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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- If Kauffman Stadium were a bit smaller,
Jeff D'Amico's night might have taken a radically different turn.
|  | | Jeff D'Amico admitted he didn't have his best stuff Friday, but it was good enough in spacious Kaufman Stadium. |
As it was, the right-hander gave up just three hits in seven
shutout innings, leading the Milwaukee Brewers past the slumping
Kansas City Royals 4-0 on Friday night.
Several times, the frustrated Royals, who have lost nine of 11,
sent Brewers outfielders to the warning track with long fly balls.
"Not real good stuff. My command was off," D'Amico said. "I
was able to get some quick outs, make some decent pitches. I'm glad
it's 375 feet to left and 400 to center, not 365 and 390."
Jose Hernandez drove in three runs with an RBI double and a two-run homer as the Brewers won for the fifth time in six games.
D'Amico (5-4) struck out four, walked two and did not allow a
hit until Mike Sweeney lined a soft single into left field with two
outs in the fourth.
With his third straight victory, D'Amico lowered his ERA from
2.45 to 2.16 in 58 1/3 innings while allowing only one runner as
far as third.
If he'd pitched enough innings to be listed among the league
leaders, his ERA would be second in the NL, behind only Arizona's
Randy Johnson.
The Royals threatened with two on and two outs in the sixth, but
D'Amico got Jermaine Dye to fly out to deep center.
"As soon as he hit it, I knew he hit it pretty good," D'Amico
said. "I thought it was out. I was pretty fortunate that some of
those balls didn't go because they weren't very good pitches."
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Beltran out until September
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Royals outfielder Carlos Beltran will be sidelined until at least September with a deep bone bruise in his right knee.
Beltran, last year's AL rookie of the year, went on the disabled
list July 4. The Royals hoped he would be ready by early August.
"They feel he needs a little more time with weight off the
knee, then a very slow process of leading up to running, weight
room, stairs, things like that, to gradually build it up and test
it to see where it's at," Royals manager Tony Muser said.
"That's going to be a slower process than I thought."
Beltran has been on crutches the past week.
After hitting .293 with 22 home runs and 108 RBI last year,
Beltran struggled in his second season. He was hitting just .247
with six home runs and 32 RBI.
Johnny Damon will move from left field to replace Beltran in center field. Todd Dunwoody and Mark Quinn will probably share time in left, Muser said.
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Mac Suzuki (4-4), 0-3 in eight starts at home, gave up two runs
and nine hits in seven innings, walked two and struck out two.
After hitting an RBI double in the fourth, Hernandez added his
11th homer in the eighth, a two-run shot off Jose Santiago.
"I faced Suzuki in Puerto Rico in 1996 and he was throwing
hard," Hernandez said. "His ball was sinking, but today he's
throwing with a lot more control. Before, he was throwing hard, but
he didn't know where the ball would go. Now he has a lot more
control."
With two outs in the fourth, Charlie Hayes moved from second to
third on Suzuki's wild pitch, then scored on Hernandez's double.
Raul Casanova followed with an RBI single.
Each team had players leave the game with apparent illness.
After the second inning, Royals center fielder Johnny Damon was
taken out with what the team said were flu-like symptoms.
Then Milwaukee second baseman Ron Belliard left on wobbly feet
after doubling in the fifth. The Brewers said he was experiencing
dizziness.
It was the fourth shutout loss of the season for the Royals.
"Everybody is going through a tough time collectively,"
manager Tony Muser said. "There's a fine line between saying we
didn't hit well and giving credit to the opponent. I thought we
battled tonight."
Game notes
Kansas City's Mark Quinn made a fine play in left field in
the fifth, backing into the padded wall to catch Henry Blanco's
drive. ... Quinn leads AL rookies with 12 home runs. ... Suzuki had
an embarrassing moment in the fifth when he wheeled around to throw
to second on a pickoff attempt, but tripped over the rubber and
nearly threw the ball away as he tried to catch his balance. ...
Since 1996, the Brewers are 13-5 in Kansas City. ... When they
score first, the Brewers are 30-16.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Kansas City Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Mets 6
Boston 4
Cleveland 9
Pittsburgh 3
Houston 9
Detroit 4
NY Yankees 6
Florida 2
Toronto 3
Philadelphia 2
Tampa Bay 8
Montreal 5
Atlanta 4
Baltimore 1
St. Louis 9
Chi. White Sox 4
Milwaukee 4
Kansas City 0
Chicago Cubs 6
Minnesota 2
Arizona 6
Texas 1
Seattle 7
San Diego 5
Anaheim 5
Los Angeles 3
San Francisco 4
Oakland 2
Cincinnati 9
Colorado 2
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