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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
TORONTO (AP) -- With six weeks to go, and five teams vying for
the AL wild card, Brad Fullmer realizes every game is important.
|  | | Brad Fullmer belted a three-run homer in the eighth Tuesday night to lift Toronto past Kansas City. |
Fullmer hit a three-run homer and Tony Batista followed with his
36th home run as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied in the eighth inning
to defeat the Kansas City Royals 7-5 Tuesday night.
The Blue Jays are 2½ games behind Cleveland and Boston in the wild-card
race, with Oakland a half-game out.
"Hopefully we get some help, but we've just got to win,"
Fullmer said. "That's the bottom line."
Toronto, carried by its offense all season, has had four
straight solid outings from its veteran starters. Steve Trachsel
gave up three runs -- one earned -- in six innings against Kansas
City.
Blue Jays starters have given up only three earned runs over the
last 28 2/3 innings.
"It's not easy to win games when you have to score a ton of
runs," Fullmer said. "We've done that, but it's always nice to
get a quality outing from your starter."
Royals starter Dan Reichert took a 5-3 lead into the eighth. He
was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk to David Martinez and
giving up a single to Carlos Delgado.
Jose Santiago (6-4) relieved and gave up Fullmer's 26th homer.
Batista then connected for an insurance run.
"We were a couple of pitches away from winning, but Santiago
got some pitches up in the zone, and they hit them out of the
park," Kansas City's Jermaine Dye said.
Kelvim Escobar (8-13) got two outs for the win. Billy Koch
pitched a perfect ninth for his 29th save.
"This was a must win for us," Koch said. "I was watching the
scoreboard. There's nothing else for us to do out there."
Reichert, who hasn't lost since July 15, allowed five runs --
three earned -- on eight hits in seven-plus innings.
"It was a little easier facing Santiago's straight fastball
after seeing Reichert's heavy sinker," Fullmer said. "I'm not
going to say it was a relief facing Santiago, but Reichert threw a
great game."
Johnny Damon drew a leadoff walk from Mark Guthrie in the
seventh and stole second. Mike Sweeney's RBI single put the Royals
ahead 4-3.
The Royals took advantage of two errors to score three unearned
runs. Delgado made a wild throw from first base that gave Kansas
City a run in the eighth.
After shortstop Alex Gonzalez botched a ground ball with two
outs in the Royals first, Joe Randa hit a two-run double. Dye's RBI
single gave Kansas City a 3-0 lead in the third.
Toronto came back in the fourth on Delgado's RBI single and
Fullmer's run-scoring grounder.
The Blue Jays tied it 3-3 in the fifth when Sweeney, the first
baseman, failed to catch Reichert's throw for an error, allowing
Jose Cruz Jr. to score.
Game notes
Martinez has hit in 13 straight games since being acquired
from Texas on Aug. 5. ... Damon went 0-for-4. He began the night as
the top hitter in the majors since the All-Star break, batting .449
(75-for-167) in 38 games.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Kansas City Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
RECAPS
Anaheim 11
Boston 4
Cleveland 14
Oakland 6
Seattle 8
Detroit 4
Texas 5
NY Yankees 4
Toronto 7
Kansas City 5
Tampa Bay 3
Minnesota 2
San Diego 16
NY Mets 1
Philadelphia 5
Cincinnati 4
Houston 10
Chicago Cubs 7
Pittsburgh 6
St. Louis 2
Colorado 7
Atlanta 6
Milwaukee 4
Arizona 3
Los Angeles 14
Montreal 6
Florida 7
San Francisco 5
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