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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The first 20 Kansas City batters failed
to reach base against Eric Milton. Then it looked like the next 20
would.
"Now," Kansas City's Mike Sweeney said, "I see why he threw a
no-hitter last year."
|  | | Ron Coomer, left, is greeted at home plate by Twins teammate Corey Koskie after hitting the first of two home runs. |
Milton didn't allow a runner until Carlos Beltran's two-out
double in the seventh, and the Minnesota Twins hit six homers in a
game for the first time since 1993, then hung on to beat the Royals
13-7 Sunday.
"He was doing whatever the catcher asked him for," Beltran
said.
The teams combined for nine home runs -- including the first time
in major league history that both teams hit three consecutive
homers in the same game. Ron
Coomer connected twice for the Twins. Butch Huskey, Jacque Jones,
Matt Lawton and Matt LeCroy also homered.
Milton (1-0), 24, a left-hander acquired from the New
York Yankees in the Chuck Knoblauch trade, took no-hit bids into
the sixth three times last year. On Sept. 11, he pitched a
no-hitter against Anaheim.
"It's silly to say, but I've been in that position before and I
felt relaxed," he said. "By no means am I used to it, but I have
been in that position before, and it definitely calmed me down. I
had great stuff today, at least 100 times better than I had my
previous time out."
Coomer, Jones and LeCroy homered off Brad Rigby during in a
four-pitch span in the sixth, the first time three straight Twins
homered since June 7, 1982, when Ron Washington, Tom Brunansky and
Kent Hrbek did it, also against Kansas City.
"I got the ball up and got away from what I do well," Rigby
said. "I knew if I kept us in the game we could come back. I
didn't."
Beltran, Jermaine Dye and Sweeney hit consecutive home runs for
the Royals in the eighth _ two off Eddie Guardado and one off
Hector Carrasco.
"It was nice to hit some balls over the fence," Minnesota
manager Tom Kelly said. "Then they started flying out against
us."
Minnesota hadn't homered six times in one game since Aug. 15,
1993, at Oakland.
"The ball was carrying pretty good today. We had a lot of guys
swinging the bats real well, and so did the Royals," said Lawton,
who was 3-for-5 with four RBI and lacked only a triple for the
cycle.
Kansas City trailed 13-0 entering the eighth, then had nine
straight batters reach.
Milton allowed two runs and four hits in 7 2/3 innings, struck
out three and walked none.
"Eric pitched a terrific game. He had all his pitches working,
his cutter, his slider," Kelly said. "He was changing speeds
masterfully."
Even though they didn't expect to recover from a 13-0 deficit,
the Royals were relieved to break up the perfect game.
"He was always 0-1, 0-2. We never could get comfortable in the
box," Sweeney said. "You never want to get no-hit, or even shut
out. It's like a slap in the face."
Huskey had a two-run homer in the first and Lawton made it 5-0
with a three-run shot in the fourth off Jay Witasick (0-2), who
allowed six runs -- five earned -- and six hits in 4 2/3 innings. His
ERA rose to 9.31.
Game notes
he Royals had not given up three straight homers since
Detroit did it against Kevin Appier in 1996. ... Both of Lawton's
homers this year came with two on. ... The Royals, who had won four
straight, haven't won five in a row since Aug. 20-24, 1998.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Kansas City Clubhouse
RECAPS
Baltimore 11
Detroit 6
Minnesota 13
Kansas City 7
Texas 7
Toronto 5
Boston 5
Anaheim 2
Oakland 14
Chi. White Sox 2
Seattle 9
NY Yankees 3
Cleveland 17
Tampa Bay 4
Florida 7
Colorado 6
Atlanta 9
San Francisco 3
Los Angeles 0
NY Mets 0
Cincinnati 8
Chicago Cubs 7
Montreal 2
San Diego 1
St. Louis 11
Milwaukee 2
Philadelphia 3
Houston 2
Arizona 1
Pittsburgh 0
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