking three and fanning two.

Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce blasted home runs for the Rays, while Ben Zobrist chipped in with an RBI for Tampa Bay, which could not carry over momentum after defeating the division-rival Yankees on Thursday.

Wade Davis (7-7) worked 5 1/3 innings, yielding six runs -- five earned -- on 11 hits. He fanned three and did not issue a walk in his return from the disabled list.

Tampa Bay scored three times in the sixth to get within 5-4. Casey Kotchman worked a one out walk and Longoria followed by blasting his 13th home run to center. Joyce was up next and pulled a ball over the wall in right.

Kansas City got all three runs back in the bottom of the frame. Chris Getz led off the inning with a bunt single and stole second. After Alex Gordon fanned, Getz scored on a single by Cabrera. Butler followed with a walk and Hosmer ripped a single to center to score Cabrera. Jeff Francoeur then knocked in Butler with an RBI single to right to make it an 8-4 Kansas City lead.

The Royals added two more runs in the seventh. Matt Treanor and Getz walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. After Mike Aviles and Gordon flew out, Cabrera came through with an RBI single and Butler followed with his own run-scoring base hit to push the lead to 10-4.

Tampa Bay opened the scoring in its first at-bat when Johnny Damon led off the inning with a double down the right field line and scored on a double by Zobrist. The Rays loaded the bases with nobody out later in the frame, but Joyce fanned and B.J. Upton grounded into a double play.

"It was horrible. We just played badly today," Rays manager Joe Maddon said of his team's effort. "There's nothing we did well today. We had a chance to really blow that game open in the first inning and let it get away and then we uncharacteristically did not play a good game on the field."

That was the opening the Royals needed, and they took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Gordon led off the inning with a double to left and scored on a double by Cabrera. After Butler struck out, Hosmer followed with an RBI double. With two outs, Mike Moustakas singled up the middle for a 3-1 lead.

"It was big for us tonight to come out and answer in the first inning there," Hosmer said. "It was big for us to come back and answer and put up some runs there get to momentum back on our side. It was a good win for us tonight."

The Royals added to their lead in the third on Butler's one-out solo shot to dead center field.

Kansas City made it 5-1 in the fifth when Francoeur slapped a two-out double and scored on an error by Joyce when he collided with Upton.

Game Notes

Friday's game marked the start of a 10-game road trip for the Rays, who are 15-13 against the AL Central. The Royals are 7-7 against the AL East...Royals closer Joakim Soria is one save shy of 150 for his career...Butler's home run was his seventh of the season...Royals' shortstop Alcides Escobar left the game in the sixth inning with a bruised right shin...Seven of the Royals' 10 runs were scored with two outs...Davis, who made his first start since July 6 at Minnesota, was sidelined with a strained right forearm.