Royals’ catcher John Buck hit two home runs including a grand slam apart of a five run 8th inning as the Royals pull away for a 9-3 win Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.  The win is the Royals’ third in a row.

The Royals picked up two runs in the third off starter Carl Pavano thanks in part to Buck’s solo home run.  Royals’ starter Kyle Davies gave up two runs in the 5th, but the Royals came back with two.  Cleveland added a run in the 6th and Davies left with a 4-3 lead before Robinson Tejada got the last out.

The bullpen appears to be strong again for the Royals as they shut down Cleveland from that point on as Juan Cruz pitched two shutout innings and Doug Waechter came on to close out the 9 th .

The fifth inning was huge for the Royals.  After Buck’s homer, the Royals managed a run after two outs when David DeJesus singled home Mike Aviles who doubled.  That gave the Royals a 3-2 lead.

Davies picks up the win going 5.2 innings while allowing just three runs.  The Indians biggest threat came in the 6 th when they chased Davies after an infield single deflected off Billy Butler’s glove at first base, but Robinson Tejada came on and struck out Trevor Crowe to end the inning and protect the 4-3 lead. 

Alex Gordon returned to the lineup and went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts and a walk.  As you’ll hear from starter Davies and Buck, this team has a different attitude, but manager Trey Hillman warns not to get too excited about being in first place with 154 games to go.

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