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Sports

Royals go for series split with Rangers

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Kansas City Royals shoot for a series split with the Texas Rangers Thursday afternoon in the finale of a four-game set.

The Royals dropped a 5-2 decision Wednesday night in Arlington and were down 5-0 by the fourth inning. Yordano Ventura wasn't sharp in allowing all five runs and 10 hits in seven innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

"I thought he did a nice job of containing the damage and keeping us in there," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Kendrys Morales and Salvador Perez had an RBI apiece for Kansas City, which had won three of four games and fell to 3-3 on a seven-game trek.

Kansas City leads the AL Central by one game ahead of the Detroit Tigers and will play the next eight games at home versus the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.

Jeremy Guthrie gets the call for the Royals Thursday and has a 2-2 record in six starts to go along with a 5.70 earned run average. Guthrie ended a four- start winless (0-2) streak his last time out on Saturday at Detroit and tossed 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a 6-2 victory.

Guthrie is 2-0 in three road starts and has a 5-4 mark with a 3.40 ERA in 17 career games (14 starts) against the Rangers.

The Rangers aim for a series win this afternoon and have prevailed in seven of their last 10 games.

Shin-Soo Choo homered and Adrian Beltre had an RBI in the first inning, while Prince Fielder added a two-run shot in the second. Fielder ended with three hits and Delino DeShields Jr. went 3-for-3 with two runs scored.

Yovani Gallardo picked up the win by holding the Royals to two runs and six hits in seven innings of work.

Texas, which will host the Cleveland Indians for three games this weekend, sends a winless Ross Detwiler to the mound Thursday. Detwiler is 0-4 with a 7.22 earned run average in six starts and the Rangers are 1-5 in that span.

Detwiler lasted only four innings in Saturday's 7-2 loss at Tampa Bay and gave up five runs in four innings. The left-hander is 0-2 at home and will face Kansas City for the first time.

The Royals won five of the six meetings with the Rangers in 2014.