Finally, a W in Chicago

Here we go again—with a team that is almost impossible to understand. The Royals lost their last ten games in Chicago and the pitching match up last night certainly was not in our favor (J.P. Howell vs. Freddy Garcia), but we pulled one out anyway, 4-2.

Howell walked too many guys (5), but he only gave up 2 runs in 6 IP and that was good enough—especially since he only gave up 2 hits. Bell was thrilled with Howell's performance.

"That's as good a game as we've had pitched in a long time," said Bell in an article appearing in the Star this morning. "He was down in the zone all night long, and he competed. He's just a completely different guy since coming back from the minors. It's a growing process."

I hope he's a different guy. His ERA is still 6.63, but getting it under 5.00 would be a good way to end the season.

Aaron Guiel continued his hot streak, going 3-for-5 at the top of the line up and you've got to wonder why Baird didn't bring him up earlier. The big blow in this game came off the bat of Angel Berroa in the 6th inning. The Royals were down 2-0 when Berroa hit a 3-run home run, his 10th of the season.
Sisco, Burgos, and MacDougal closed the door on the White Sox and the Royals finally won their 45th game of the season and picked up just their 18th road win of the season. Detroit is sinking like a rock with 8 straight losses, but we still have no shot at catching them—they are still 18 games ahead of us.

The Royals open a new series in Detroit tonight. Zack Greinke (3-16, 6.22) goes against Sean Douglass (5-3, 6.33).