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Royals use big sixth inning to down Orioles

Aug 5, 2011 - 4:37 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Chris Getz's two-run single capped a six- run sixth inning as the Kansas City Royals took a 9-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Yamaico Navarro drove in three runs, Billy Butler had two RBI and two runs scored while Alex Gordon went 4-for-5 with two runs scored for the Royals, who have won five of their last seven.

"We had opportunities to score some runs early and didn't take them," said Royals manager Ned Yost. "But we were able to pull things together there in the sixth and give us the lead. The bullpen did the rest."

Jeff Francis went five-plus innings and gave up four runs on 10 hits while Blake Wood (5-0) got the win for throwing two scoreless innings.

J.J. Hardy hit a solo home run for the Orioles, who have dropped five of six and have the worst record in the American League. Zach Britton (6-9) dropped his third straight start as he was tagged for six runs -- four earned -- on 12 hits over 5 1/3 innings.

"I don't know why the sink's not there. I've always had sink. Is it I'm getting tired? That's kind of where I'm at right now," said Britton. "I feel like my mechanics are fine. It's just that things aren't sharp out of my hand right now."

Despite losing again, this outing for Britton went much better than his previous two. Last Saturday, he was torched for nine runs -- six earned -- while recording just one out in what proved to be a 12-run first inning for the Yankees. Prior to that, he was tagged for eight runs -- seven earned -- and got just two outs in an eight-run first inning for the Red Sox on July 8.

The first inning again proved to be horrible for Britton on Thursday, but at least he finished this one.

Gordon led off with a double and later scored on a Butler double. A single from Jeff Francoeur scored Melky Cabrera and Navarro followed with a groundout that plated Butler for a 3-0 lead.

Baltimore, though, took the lead with four straight run-scoring innings.

The first came in the third when Robert Andino hit a one-out double and Nick Markakis brought him home with a single. The fourth saw Vladimir Guerrero hit a leadoff double and score on a Matt Wieters single while Hardy tied it in the fifth with his 19th home run of the season.

The Orioles then took a 4-3 lead in the sixth on consecutive doubles from Wieters and Chris Davis.

The big sixth inning saw the first run come across when Cabrera singled home Manuel Pina and Butler later singled off reliever Jim Johnsnon to bring in Gordon. A double from Navarro brought home two more runners and Getz's two-run single to right made it a 9-4 contest.

After Wood tossed a 1-2-3 seventh, Tim Collins stranded an Oriole on third before Joakim Soria worked the ninth to cap the win.

Game Notes

Hardy left the game in the eighth inning with an ankle injury...Britton has dropped his past five decisions...Despite the loss, the Orioles won the season series against the Royals, 5-4...Baltimore batted just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 while KC was 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10.