Core of Kansas City’s Lineup Finally Makes a Breakthrough : Royals: Tartabull and Brett end their slumps, combining for five of the team’s 19 hits Wednesday.

George Brett looked up at one of the people who has watched the Kansas City Royals play all season.

He got the answer he expected--a shake of the head. This was the first time the Royals had scored as many as 11 runs in a game, and the first time they had collected 19 hits.

“This is the first real laugher,” Brett said.

It came at the expense of the Angels, who were beaten Wednesday, 11-4, stopping the Royals’ eight-game losing streak in the series final at Anaheim Stadium.

The Royals’ trouble began early this season.

Before the second game of the season, Danny Tartabull was shagging flies in the outfield, and life was good.

The Royals had lost their opener to Baltimore, but no matter. Tartabull had gone two for five with a home run, and the Royals were picked to contend in the American League West.

But as Tartabull jogged in, he felt something pop, as if a ball had hit him in the leg. Instead, he had injured a small muscle near the calf. The injury put him on the disabled list and he missed the next 32 games.

Tartabull’s injury was just one of the things that contributed to the Royals’ unexpected struggles. But it was one that struck at the core of the Royal batting order.

Kansas City’s offense has been weak where it should have been strongest.

Brett, a career .310 hitter who was slated to bat third at the outset, was batting .254 with one home run before Wednesday’s game. Tartabull, who was supposed to bat fourth, was batting .200 with four home runs, thanks to a six-game hitting streak that coincided with six consecutive starts, his longest uninterrupted starting stretch of the season. Bo Jackson, set to bat fifth, was hitting .269 with six home runs and a team-high 70 strikeouts.

Those three were supposed to supply the runs--and the home runs--for the Royals. Instead, the three had a total of 11 homers on a team that is last in the league in that category.

Manager John Wathan has puzzled over the Royals’ offense again and again.

“I’ve never seen a slump like this, for this long, with the talent we have,” he said Tuesday.

But some of the frustration fell away Wednesday night.

Tartabull singled three times in five at-bats, scoring twice, and raising his batting average 25 points.

“He was swinging the bat pretty well tonight,” Wathan said. “He’s a big part of our offense and it’s very important for him to be in the lineup.

Over the past seven games, Tartabull has gone 11 for 27 with two doubles and two homers.

He is still a far cry from his form of 1987, when he hit .309, with 34 home runs and 101 RBIs.

This season has proven more frustrating than last, when a series of groin and hamstring problems limited Tartabull to 133 games. He finished with a .268 average and career lows in home runs (18) and RBIs (62).

Brett went two for four Wednesday night, driving in a run. His average rose to .258. Jackson went one for four, striking out twice.

Wednesday’s game was the Royals’ biggest offensive performance of the year, and if felt good. But they are not happy to have an off day Thursday.

The Royals open a series at home against Minnesota on Friday.

“Every time something like this happens, we have an off day the next day, and by the time you come to the ballpark 48 hours later, the thrill is gone,” Brett said. “The best thing would be to have a day game the next day so it’s fresh in your mind.”