On Wednesday, the Royals trailed 5-0 before bouncing back to beat the White Sox, the team with the best record in baseball 6-5. On Thursday, they took a 5-0 lead before losing to the Devil Rays 10-5.
Mike Sweeney drove in two with a first-inning double to up his RBI total to 57 on the season. In the second inning the Royals struck three more times thanks to an RBI single from David DeJesus and a two-run homer from rookie Chip Ambres.
Royals’ starting pitcher Kyle Snyder had a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the second inning, but the shutout didn’t last long. Devil Rays’ catcher Toby Hall drove in a run with a single in the second. Johnny Gomes lifted a solo home run to center in the fourth inning to make it 5-2.
In the fifth inning, Snyder’s evening unraveled as Tampa went on a five-run rally to take the lead. Carl Crawford tied the game with a two run homer and Aubrey Huff gave the Devil Rays the lead wit ha double to score Jorge Cantu. Damon Hollins ended the rally with an RBI single to score Huff. In all, Snyder (0-2) allowed five runs off six hits and an error in the fifth. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t the end of his misery.
The Devil Rays led off the sixth inning with back-to-back singles from Travis Lee and Hall. Snyder was pulled from the game and replaced by Jimmy Gobble, who immediately gave up an RBI double to Lugo. He later scored on a wild pitch. Two of the runs were charged to Snyder. He allowed nine runs off 12 hits.
Devil Rays’ starter Scott Kazmir (6-7) and reliever Chad Orvella had the Royals pegged following their five run outburst. Kansas City managed only one hit and two walks over the final 7 1/3 innings of the game.
