Teahen's three RBI boost Royals past White Sox

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- When Doug Mientkiewicz went on the disabled list on July 31, Kansas City Royals manager Buddy Bell had some trepidation about moving Mark Teahen into the third slot in the batting order.

Teahen has proved worthy of hitting No. 3.

The third baseman had a go-ahead, two-run homer and drove in three runs to lead the Royals to a 7-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

In seven games hitting third, Teahen has a .423 average with two home runs, two doubles, one triple, seven RBI and seven walks.

"You talk about putting a young kid in the leadoff spot or the third spot in the lineup, it tends to put a little bit more undue pressure on them," Bell said. "They try to do things they are not capable. Mark, on the other hand, has handled it very well. Actually, I don't know what he is hitting in that spot, but it's been pretty doggone good from a productive standpoint and from a numbers standpoint. He's played great."

With Chicago leading 2-1 in the fifth inning, Mark Grudzielanek singled with one out against Freddy Garcia and Teahen homered off the right-field foul pole.

"When I first hit it, I thought it was foul," Teahen said. "Once I saw it, I saw it was fair, that it wasn't cutting too much. Luckily, it hit a little piece of the pole."

Teahen, who was 3-for-5, added an RBI double in the seventh off Garcia after Grudzielanek singled. He has 10 home runs, 35 RBI and 32 runs in his past 38 games.

"I think it is more or less feeling comfortable with what I'm doing," Teahen said. "I didn't change a whole lot mechanically. I've had some success, so I'm more confident with it."

Ryan Shealy, acquired Monday from Colorado, matched his career high with three hits.

Luke Hudson (4-3), making his fifth start of the season, allowed three runs and four hits in a career-high seven-plus innings. He struck out five and walked three.

Hudson, 1-3 with a 7.24 ERA in 11 relief appearances, is 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA since moving into the rotation on July 7. He made the big league roster out of spring training, but after going 0-3 with an 8.74 ERA in April was sent back to Triple-A Omaha.

"It's weird, even though I was struggling the first month I felt like I was real close," Hudson said. "Sometimes, that's all it takes is a little adjustment. I didn't want to get sent down. I'd rather figure it out here, but it was a blessing in disguise and now I feel a lot better."

Hudson was recalled on June 30 and moved into the rotation on July 7.

"He's been outstanding," Bell said. "I can't recall a time he really hasn't done well since he's come back."

Garcia (10-6) allowed five runs -- four earned -- and 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings as Chicago lost for the second time in six games. He is 0-3 in six starts since beating Pittsburgh on June 28.

"I never pitch good here, but today I thought I pitched good," Garcia said. "In seven innings, we scored two runs. What can I say?"

Joey Gathright's sacrifice fly put Kansas City ahead in the second.

Hudson did not give up a hit until A.J. Pierzynski's single up the middle with one out in the fourth. Jermaine Dye sent the next pitch over the center-field fence for his 30th home run -- the third time Dye has reached that mark. Dye, who hit a career-high 33 homers with the Royals in 2000, has connected in four of his last five games.

Teahen hit a run-scoring double in the seventh and scored on Shealy's single for a 5-2 lead. David DeJesus had an RBI triple in the ninth and scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-3.

Juan Uribe chased Hudson with a leadoff homer in the eighth.

The loss dropped the White Sox 8½ games behind Detroit in the AL Central, but they are one game behind Boston in the wild card race.

"It's going to be hard on us," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We still get to play them (the Tigers) nine or 10 times. They are playing unbelievable baseball. The thing about the wild card is there are too many people. When you think about the wild card, you have to forget about the division and just win as many games as you can."

Game notes
The White Sox have homered in 12 consecutive games and 19 of 20, hitting 37 in that span. ... Kansas City DH Mike Sweeney, who has not played since May 1 because of a herniated disk, could be activated by Tuesday. Bell said Sweeney will continue his rehab assignment through the weekend with Triple-A Omaha and that his progress will be reevaluated on Monday, a day off for the Royals. ... The Royals turned two double plays and lead the majors with 124. ... The game was delayed for 1 hour, 46 minutes by rain in the bottom of the eighth.