ESPN MLB

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Chip Ambres took advantage of his second opportunity to drive in the winning run with one out and the bases loaded.

After striking out in the same situation two innings earlier, Ambres lifted a fly ball to medium left field in the 11th and David DeJesus slid in safely under Manny Ramirez's throw to the plate as the Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 Wednesday night.

"I just had to let that go," Ambres said of his previous plate appearance. "I just thought about it for a minute and told myself I'll get that opportunity again. It's a brand new at-bat."

DeJesus walked with one out and went to second on Terrence Long's third single. Bronson Arroyo (10-9) then walked Mike Sweeney to load the bases for Ambres.

"Long hit an unbelievable down and away (pitch) to put me in position where they had somebody in scoring position," Arroyo said.

He agreed that DeJesus got in safely to give the Royals their third win in four games since losing a franchise-record 19 straight.

"From where I was and from where the umpire was, it looked like he got in there," Arroyo said.

The Red Sox, the highest-scoring team in the majors, loaded the bases in the fifth, sixth and seventh but failed to get a run. The Royals did the same in the sixth and ninth. Boston was not retired in order until the 10th and 11th by Andrew Sisco (2-2).

"We've got to find a way to put one of those runs across," said Kevin Millar, who hit a solo home run in the second. "It was just one of those nights. Very frustrating."

The Royals tied the score at 3 on a two-run home run in the fifth by DeJesus, who had missed the three previous games with a sore muscle in his side but reached base five straight times.

Boston starter Matt Clement, who was struck in the head by a line drive on July 26 and missed one start, got hit on the thumb by a comebacker to the mound in the third inning. The next two batters, DeJesus and Long, each singled, and DeJesus scored on Sweeney's sacrifice fly to center.

"He lost feeling for a little bit but he shook it off," said Boston manager Terry Francona. "It stung him for a little while but once he felt like he could at least feel it, he was better off. I thought his stuff was good."

Clement pitched seven innings, giving up three runs and six hits. He also had a wild pitch and hit three batters, including Angel Berroa twice.

The Red Sox, vying for their fifth straight win against the Royals, scored a run in each of the first three innings off D. J. Carrasco. Ramirez had an RBI single in the first, Millar homered in the second and Johnny Damon scored his second run of the game on a doubleplay grounder by David Ortiz.

With the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, Carrasco got Ramirez to ground into a double play on the first pitch. Damon grounded out to end the next inning.

With one out in the seventh, Ambiorix Burgos struck out Jason Varitek and then left fielder Long made a great diving catch of Millar's sinking liner.

"It was a great play," Francona said.

Then with two on and two out in the eighth, Ortiz fouled out -- giving the Red Sox 10 stranded runners in only four innings.

The Royals put the potential go-ahead run on third with one out in the eighth, but reliever Chad Bradford came in and struck out Angel Berroa and John Buck. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Mike Timlin struck out Ambres and got Emil Brown to pop up.

Edgar Renteria was 3-for-5 with a walk and three singles after getting two singles and a double the night before. He's had at least two hits in each of his last four games.

The Royals loaded the bases with one out in the sixth but Clement got a double-play grounder from Buck, who was 0-for-4 after coming to bat with seven runners on base.

Carrasco went 5 2-3 innings and was charged with three runs on five hits. He struck out one and walked four.

Game notes

RHP Curt Schilling will make his first start since April 23 on Thursday night. He's been pitching out of the bullpen since coming off the disabled list last month. ... Boston LHP David Wells and Kansas City RHP Runelvys Hernandez each had their hearings on Wednesday regarding suspensions. Wells was suspended six games for a confrontation with umpires and Hernandez drew a 10-game suspension for throwing at batters. Decisions are not expected until next week. ... Royals 2B Donnie Murphy left the game in the third inning after fielding a hard-hit grounder by Ortiz. He was taken to a hospital for X-rays on his right ring finger and replaced by Denny Hocking. ... The game was delayed for 18 minutes in the top of the eighth by rain. ... After striking out in the first, DeJesus reached base five straight plate appearances.