Good afternoon folks. This will be my last time covering the Mariners this season and I thank you for your patience over these last three days. Seattle can win the four-game series with the Royals today after taking two of the first three.

Leftie Anthony Vasquez (1-2, 9.00 ERA) will be on the mound for the M’s and Kansas City counters with left-hander Everett Teaford (0-0, 3.21).

Today the Mariners will join leaguewide efforts to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and have a number of things planned. I’ll provide updates from the game action below.

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Bottom of the ninth: Soria comes on and gets Ackley to fly out to left. Then Carp strikes out. Smoak singles to get the tying run on board. Trayvon Robinson pitch runs. After a long battle, Miguel Olivo flies out to left to end this one. Royals win 2-1 and earn a split of the four-game series.

Top of the ninth: Great showing by Delabar, who gets Escobar to fly out and then strikes out Gordon and Cabrera to retire the side in order. On we go to the bottom of the ninth. It’s 2-1 Kansas City.

Bottom of the eighth: Ichiro hits a two-out RBI double to bring in pinch runner Michael Saunders from first base. Brendan Ryan can’t continue the rally, however, and flies out to center. Steve Delabar comes in for Seattle to make his major-league debut. Mariners down 2-1.

Top of the eighth: Ruffin gets two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning for the M’s but Seattle is running out of outs. Greg Holland comes on in relief for KC leading 2-0.

Bottom of the seventh: The woes continue for the M’s at the plate. Both Carp and Olivo strike out in the inning. Smoak had grounded out to second. Chance Ruffin coming in for Seattle, which is losing 2-0.

Top of the seventh: Vasquez gives up a single to Pena, then can’t make the play on a sacrifice by Getz and there are two on with no outs. Shawn Kelley comes on in relief and strikes out Escobar on a failed sacrifice. KC tacks on another double with a Gordon RBI double, but Butler pops to second and Hosmer flies out to deep center to limit the damage. It’s 2-0 Royals.

Bottom of the sixth: Teaford done after five shutout innings and Blake Wood comes in. Attendance today: 20,951. Wood goes 1-2-3, with Ichiro grounding out, then Ryan and Ackley striking out. That’s five K’s in the last six outs for the M’s, who are losing 1-0.

Top of the sixth: Hosmer doubles, but KC doesn’t get anything out of it as Vasquez gets two grounders to short and a pop up to second. KC 1-0.

Bottom of the fifth: Teaford with three K’s in the frame, striking out Olivo to start. Wells drew a base on balls but was stranded when Bard and Liddi also went down on strikes. On to the sixth, it’s 1-0 Royals.

Top of the fifth: Royals threaten with two men on after Getz was hit by a pitch and Escobar singled. Vasquez got out of trouble when Casper Wells made a nice diving catch in center to rob Cabrera and end the inning. KC up 1-0.

Bottom of the fourth: Ackley bunts to get on base, but he’s doubled off by KC right fielder Jeff Francoeur, who a hard line-drive off Carp’s bat. Smoak then connected well, but Gordon made a nice catch in left to end the inning. More great contact by the M’s but no luck as they trail 1-0.

Top of the fourth: Butler leads off the inning with a hit to right field, one that Ichiro appeared to could’ve caught. The ball short-hopped into his glove. Hosmer and Francoeur then flied out, and Navarro popped out to retire the side. Royals up 1-0.

Bottom of the third: Quick work there as Alex Liddi makes good contact but lines out to short to start the inning. Ichiro grounds out to second and Ryan grounds out to third to end it. 1-0 Kansas City.

Top of the third: Mike Carp can’t find a fly ball in the sun off Gordon’s bat and Alcides Escobar, who singled earlier, is able to come around and score on the double. Tough luck for Vasquez, who had been cruising. Royals take a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the frame.

Bottom of the second: Justin Smoak hits a hard line-drive to start the inning but Alcides Escobar makes a great diving grab at shortstop. Miguel Olivo follows it up with a single and the M’s already have as many hits as they had last night. Casper Wells hits into a fielder’s choice (5-4) and Josh Bard lines out hard to left to end the frame. Still 0-0 here.

Top of the second: Easy work in the second for Vasquez. Eric Hosmer grounds out to second. Jeff Francoeur lines out to third. Yamaico Navarro flies out to center. No score.

Bottom of the first: Ichiro flies out to left to start, but then Brendan Ryan singles on a high chopper to short that didn’t draw a throw. Ryan steals second and makes it to third on a wild pitch, but Dustin Ackley and Mike Carp strike out swinging to retire the side. Mariners already have more runners left on base than yesterday. Scoreless after one.

