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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO -- Jermaine Dye is not doing a good job convincing
everyone he is not a home run hitter.
"I'm going to keep continuing to say that over and over -- I'm
not a home run hitter," said Dye, who hit a pair of two-run homers
Tuesday night to power the Kansas City Royals to a 6-1 victory over
the Chicago White Sox.
|  | | Kansas City's Jermaine Dye, right, says he is not a home run hitter, but Mike Sweeney was there to congratulate him after another Tuesday. |
Dye homered in the fourth and sixth innings, raising his season
total to 25 with his sixth multihomer game, his second this season.
He also hit two April 26 against Tampa Bay.
"When you get two two-run homers out of the middle of your
lineup, that helps," Royals manager Tony Muser said. "That's been
our problem, we give up a lot of home runs. But tonight, we hit two
and Chicago hit one."
Dye is the quickest Royal to reach 25 home runs, bettering the
mark set by Dean Palmer, who two years ago hit his 25th on Aug. 1.
"I don't have enough experience to go out there and try to hit
a home run and do it," Dye said. "I have to stick to my game plan
and stay up the middle and gap-to-gap and hit line drives and stay
in the weight room and get stronger.
"The (weight) program I'm on has made me hit home runs," Dye
said. "As long as I don't get a big head because I'm hitting 20 or
something home runs every year, those line drives will continue to
go out of the park."
Dye now is two shy of his career high of 27, set last season.
Jeff Suppan (5-6) stymied the White Sox, who lead the major
leagues in runs. Suppan gave up three hits, including a solo homer
by Herbert Perry, and walked six in seven innings to win his third
consecutive start.
"I'm taking it inning by inning," Suppan said. "I said, 'I'm
not going to let them score after we score.' In the past, I was
trying to get ahead of myself."
"It wasn't a picture-perfect ballgame, but he got some key
outs," Muser said.
Jim Parque (9-4) failed in his second try to surpass his
career-high in victories, set last year. He gave up six runs -- four
earned -- and seven hits in seven-plus innings.
"What bothers me is the fact that I threw so good and on two
pitches (to Dye), it just went down the hole," Parque said. "This
is the first time I've felt real good in five or six starts."
The defeat was Chicago's fourth in its last six games.
"We just have to get back in the groove of sustaining good play
all the time," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said.
Perry homered in the second for a 1-0 lead, the league-leading
28th off Suppan. Dye's homers put the Royals ahead 4-1, and Kansas
City added two runs in the eighth.
Johnny Damon reached on a throwing error by first baseman Paul
Konerko and Sanchez walked, chasing Parque. Sweeney greeted Lorenzo
Barcelo with a single, scoring Damon. One out later, Joe Randa hit
a sacrifice fly.
Game notes
Suppan is 3-0 in six July starts. ... The Royals lead the
season series against the White Sox 5-3. ... The White Sox signed
pitcher Mike Sirotka to a $6.8 million, two-year contract extension
through 2002. ... Chicago's Cal Eldred, sidelined indefinitely with
a sore right elbow, will be examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum, who
operated on Eldred's elbow in 1995.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Kansas City Clubhouse
Chi. White Sox Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 4
Boston 2
Detroit 6
Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 10
Toronto 3
NY Yankees 19
Baltimore 1
Kansas City 6
Chi. White Sox 1
Texas 9
Anaheim 6
Oakland 8
Seattle 7
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Pittsburgh 1
NY Mets 5
Montreal 0
Houston 7
Cincinnati 4
Chicago Cubs 8
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Atlanta 6
Florida 5
St. Louis 7
Arizona 3
Los Angeles 6
Colorado 4
San Diego 3
San Francisco 2
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