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Santana tries to extend personal win streak in clash with O's

May 7, 2013 - 2:33 PM

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(Sports Network) - Right-hander Ervin Santana tries for a fourth straight win on Tuesday night when the Kansas City Royals visit Camden Yards for the first of three games with the Baltimore Orioles.

The 30-year-old, who's 4-5 in 12 career starts against the Orioles, opened the season with a 5-2 loss at Chicago against the White Sox in which he allowed four runs in six innings.

In four starts since, he's 3-0 and has lowered his earned run average from 6.00 to 2.00.

He tossed seven scoreless innings of six-hit ball with no walks and five strikeouts in his most recent outing, on April 27 at home against Cleveland - a 3-2 win.

Santana is 2-3 in six career starts at Baltimore.

For the Orioles, Taiwanese-born lefty Wei-Yin Chen aims to get back on the winning track after his two-start streak was snapped on May 1.

The 27-year-old, who won 12 times in 32 starts last season, defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics in consecutive outings on April 20 and 26 while allowing five hits and a run over 14 innings.

Against Seattle in the subsequent start, he was touched for five runs on eight hits in four innings of an 8-3 defeat.

Chen is 0-1 in two starts against the Royals out of his 38 career starts.

On Monday in Kansas City, Chicago's Jordan Danks hit his first home run of the season and it proved to be the difference-maker, as his two-out, solo shot in the 11th gave the White Sox the go-ahead run in their 2-1 victory over the Royals.

Billy Butler drove in the lone run in the first inning for Kansas City, which had won seven of its last eight at home versus the White Sox.

James Shields tossed eight shutout innings and allowed two hits and two walks while striking out a season-high nine batters. Greg Holland blew the save and Kelvin Herrera (2-3) absorbed the loss thanks to serving up Danks' solo blast to right-center.

On Sunday in Anaheim, Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy each belted two-run homers to lead the Orioles to an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels and win the four-game series between the teams.

Hardy ended 2-for-4 in the triumph, with Ryan Flaherty contributing a two-run single to help Baltimore conclude a successful 11-game road trip with a 7-4 record.

"This whole road trip has been great," Machado said.

Jason Hammel (5-1) overcame a three-run bottom of the first inning to post a fourth consecutive winning decision. The right-hander held the Angels to one run over the remainder of his six-inning stint, while finishing with five strikeouts.

The Orioles won five of nine games between the teams in 2012. Kansas City last won the season series in 2010.






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