Top of the first: Vasquez off the best start I’ve seen in these three games. He strikes out Alex Gordon to start the inning and then gets Billy Butler to ground into a 6-4-3 double play after Melky Cabrera singled. It’s 0-0.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Another late lead, another late loss for the Kansas City Royals.

Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning off Louis Coleman to erase Kansas City’s two-run lead and lift the Cleveland Indians to an 8-7 win over the Royals on Saturday night.

The loss marked the second straight night the Royals couldn’t hold a late lead against the Indians. Kansas City took a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning Friday, but Cleveland tied the game and scored the go-ahead run when Tim Collins walked Ezequiel Carrera with the bases loaded.

Saturday’s meltdown was even tougher to take since the Royals battled all night and responded every time the Indians scored, taking the lead on three different occasions. Alex Gordon’s three-run homer broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh, a blow that appeared to put the Royals on the verge of a win.

“It felt like we were trying to stick our fingers in the dike all day long before it caved in on us,” manager Ned Yost said. “We didn’t pitch well. We couldn’t get anybody to have a clean inning.”

The loss dropped Kansas City to 21-28 in one-run games and 4-17 on the road.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of one-run games,” Gordon said. “This happens to be another one. It’s tough, but we’re not going to hang our heads.”

Coleman (1-4) tried to get a 1-1 slider past Cabrera, but the ball landed in the seats in right field.

“He likes the ball in and I got it in a little bit instead of keeping it away,” Coleman said.

The slider didn’t surprise the Indians’ shortstop, who has a career-high 21 home runs.

“That is what he threw to the guys in front of me,” Cabrera said. “In that situation, I was looking for one swing. I got it.”

Coleman, a reliable setup man for the Royals all season, has allowed seven runs on eight hits in three innings over his last three outings. He gave up a home run to Toronto’s Brett Lawrie in the seventh inning to snap a tie and send the Royals to a 4-3 loss on Wednesday.

“I’m making some costly mistakes — not good timing,” Coleman said.

Gordon, who came into the game in a 2-for-15 slump with nine strikeouts, hit his career-high 18th homer off Tony Sipp.

“I was just trying to drive the ball and not hit into a double play,” Gordon said.

The Royals nearly tied the score in the ninth against Indians closer Chris Perez. Salvador Perez dropped a single into center field and took second when the ball skipped past Carrera for an error. Alcides Escobar tried to sacrifice the runner to third, but Chris Perez pounced on the ball and threw to third for the out.

Escobar was bunting on his own, a fact that didn’t please his manager.

“We’ve already had that conversation,” Yost said. “That’s not a spot we’re looking to bunt.”

Escobar stole second, but Gordon, who had three hits, scored two runs and drew a walk, struck out. Melky Cabrera, who was 3 for 3 lifetime against Perez, including a game-winning hit earlier this season, struck out to end the game.

Joe Smith (3-3) got the final out in the eighth for the win and Perez recorded his 29th save in 33 chances.

Royals starter Danny Duffy allowed four runs in 5 1-3 innings. He gave up a solo homer to newly-acquired Jim Thome in the sixth, the 602nd of the slugger’s career. The blast came on Thome’s 41st birthday.

Trailing 1-0, the Royals scored three times in the fourth off Fausto Carmona on Eric Hosmer’s RBI single and a two-run double by Mike Moustakas. The Indians tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but Melky Cabrera’s RBI double put Kansas City ahead in the fifth, though Gordon was out trying to score from first.

Asdrubal Cabrera’s RBI single pulled Cleveland to 7-5 in the seventh.

Notes: Gordon is hitting .484 (15 for 31) off Carmona overall. … Indians OF Shin-Soo Choo left in the fifth after aggravating his sore left side. He had missed two games with the injury and went 0 for 2 before being replaced by pinch-hitter Carrera. … Royals LHP Bruce Chen (9-5) will oppose RHP Justin Masterson (10-7) in the series finale Sunday. Chen has won a career-high four straight. He’s 11-4 against the AL Central the past two years and 4-0 against Cleveland since joining Kansas City in 2009.

Bruce Chen used an assortment of pitches, changed delivery angles and even let one pitch go at 90 mph. The veteran left-hander kept the Chicago White Sox guessing and had them off-balance for most of the day.

The result: a 4-1 Kansas City Royals’ victory Wednesday that allowed them to win two of three at U.S. Cellular Field.

Kansas City scored some early runs and helped the 34-year-old Chen get his first win in two months.

