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MLB SCOREBOARD: Recap
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Kansas City Royals 10
Detroit Tigers 4
Posted: Sunday October 07, 2001 05:59 PM
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DETROIT (Ticker) -- Carlos Beltran had a grand slam and a two-run homer and Joe Randa and Dee Brown had back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning as the Kansas City Royals concluded the season with a 10-4 triumph over the Detroit Tigers.

Despite the victory, the Royals still finished last in the American League Central Division, one game behind the Tigers. Kansas City also matched a franchise record with 97 losses this season, sharing the mark with the 1970 and 1999 teams.

Beltran's second grand slam and second six-RBI game of the season provided an exclamation point to his exceptional second half. The center fielder hit .349 after the All-Star break and finished with a career-high 24 home runs, as well as 101 RBI.

"I started working with (Royals second baseman) Luis Alicea," Beltran said. "He taught me some drills to help me stay back on the ball, to drive the ball the other way. After I started doing those drills, I cut down on the strikeouts. I started taking more walks and swinging at good pitches."

In addition to his second career 100-RBI season, Beltran also scored 100 runs for the second time in three years. In 1999, he became the eighth major league rookie to reach those marks.

"He was just so aggressive in the first year," Royals manager Tony Muser said of Beltran. "The first half of this year he was still making adjustments. Right around the All-Star break, he made a good adjustment of being much more patient at the plate and getting better pitches to hit."

Kansas City owned a 3-2 advantage entering the seventh inning. After Raul Ibanez's leadoff triple, Randa homered over the left-field wall and Brown followed with a solo shot.

Detroit made three defensive replacements to start the seventh, much to the chagrin of Tigers starter Jose Lima.

"I don't have to wait nine minutes to warm up and warm up again twice. This is late in the year. It's not April, it's October," Lima said. "I wasn't happy about it. But that's how things have been going for me all year long."

The Royals took the season series from the Tigers, 11-8.

Blake Stein (7-8) allowed just two runs and two hits -- both solo homers -- in seven innings to improve to 2-0 with one save in three games against Detroit this season. The righthander struck out three and walked four.

Randall Simon and Bobby Higginson hit the solo shots and Deivi Cruz added a two-run homer in the ninth inning for the Tigers, who completed their franchise record eighth consecutive losing season.

Lima (5-10) yielded six runs -- five earned -- and eight hits in seven innings. The righthander struck out one, did not walk a batter and fell to 2-8 in his last 11 starts.

"There's a lot of negative stuff on this ballclub. We have to do some changes. We've got to get some new people here, people who want to play baseball," added Lima, who was acquired from Houston on July 31.

"You don't want to play here, get them out of here," Lima continued. "I've never seen a ballclub like this. With the Astros, we won back-to-back-to-back Central Division championships because we had 25 guys together, fighting together, not against each other, not making excuses. We have too much talent here to lose, but the way we perform on the field and the way we do business, it's embarrassing."

Tigers manager Phil Garner was asked about Lima's comments.

"It certainly disappoints me," Garner said. "We obviously prefer to have laundry done in the clubhouse and not outside. When players realize that, it will be a better clubhouse."

The Royals slipped to 65-97 this season after finishing 77-85 a year ago.

The Tigers completed the 2001 campaign with a 66-96 mark after compiling a 79-83 record in 2000.


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