KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Bruce Chen was laboring, and Jaime Garcia was cruising.
Then one swing by Kansas City’s Wilson Betemit upended everything.
Garcia came undone after Betemit’s second-inning, three-run home run. Chen recovered from a shaky start, retiring Albert Pujols with two on and two out to help the Royals go on to beat the Cardinals 10-3 Sunday.
Garcia, who entered with the majors’ second-best ERA, had looked solid until Betemit took him deep.
“It’s amazing,” Chen said. “I’m struggling the first two innings. He’s breezing along. Then he’s out of the game and I’m still pitching. I feel very lucky. I feel very grateful.”
Jason Kendall had 2, two-run doubles and Jose Guillen stretched his hitting streak to 21 games as the Royals took 2 of 3 from their in-state rivals. Last year, the Cardinals went 5-1 against Kansas City and swept all three in Kauffman Stadium.
Betemit’s home run, after two-out walks to Alberto Callaspo and Mike Aviles, also ended a 69-inning home run drought for Kansas City. Garcia retired the first five Royals before faltering.
“To be able to take a good swing on a ball and put the ball in the seats is big for us,” Manager Ned Yost said. “It changed the whole flow of the game. We have two outs, and end up coaxing two walks and Wilson puts a ball in the stands opposite field.”
CUBS 8 WHITE SOX 6
The White Sox scored three times in the bottom of the ninth, but Armando Rios struck out swinging against the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol with runners at first and second as the White Sox’s 11-game winning streak ended.
ANGELS 10, ROCKIES 3 Brandon Wood hit his first grand slam and Mike Napoli added a three-run home run as Los Angeles routed visiting Colorado.
PHILLIES 11, BLUE JAYS 2
Jamie Moyer (9-6) gave up 2 runs and 6 hits in 7 sharp innings and Philadelphia took advantage of Toronto’s mistakes to beat the visiting Blue Jays.
RED SOX 5, GIANTS 1
Jon Lester pitched a five-hitter, David Ortiz hit a home run into Mc-Covey Cove and visiting Boston beat Tim Lincecum and San Francisco.
METS 6, TWINS 0
Jeff Francoeur and David Wright each hit a two-run home run as New York put on an impressive power show against visiting Minnesota. Ike Davis also went deep as the Mets racked up 14 hits.
TIGERS 10, BRAVES 4
Rookie Brennan Boesch homered and drove in three runs as Detroit chased Tommy Hanson early and beat host Atlanta.
INDIANS 5, REDS 3
Shin-Soo Choo homered twice off Bronson Arroyo as visiting Cleveland ended its seven-game losing streak against Cincinnati.
DIAMONDBACKS 2, RAYS 1
Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton had to be separated in a dugout dispute after Gerardo Parra hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning that helped visiting Arizona beat Tampa Bay.
BREWERS 3, MARINERS 0
Chris Narveson pitched four-hit ball for eight innings and Rickie Weeks hit a leadoff home run, lifting host Milwaukee to victory over Seattle.
ORIOLES 4, NATIONALS 3
Miguel Tejada singled in the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning as Baltimore rallied to beat visiting Washington for its season-high fourth consecutive victory.
ATHLETICS 3, PIRATES 2
Kurt Suzuki homered with two outs in the eighth inning after a dropped foul popup as host Oakland completed a sweep.
RANGERS 10, ASTROS 1
Josh Hamilton extended his hitting streak to 21 games with the second-longest home run ever at Rangers Ballpark along with a couple of defensive highlights to lead Texas to a series victory over Houston.
YANKEES 8, DODGERS 6
Robinson Cano hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning after the Yankees rallied with four runs in the ninth off Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton as New York beat host Los Angeles.
National League PADRES 4, MARLINS 2
Will Venable hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the eighth as visiting San Diego completed a three-game sweep.
Sunday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego 4, Florida 2
INTERLEAGUE
Cleveland 5, Cincinnati 3 NY Mets 6, Minnesota 0 Detroit 10, Atlanta 4 Philadelphia 11, Toronto 2 Baltimore 4, Washington 3 Arizona 2, Tampa Bay 1 Chicago Cubs 8, Chicago White Sox 6 Milwaukee 3, Seattle 0 Kansas City 10, St. Louis 3 LA Angels 10, Colorado 3 Boston 5, San Francisco 1 Oakland 3, Pittsburgh 2 Texas 10, Houston 1 NY Yankees 8, LA Dodgers 6, 10 innings
Sports, Pages 16 on 06/28/2010