“Those four runs early in the game made the whole difference. I was able to relax and go after the hitters,” Chen said.

He didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning when he was able to pitch out of a small jam. But his best inning was the sixth when he faced a no-out, bases loaded predicament and escaped with just one run scoring.

“I made good pitches when I needed to. I didn’t have a very high pitch count, so that helped me,” Chen said. “I kept making pitches and got out of that situation with a win, so that was good for us. … I just gave everything I had.”

Chen, who was making his third start since coming off the DL, got his first victory in two months, since beating Baltimore on May 5.

“Chen threw the ball pretty good, you give up one run in a big jam, you cannot take anything away from him,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who said before the game he might want an at-bat against Chen because the pitcher had experienced trouble against left-handed batters.

But the White Sox are having problems against all types of pitching.

“We continued to struggle at the plate with people in scoring position. We cannot get the big hit,” Guillen said.

“Obviously it’s frustrating when you come out and every inning you think you’re going to score a bunch of runs and you don’t. It’s been like that for a little while. You try to look for the answer and you can’t find it.”

Chen (5-2) allowed four hits and a run and departed after walking A.J. Pierzynski to start the bottom of the seventh. He retired the first nine batters before Juan Pierre singled leading off the bottom of the fourth.

Greg Holland pitched two shutout innings and Joakim Soria worked the ninth for his 15th save in 20 chances.

“Bruce is that pitcher that I’m sure they’re kicking themselves over there for losing to because his stuff isn’t going to overwhelm you, he makes you put the ball in play,” said the Royals’ Jeff Francoeur, who had two RBIs.

The Royals scored in the first off Edwin Jackson (5-7) as Chris Getz walked, stole second, held at third on Melky Cabrera’s single and scored when Alex Gordon grounded into a double play. Hosmer hit his eighth homer leading off the second on a ball that just went over the glove of Chicago center fielder Alex Rios at the wall.

Francoeur delivered a two-out RBI single in the fourth after Gordon led off with a single and advanced on a grounder, making it 3-0. Francoeur hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth after singles by Gordon and Hosmer and Jackson’s wild pitch, extending the Royals’ lead to 4-0.

Jackson allowed eight hits and four runs in seven innings.

After Pierre singled in the fourth and after Adam Dunn walked, he stole second. But Paul Konerko grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The White Sox put together a rally in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs on singles by Rios and Gordon Beckham and a bunt single by Pierre on a close play a first. Dunn drew a one-out walk to force in a run. But Chen slipped a third strike past Konerko — who hopes to make the All-Star team via online voting — and got Carlos Quentin — already on the AL team — to pop out to end the threat.

“He threw well all day. He basically did everything. I felt good going into the game, so anything I did poorly after that was probably a result of the way he threw the ball. You’ve got to give him credit,” Konerko said.

“Sometimes, it’s easier to face a right-hander that has a 95 mph fastball and a real hard slider. Those aren’t fun, either, but at least you know it’s one of the two pitches and you just have to be right on one of them. He was throwing five different pitches in four different areas, so that makes for a lot of different looks.”

Chen finally got his first win against the White Sox in 11 career appearances. He is now 1-3 in those outings, including six starts.

NOTES: Guillen was asked before the game why he was starting Dunn against Chen. Dunn entered the game 2 for 56 against southpaws this season. “Have you see Bruce Chen pitch?” Guillen asked of his former teammate with the Atlanta Braves. “I might get an at-bat. And Bruce Chen is my boy. I knew him with Atlanta. I love this kid. … I hope we have a good chance with him. I think Bruce had troubles against lefties in the past because he takes the change-up away from them, but I think I’m going to give (Dunn) a shot to compete.” Lefties were batting 68 points higher this season against Chen than righties entering the game. Dunn went 0 for 2 with two walks and is batting .166. … Chen threw 104 pitches, 66 for strikes. He walked three and struck out four.

Bruce Chen used an assortment of pitches, changed delivery angles and even let one pitch go at 90 mph. The veteran left-hander kept the Chicago White Sox guessing and had them off-balance for most of the day.

The result: a 4-1 Kansas City Royals’ victory Wednesday that allowed them to win two of three at U.S. Cellular Field.

Kansas City scored some early runs and helped the 34-year-old Chen get his first win in two months.

“Those four runs early in the game made the whole difference. I was able to relax and go after the hitters,” Chen said.

He didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning when he was able to pitch out of a small jam. But his best inning was the sixth when he faced a no-out, bases loaded predicament and escaped with just one run scoring.

