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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
TORONTO (AP) -- Rookie Chad Durbin picked a near-perfect day to
show off to his family.
Durbin's family drove all the way from Warsaw, Ind., to see him
make his major league debut as a starter. He allowed just one hit
in six innings and Kansas City scored all nine of its runs in the
sixth inning as the Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-3 Thursday.
|  | | Royals center fielder Carlos Beltran, left, calls off right fielder Jermaine Dye and catches Shannon Stewart's fly ball. |
"I got three game balls and I gave two of them to my family,"
said Durbin, whose mother Debra, stepfather Max and 16-year-old
sister Stephanie made the trek.
"They came up yesterday, drove all night, got in at three,
slept till 11, got up and watched the game, and now they're headed
back out," Durbin said.
Durbin said his sister was especially pleased.
"She was glad to get the day off of school for one, and she'll
do the majority of the driving back." Durbin said. "I'm glad they
were here."
Durbin (1-0) retired the side in the first, second, fourth and
fifth innings. The 22-year-old right-hander, making just his second
major league appearance, walked one and struck out two.
"It was just throwing to the glove, playing catch," Durbin
said. "If you think about the hitter, you get scared. It was a
blast. Hopefully in five days I can duplicate it."
Darrin Fletcher's first-pitch homer leading off the bottom of
the third was Toronto's lone hit off Durbin. In his major league
debut at Detroit last Sept. 26, Durbin allowed one hit in 2 1/3
scoreless innings.
He made the jump from Double-A Wichita, where he was 8-10 with a
4.64 ERA last season.
"We knew he was a special pitcher, but for him to come out in
his first major league start and pitch like he did was just
special," Kansas City's Mike Sweeney said.
Toronto's Brad Fullmer, who hit a two-run homer off reliever
Brad Rigby in the ninth, was impressed with Durbin's poise.
"Sometimes you see a guy make his debut, and he's going to make
mistakes," Fullmer said. "But he was making all of his pitches to
the outside of the plate. He was quality the whole time."
The Royals, who split their four-game series against Toronto,
sent 13 men to the plate in the sixth.
Sweeney singled home two runs, Joe Randa had two RBIs, and
Johnny Damon and Carlos Feebles one each. The Royals also scored on
catcher Darrin Fletcher's throwing error to third, first baseman
Carlos Delgado's bases-loaded high throw to the plate and right
fielder Raul Mondesi's fielding error.
Toronto starter Kelvim Escobar (0-1) gave up three runs on seven
hits in 5 1/3 innings.
"My location wasn't so good," Escobar said.
Game notes
Durbin hadn't seen his family since December. ... Rigby
pitched three innings for his first major league save. ... The Blue
Jays finished with five hits. ... The Royals have activated SS Luis
Ordaz and have outrighted INF Ray Holbert to Triple-A Omaha. Ordaz
was claimed off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
When Ordaz reached the majors last season, he became the 100th
Venezuelan to play in the big leagues. ... Damon broke an 0-for-17
slump with an RBI single in the sixth. ... Twenty three of
Escobar's 44 pitches in the first two innings were balls. ...
Escobar threw 68 pitches in the first three innings. ... . Rigby
worked three innings for his first major league save.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Kansas City Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
RECAPS
Kansas City 9
Toronto 3
Tampa Bay 7
Minnesota 6
Baltimore 6
Cleveland 2
Chi. White Sox 6
Texas 2
Seattle 5
Boston 2
Florida 5
San Francisco 4
St. Louis 13
Chicago Cubs 3
Pittsburgh 10
Houston 1
Cincinnati 5
Milwaukee 1
Montreal 11
Los Angeles 3
San Diego 8
NY Mets 5
Arizona 3
Philadelphia 2
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