Brian Bannister was superb on the mound, pitching 7 shutout innings, as the Kansas City Royals dumped the Texas Rangers 6-1 Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Billy Butler gave the Royals the lead they would never surrender, smacking a 3-run homer in the 1st inning. Mark Grudzielanek contributed in a big way, going 3 for 4 at the plate with a run scored and 1 RBI.
Bannister (7-6) allowed only 4 hits in his 7 innings of work to earn the victory. Jamey Wright (3-3) worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing 5 earned runs on 10 hits to take the loss.
The series resumes Saturday night at the K. Odalis Perez (5-9) goes to the mound for the Royals against Kevin Millwood (7-8) for Texas.
