The way the Royals were hitting in Monday’s series opener against the Rockies, you would have thought the game was being played in Colorado where the ball carries in the thin air, but that was not the case as the Royals win 8-4.
The Royals didn’t waste any time as Mark Teahen hit his 8 th home run of the year in the first inning with two on off Rockies starter Jeff Francis giving Brian Bannister (7-6) a quick 3-0 lead. The Royals continued to go deep as Jose Guillen hit his 13 th in the third off Francis with nobody on and Ross Gload provided some insurance with a solo shot in the 8 th for his first of the year.
Bannister won his third straight decision and has not lost since May 22 nd at Boston. He pitched seven innings, giving up three unearned runs although two of them came in on a Matt Holliday home run in the 5 th .
It was an odd start for Bannister who had a no-hitter heading into the fifth, but he also walked seven batters. He got out of trouble in the second after walking the bases loaded. He got a ball hit back to him to start a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.
Horacio Ramirez, in his Royals debut, pitched the eighth and gave up one run. Ramon Ramirez worked a scoreless ninth to wrap it another win over the National League.
