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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- Magglio Ordonez had to be coaxed out of the
dugout for a curtain call following his go-ahead, three-run home
run Monday night.
|  | | White Sox right fielder Magglio Ordonez, one of baseball's underrated hitters, smacked a three-run homer to defeat the Royals Monday. |
He might have to start getting used to the attention.
"Magglio is emerging and evolving into a force in the league,"
Chicago manager Jerry Manuel said after Ordonez's seventh inning
homer lifted the White Sox to a 7-6 victory over the Kansas City
Royals.
"A lot of managers talk to me about him around the batting
cage," Manuel said of his shy right fielder. "They think he's one
of the most dangerous hitters in the league. He's probably a secret
to fans, but opposing managers really have a lot of respect for
Magglio."
Ordonez homered off Mac Suzuki (5-5) with two outs in the
seventh, while Carlos Lee drove in three runs with a two-run homer
in the second and an RBI single in the sixth.
"Before Ordonez got in the box, I didn't mind walking him with
first base open," Suzuki said. "But we got two strikes on him and
I tried to strike him out, but I got my splitter up and he hit
it."
"(Suzuki) was throwing the ball real good and he made one
mistake and I hit it out of the ballpark," Ordonez said.
The curtain call was the first for Ordonez, who wasn't going to
oblige the crowd of 34,473 until the scoreboard camera showed him
in the dugout, prompting a louder cheer.
"They told me, `You have to go out,' " Ordonez said of his
teammates. "I've never done that before. It's nice."
"He's a very good hitter and still underrated," Kansas City
manager Tony Muser said.
The White Sox have won five straight home games and 14 of their
last 16 series openers. Manuel was concerned about rookie
left-handed starter Mark Buehrle, who did not get a decision.
Buehrle had a tough assignment, facing the predominantly
right-handed hitting Royals.
"I couldn't find my first pitch strike," Buehrle said. "It
seems like I was 1-0 and 2-0 on every hitter."
"I thought it was a struggle for him," Manuel said. "He still
has enough stuff to keep us in ballgames."
Johnny Damon had three hits and three RBIs and rookie Mark Quinn
had a career-high four hits for the Royals, who dropped their third
straight.
Kelly Wunsch (4-3) picked up the win with two-thirds of an
inning in relief. Keith Foulke pitched two perfect innings for his
18th save in 20 opportunities.
Suzuki gave up seven runs -- six earned -- on eight hits and three
walks in 6 2/3 innings.
Trailing 6-4 in the seventh, Brook Fordyce doubled and Ray
Durham walked. After Jose Valentin's sacrifice, Suzuki got Frank
Thomas to pop up. But Ordonez followed with his 24th homer on a 2-2
pitch.
"I thought we had that game but it slipped out of our hands,"
Royals catcher Hector Ortiz said.
Damon hit a two-out RBI single in the second for a 1-0 Kansas
City lead.
With one out in the bottom half, Paul Konerko doubled and scored
an out later on Lee's 19th home run for a 2-1 lead.
Ortiz doubled to lead off the Royals' fourth and scored on
Carlos Febles' triple to tie the game at 2. Damon then singled for
a 3-2 lead.
With two outs in the fourth, Lee reached on an infield single,
stole second, advanced to third on Ortiz's throwing error and
scored on Suzuki's wild pitch to tie it at 3.
Febles and Damon each singled in the sixth off Bill Simas. After
Rey Sanchez's sacrifice, Mike Sweeney hit an RBI single and
Jermaine Dye a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3.
Damon had a run-scoring groundout with the bases loaded in the
seventh.
Buehrle, making his second major league start in place of the
injured Cal Eldred, gave up three runs on nine hits and three walks
in five innings.
Game notes
Damon is batting .412 against the White Sox this season.
... The Royals are 5-2 in games Febles started since his return
from the DL. ... Lee hit 16 homers in 127 games last season. ...
The White Sox and Royals rank second and fourth in the AL in
batting. ... Eldred, 10-2 in 19 starts, is sidelined indefinitely
because of an irritated nerve in his right elbow. He was placed on
the 15-day disabled list July 17.
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