Royals’ 5-run ninth frame steals victory from Tribe

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Yuniesky Betancourt hit a three-run double off Kerry Wood in the Royals’ five-run ninth inning, and Kansas City rallied to beat the Cleveland Indians 8-4 on Wednesday night.

Wood (0-2) tossed his glove into the stands as he walked off the field to a chorus of boos, after allowing four hits and five runs while making only one out in 30 pitches.

Billy Butler tied the score with an RBI double off Cleveland’s closer, who was seeking his first save since Sept. 25. Mitch Maier later drew a bases-loaded walk to put Kansas City ahead, and Betancourt followed with his drive over the head of centerfielder Trevor Crowe.

Wood’s meltdown came only hours after Cleveland placed outfielder Grady Sizemore on the 15-day disabled list with a deep bone bruise in his left knee, and the Indians transferred shortstop Asdurbal Cabrera to the 60-day DL after he had surgery on his broken left arm.

Pirates 6, Brewers 4

PITTSBURGH

Ryan Doumit drove in the go-ahead run and Steve Pearce added his third hit during Pittsburgh’s three-run seventh inning as the Pirates ran the Brewers’ losing streak to nine.

The Brewers, stuck in their longest slide since losing 10 straight late in the 2006 season, couldn’t blame this one on Trevor Hoffman. He’s sitting out the two-game series as he sorts out his season-long struggles that include losing a ninth-inning lead Tuesday in Cincinnati.

This one got away from Milwaukee well before the ninth inning.

The NL Central rivals played in Pittsburgh for the first time since Milwaukee’s 20-0 win April 22 — the worst loss in Pirates history — ended a three-game sweep in which the Brewers outscored the Pirates 36-1. The Brewers followed that with a 17-3 win over Pittsburgh at home on April 26, but the Pirates have since beaten them three consecutive times.

Brewers starter Randy Wolf was 7-0 with a 2.72 ERA in his previous 12 starts against the Pirates but, with the Brewers bullpen in disarray, might have been left in an inning too long. Wolf (3-4) couldn’t hold a 4-3 lead in the seventh as Garrett Jones and Doumit chased him with RBI singles ahead of Pearce’s run-scoring single against reliever Todd Coffey.

Wolf appeared to be struggling when he walked Andy LaRoche and Ronny Cedeno to load the bases in the sixth, but got out of the inning when pinch-hitter Jeff Clement popped out.

Javier Lopez (1-0) retired the only two batters he faced for the victory.

Octavio Dotel pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 11 opportunities.