This Time, Royals Don’t Lose Lead

Given what he had already seen in the series, Kansas City Manager Tony Muser had every reason to believe his team was on the verge of another late-inning collapse against the Texas Rangers Sunday.

This time, at least, that collapse didn’t happen.

Jermaine Dye drove in three runs and the Royals stopped an eight-game losing streak with 8-3 victory. The Rangers had won 10 consecutive home games and six in a row overall, including come-from-behind victories over the Royals on Friday and Saturday.

A Texas comeback attempt Sunday fizzled amid a strong effort by the Kansas City bullpen.

“I’m happy. We were due,” Muser said. “When you pitch against this club, it’s not easy. They’re not going to lay down. The score looks like a commanding win, but it wasn’t. It was close.”

Pat Rapp (4-4) took a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning, but left after singles by Fernando Tatis and Mark McLemore put runners on first and third with one out.

Reliever Matt Whisenant struck out Rusty Greer on a 3-2 pitch. Hipolito Pichardo then took over and retired Juan Gonzalez, who had homered earlier, on a popup.

“It was a difficult situation for a pitcher,” Pichardo said. “He’s a very good hitter.”

Pichardo finished for his first save, getting Will Clark on a fly ball with the bases loaded for the final out.