Royals 10, Red Sox 9 (12 innings)
BOSTON - The Royals beat the Red Sox 10-9 in 12 innings Saturday night at Fenway Park.
Junichi Tazawa took the loss for the Red Sox. With two outs in the 12th. Tazawa walked Jeff Francouer, who took third on Eric Hosmer's double and scored on Tony Abreu's single to left with the go-ahead run.
Francisley Bueno earned the win for the Royals. He went 1 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up a hit with two strikeouts. Greg Holland earned his seventh save with a scoreless 12th.
The Red Sox fell to 0-6 in extra-inning games at Fenway.
Although the Royals took a quick three-run lead on Red Sox right-hander Aaron Cook in the first inning, Boston came back with a combined nine runs to take a 9-3 lead after five.
Royals right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning in his last start, couldn't get through the third inning on Saturday. He went 2 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and two walks with a strikeout and two home runs. He was in line for the loss, which would drop his record to 2-4 with the Royals, while his ERA climbed from 3.23 to 5.71.
Everett Teaford replaced Guthrie, going two innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Louis Coleman replaced Teaford.
Cook, meanwhile, had given up three runs on six hits and walk with no strikeouts through five innings.
The Royals got to Cook early, as the first four batters of the game reached base. Jarrod Dyson opened the game with a single to center and Alcides Escobar singled to left. Alex Gordon's double to center scored both runs, and Billy Butler's single to right scored Gordon, giving the Royals a 3-0 lead.
But in the second, with one out, four straight Red Sox batters hit safely. Mauro Gomez started it off with a solo home run, his first home run of the season. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Lavarnway both singled before Mike Aviles' 13th homer of the season gave the Sox a 4-3 lead.
The Sox added to that in the third with the first four batters reached base. Dustin Pedroia opened the inning with a ground-rule double, followed by a walk to Jacoby Ellsbury and a single by Cody Ross. Gomez' infield single scored Pedroia, with Ellsbury scoring on Guthrie's throwing error, and Gomez getting thrown out trying to talk second.
In the fifth, the Sox added two more runs as Pedro Ciriaco led off with a walk, going to second on Ellsbury's two-out single to center. Ross single to left scored Ciriaco, while Gomez single to left scored Ellsbury.
In just his 12th major league game this season, Gomez was 3-for-3 with a home run, a run scored, and three RBI through five innings.
NOTES: Designated hitter David Ortiz was out of the starting lineup Saturday, a day after being activated from the disabled list, where he had been since July 17 with a right Achilles...Left-hander Felix Doubront was activated from the 15-day DL, where he had been since Aug. 10 with a right knee contusion. He is expected to start Sunday. ... Outfielder Daniel Nava was placed on the 15-day DL with a left wrist sprain. It is his second stint on the DL this season...Shortstop Jose Iglesias, outfielder Che-Hsuan Lin, and right-hander Junichi Tazawa were called up from Triple-A Pawtucket and activated prior to Saturday's game. ... Mauro Gomez's solo home run with one out in the second inning snapped Jeremy Guthrie's streak at 23 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. ... Tony Abreu started at second base, his first appearance in over a week. ... Third baseman Mike Moustakas took an 0-for-15 skid into Saturday's game. ... Reliever Tim Collins has 10 strikeouts in his last 11 appearances. Going into Saturday's game, his 83 strikeouts led all American League relievers.