The Royals didn’t have enough gas to come back twice in their 9-7 loss to the Giants. San Francisco took a 1-0 lead in the first when Lance Niekro drove in the first of his three RBI’s on the day. It stayed 1-0, until both teams offenses came to life in the fifth innint.
In the top of the fifth, the Giants rallied for three runs, to knock Royals starter Jose Lima out of the game. Former Royals outfielder Michael Tucker drove in a run with a double and Omar Vizquel followed up with an RBI single to score Tucker, who touched home plate three times. Later in the inning, a Mark Teahen throwing error led to another run and San Francisco took a 4-0.
The Royals bounced back in the top of the sixth inning with four runs to tie it up at 4-4. Mark Teahean singled in Emil Brown, Matt Diaz scored on a wild pitch and Ruben Gotay capped the rally with a two run double.
The Giants didn’t waste any time breaking the tie. They scored five runs off reliever Leo Nunez and led 9-4 once the third out of the inning was recorded. Kansas City scored a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth, but got no closer.
Nunez was charged with the loss, as the Giants notched only their second win in 13 games. The Royals were looking for their first road sweep of the season.
