Kansas City scores seven runs in sixth to rally, beat Orioles

Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez entered the last of the sixth tonight at Kansas City with a 3-1 lead. He had thrown just 61 pitches. He pitched in that inning with a man on second and two outs.

What followed was pretty much a disaster. Jimenez allowed five straight two-out hits, three for extra bases. When the inning was over, the Kansas City Royals had scored seven runs and they beat the Orioles 8-3 tonight at Kauffman Stadium.

What looked like a game that could end in an important series-opening road win turned into just another loss - the Orioles' fifth in a row and sixth in seven games. They fall to 62-62 and are back at .500 for the first time since July 27, when they were 49-49. The five straight losses ties for the worst stretch of the year. The Royals improved to 43-20 at home and 76-48 for the season.

Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer off Jimenez in that sixth frame that tied the game 3-3. It was his 14th and came on an 0-1 fastball. A single and double followed and No. 9 hitter Omar Infante then drilled a two-run triple to center on an 0-2 pitch. He would score on Jonathan Schoop's throwing error toward third base for a 6-3 lead. Later in the inning, Lorenzo Cain's two-run single off Brad Brach made it 8-3.

The seven-run sixth inning by Kansas City was the biggest against Orioles pitching this year. Toronto had scored six times in the second inning on June 21 at Toronto.

Jimenez allowed 10 hits and seven runs (to tie a season high) in 5 2/3 innings. He falls to 9-8 with an ERA of 4.26. In eight starts in the second half, Jimenez is 2-4 with a 7.65 ERA, allowing 36 runs in 42 1/3 innings.

Back in the first inning, the Orioles took the lead on Kansas City starter Kris Medlen. Manny Machado doubled to lead off the game and scored on Adam Jones' two-run homer. Jones hit No. 24 on the first pitch and it traveled 428 feet to left field. After K.C. cut it to 2-1 in the third, Jones singled in the fourth and scored on a Steve Clevenger RBI double to left-center. Clevenger is batting .406 (13-for-32) during an eight-game hitting streak.

But once the Royals moved ahead with their big inning, the Orioles hitters went down quickly and quietly as they fell to 19-24 in the first game of a series, 12-15 versus the American League Central and 25-37 on the road. The Orioles did not have a hit after the fourth inning and went down 1-2-3 every inning from the fifth inning on.

On Tuesday night at Kansas City, Miguel Gonzalez (9-9, 4.73 ERA) pitches against left-hander Danny Duffy (6-6, 4.18 ERA).