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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Johnny Damon could do little wrong on
Tuesday night.
He had a career-high five hits, including a major league
record-tying four doubles, and reached over the center-field wall
for a catch as the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago Cubs 12-4.
"Hopefully by the time I'm done wearing a Royals uniform, I'll
have a few other records under my belt," Damon said. "I'm a
table-setter. I can't go out and think I'm a superstar. I'll leave
that to Jermaine (Dye) and Mike (Sweeney)."
Damon doubled in his first two at-bats. He got a single his
third time up and then got two more doubles to tie the major league
record. Toronto's Shannon Stewart also had four doubles Tuesday.
Damon reached high over the fence to steal a two-run home
run from Henry Rodriguez in the eighth inning.
"I thought it was out, but I think Henry Rodriguez did, too,"
Damon said. "I didn't know I had it until I brought it back over.
There's a feeling of helplessness when you pull the ball over and
you hope your glove is fitted to not allow the ball to pop out."
Sammy Sosa hit his 28th homer of the season, and third of the
three-game series for the Cubs.
The Royals had 20 hits, 11 for extra bases, in averting a sweep.
After the game, Damon was hit in the face with a shaving cream pie
by Dye during an on-field television interview.
"It was a pretty good night," Kansas City manager Tony Muser
said. "I asked him if he wanted to go for six and he said
sure. He hit the ball great to left field.
"He made a heck of a catch in center field. That was a great
play."
Muser's counterpart, Cubs manager Don Baylor, was equally impressed with the
Kansas City center fielder.
"Damon has always been on the edge of being a real good player
in this league," he said. "There are so many good players. They
sometimes forget about him. He makes things happen. He's one of
those real good young players that people should watch. I've always
liked him."
Damon's third double was part of a five-run fifth that blew open
a one-run game.
Sweeney and Dye opened the inning with back-to-back homers. It
was the fifth time this season that the Royals hit successive
shots.
With one out, Mark Quinn walked and moved to third on Todd
Dunwoody's double. Damon capped the burst with an RBI double.
"That five-run inning took us completely out of the ballgame,"
Baylor said.
The Royals led 4-1 after two innings before the Cubs cut it to
4-3 with single runs in the third and fifth off Blake Stein (1-2).
Stein, who was placed on the DL during spring training after
fracturing the ulna bone on his throwing arm, recorded his first
victory since being activated July 5.
Stein pitched a season-high 7 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits
and four runs.
"I kept the ball down," Stein said. "I didn't make many bad
pitches. A lot of ground balls."
Damon led off the game against Ismael Valdes (1-3) with a double
down the left-field line. He later scored on Sweeney's sacrifice
fly, Dye singled and Joe Randa homered into the fountains in
left-center.
Game notes
Dye, whose fifth-inning homer was his 23rd of the year, was
the designated hitter for the first time this season. He's played
86 games in right field. ... With his homer in the second, Sosa
extended his hitting streak to 11 games. He has homered in six of
his last eight games. ... The Royals activated 2B Carlos Febles
from the disabled list and sent pitcher Brett Laxton to Triple-A
Omaha. Febles had been out with a left shoulder strain since June
5.
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