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Aviles helps Royals topple White Sox

Aug 3, 2008 - 11:54 PM By Patrick Madden PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Rookie Mike Aviles had four hits and drove in three runs Sunday to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 14-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox in a game featuring five ejections.

Aviles belted a two-run homer as the Royals plated five runs in the second inning against lefthander Clayton Richard (0-2). Aviles also capped a four-run fifth with an RBI single.

In the fifth, Miguel Olivo was hit by a pitch to force in a run - triggering a bench-clearing brawl - and Ross Gload laced a two-run double to balloon the Royals' advantage to 9-0. Billy Butler smacked a two-run double in the sixth and John Buck added an RBI double in the eighth.

Kansas City starter Zack Greinke tossed 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and six hits while winning his second straight game.

"He did a good job, especially with the quick innings he was having and our long offensive innings," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "On a day like today any way you slice it, that's an advantage for a pitcher. It was pretty impressive he was able to command the ball as well as he did today."

Butler and Mitch Maier each had three hits, while four other players - Olivo, Gload, Jose Guillen and Alex Gordon -had two hits for Kansas City, which won for the sixth time in its last seven games.

"There was no difference in our approach," Kansas City manager Trey Hillman said. "It was our selectivity and where they left pitches."

Chicago (61-49) has lost six of its last 10 road games and surrendered first place for the first time since May 17.

Richard (0-2), making his third career start, labored for 4 1/3 innings while surrendering nine runs on 11 hits.

"When you don't have your best stuff, you definitely have to come in and get the ball down in the zone, and I didn't do that today and that really cost us," Richard said.

Guillen's team-leading 16th home run of the season - a 434-foot shot in the third inning - was his second in as many games.

Chicago pitcher D.J. Carrasco sparked the bench-clearing brawl with Olivo after dropping him to the dirt on an inside pitch right before plunking him.

"I closed my eyes and went to the mound," Olivo said. "In that situation, most of the pitchers don't throw me inside, but sliders away. If he would have hit me with the first pitch, I would have went to first base, but three times were inside. It seemed so obvious to me. I just do what I needed to do."

Olivo, who was credited with an RBI on the play, was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Tim Timmons for his participation in the fight, along with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and Carrasco.

"Olivo overreacted to the situation," Guillen said. "I'm not going to bring a guy in that throws 85 miles an hour (Carrasco) to hit somebody. I guarantee it. I'll bring (Octavio) Dotel, I'll bring (Matt) Thornton, then I will tell them to throw at them. That's the way I do business."

Greinke and Hillman were ejected by Timmons in the seventh inning after Greinke hit Nick Swisher with a pitch.

Pierzynski collected two hits, including his ninth home run of the season for Chicago, which lost at Kansas City for the fourth time in six games this season.