“I made good pitches when I needed to. I didn’t have a very high pitch count, so that helped me,” Chen said. “I kept making pitches and got out of that situation with a win, so that was good for us. … I just gave everything I had.”

Chen, who was making his third start since coming off the DL, got his first victory in two months, since beating Baltimore on May 5.

“Chen threw the ball pretty good, you give up one run in a big jam, you cannot take anything away from him,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who said before the game he might want an at-bat against Chen because the pitcher had experienced trouble against left-handed batters.

But the White Sox are having problems against all types of pitching.

“We continued to struggle at the plate with people in scoring position. We cannot get the big hit,” Guillen said.

“Obviously it’s frustrating when you come out and every inning you think you’re going to score a bunch of runs and you don’t. It’s been like that for a little while. You try to look for the answer and you can’t find it.”

Chen (5-2) allowed four hits and a run and departed after walking A.J. Pierzynski to start the bottom of the seventh. He retired the first nine batters before Juan Pierre singled leading off the bottom of the fourth.

Greg Holland pitched two shutout innings and Joakim Soria worked the ninth for his 15th save in 20 chances.

“Bruce is that pitcher that I’m sure they’re kicking themselves over there for losing to because his stuff isn’t going to overwhelm you, he makes you put the ball in play,” said the Royals’ Jeff Francoeur, who had two RBIs.

The Royals scored in the first off Edwin Jackson (5-7) as Chris Getz walked, stole second, held at third on Melky Cabrera’s single and scored when Alex Gordon grounded into a double play. Hosmer hit his eighth homer leading off the second on a ball that just went over the glove of Chicago center fielder Alex Rios at the wall.

Francoeur delivered a two-out RBI single in the fourth after Gordon led off with a single and advanced on a grounder, making it 3-0. Francoeur hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth after singles by Gordon and Hosmer and Jackson’s wild pitch, extending the Royals’ lead to 4-0.

Jackson allowed eight hits and four runs in seven innings.

After Pierre singled in the fourth and after Adam Dunn walked, he stole second. But Paul Konerko grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The White Sox put together a rally in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs on singles by Rios and Gordon Beckham and a bunt single by Pierre on a close play a first. Dunn drew a one-out walk to force in a run. But Chen slipped a third strike past Konerko — who hopes to make the All-Star team via online voting — and got Carlos Quentin — already on the AL team — to pop out to end the threat.

“He threw well all day. He basically did everything. I felt good going into the game, so anything I did poorly after that was probably a result of the way he threw the ball. You’ve got to give him credit,” Konerko said.

“Sometimes, it’s easier to face a right-hander that has a 95 mph fastball and a real hard slider. Those aren’t fun, either, but at least you know it’s one of the two pitches and you just have to be right on one of them. He was throwing five different pitches in four different areas, so that makes for a lot of different looks.”

Chen finally got his first win against the White Sox in 11 career appearances. He is now 1-3 in those outings, including six starts.

NOTES: Guillen was asked before the game why he was starting Dunn against Chen. Dunn entered the game 2 for 56 against southpaws this season. “Have you see Bruce Chen pitch?” Guillen asked of his former teammate with the Atlanta Braves. “I might get an at-bat. And Bruce Chen is my boy. I knew him with Atlanta. I love this kid. … I hope we have a good chance with him. I think Bruce had troubles against lefties in the past because he takes the change-up away from them, but I think I’m going to give (Dunn) a shot to compete.” Lefties were batting 68 points higher this season against Chen than righties entering the game. Dunn went 0 for 2 with two walks and is batting .166. … Chen threw 104 pitches, 66 for strikes. He walked three and struck out four.

AP Photo/Orlin Wagner

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Luke Hochevar (44) pitches to Los Angeles Angels’ Peter Bourjos during the third inning of a baseball game in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, May 30, 2011.

