Royals 5, Mariners 1

Bruce Chen pitched seven strong innings and the host Kansas City Royals posted a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night in a rain-shortened game.

The contest was called in the eighth inning and gave Kansas City its fourth win in its last five games.

Alex Gordon recorded a two-run double in the Royals’ three-run third.

Wilson Betemit cracked a solo homer in the fourth and hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Billy Butler added an RBI single for Kansas City.

Chen (2-0) allowed one run and six hits while striking out one and walking one.

The Mariners’ Doug Fister (0-3) was touched for five earned runs and eight hits to take the loss.

Final1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9thRHE
Seattle MarinersMariners000000010160
Kansas City RoyalsRoyals003101000582
WP:Bruce Chen (KC)
LP:Doug Fister (SEA)
Season Series
Kansas CityStatsSeattle
5-3Vs3-5
.234Batting Average.208
3.8Runs / Game2.9
6Home Runs6
5Errors5