Torii Hunter’s second home run, a two-run shot off Joakim Soria in the ninth, powered the Los Angeles Angels to a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
Hunter, who had a solo home run off Everett Teaford in the seventh, drove in the 1,000th run of his career with the long drive that put the Angels on top 9-8. For Soria (3-3), a two-time All-Star, it was his fifth blown save in 12 opportunities and second in two days.
Last year he had three blown saves in 46 opportunities. The Angels added a run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Mark Trumbo.
Trumbo and Peter Bourjos hit solo home runs in the eighth off Louis Coleman to bring the Angels to within a run.
Royals rookie Eric Hosmer homered, doubled and drove in four runs to help the Royals seize a 6-1 lead over Ervin Santana after two innings.
Bobby Abreu, one day after passing Lou Gehrig for 32nd on the all-time doubles list, hit two more two-baggers, lifting his career total to 537. He was 4 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, singling just ahead of Hunter’s ninth-inning home run.
The Royals took a 3-0 lead on Santana’s first six pitches. Alex Gordon homered on his first pitch, then Melky Cabrera took a four-pitch walk before Hosmer slammed Santana’s first delivery to him over the wall in right field.
In the second, Santana walked Chris Getz and Gordon and hit Alcides Escobar, loading the bases. Hosmer then lined a two-run double off the wall in right, tying the career high with four RBIs which he’d set three days earlier in Texas. Gordon went to third on the play and made it 6-1 on Jeff Francoeur’s sacrifice fly.
Kevin Jepsen (1-2) went 1 1-3 innings for the win. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his second save in five opportunities.
The Royals scored two in the seventh and went ahead 8-5 on Wilson Betemit’s RBI triple and Getz’ RBI single.
Royals starter Luke Hochevar, winless since May 1, left after five innings with a 6-4 lead, allowing four runs on seven hits. Santana settled down after the second, going six innings and allowing six runs on seven hits.
Hochevar hit Izturis with his first pitch and fell behind 1-0 on Abreu’s RBI single before the Royals jumped on Santana for three in the first and three in the second.
Hochevar in the third gave up an RBI double to Abreu and a run-scoring single to Alberto Callaspo.
NOTES: Gordon’s was the 34th leadoff homer in Royals history and the fifth against the Angels. … When he walked Gordon in the second inning and loaded the bases, Santana had thrown 42 pitches and recorded three outs. … Last Memorial Day, the same teams and pitchers faced off, with Santana beating Hochevar 7-1. … This was the first of a season-long 11-game home stand for KC. … Just ahead of Abreu on the all-time doubles list is Todd Helton with 538.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—Gio Gonzalez(notes) pitched seven effective innings and the
Oakland Athletics ruined Eric Hosmer’s(notes) much-anticipated major league debut with
a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

Gonzalez (4-2) settled down after allowing Alex Gordon’s(notes) homer in the first,
holding Kansas City to two runs and four hits. He lasted at least six innings
for the sixth time in seven starts.

Hosmer made his first start at first base for Kansas City after hitting .439
at Triple-A Omaha, the highest average of any minor league regular. He went 0
for 2 with two walks.

Sean O’Sullivan(notes) (1-2) was almost as good as Gonzalez, but Oakland got to him
for three runs in the fifth. The right-hander still managed a career-high eight
innings, allowing five hits and one walk.

Hosmer, the third overall selection in the 2008 draft, received a standing
ovation before his first at-bat. He walked in his first two plate appearances,
stole a base, and took a called third strike with Jeff Francoeur(notes) on second with
the potential tying run in the sixth. In the ninth, with much of the crowd on
its feet, he took a called third strike again.

Grant Balfour(notes) pitched a hitless eighth and Brian Fuentes(notes) finished for his
eighth save in 10 opportunities. With two out, Wilson Betemit(notes) singled and
pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson(notes) stole second. But Matt Treanor(notes) grounded out to end the
game, sending first baseman Conor Jackson(notes) to the ground when appeared to run
into his arm.

O’Sullivan retired 11 straight batters before Kurt Suzuki(notes), Ryan Sweeney(notes) and
Andy LaRoche(notes) singled leading off the fifth. LaRoche’s hit drove in Suzuki and
Mark Ellis(notes) followed with a liner to left that glanced off Gordon’s outstretched
glove. The runners had held up to see if the ball would be caught, so the bases
were loaded with nobody out.

Kevin Kouzmanoff(notes) grounded to third baseman Betemit, who got a forceout at
second as Sweeney scored. Then Coco Crisp’s(notes) infield out brought in another run,
putting the A’s on top 3-2.

Crisp was then thrown out trying to steal second, ending the inning with an
argument from Oakland manager Bob Geren.

After that, O’Sullivan retired nine in a row before Tim Collins(notes) came in.

With two out in the first, Gordon hit Gonzalez’s 2-1 pitch over the fence in
left. Matt Treanor walked leading off the third and scored on Mike Aviles’(notes)
triple.

NOTES: Hosmer’s mother, father, brother, aunt and uncle flew in from Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla., to see his major league debut. … The A’s have not been shut
out by Kansas City in 138 games. … Oakland’s David DeJesus(notes) has not committed
an error in 269 consecutive games, longest active streak among major league
outfielders. … The Royals moved C Jason Kendall(notes) from the 15-day to the 60-day
DL.