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--> --> A's win big over Royals KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Poor Eric Chavez. After missing almost a week with a sprained left thumb, the Oakland third baseman was having trouble getting loose Friday night. Not that it showed. Chavez hit two homers, a double and a single, and drove in six runs in the Athletics' 14-3 romp over Kansas City. "It was so hard just to move out there," said Chavez, who had grounded out as a pinch-hitter the night before in his first appearance since last Saturday. "Especially since I'd been out for a little over a week. I wasn't feeling too good moving out there." Chavez, who matched his career-high RBI total, had the thumb wrapped in a big bandage after the game, but said it was no problem at all. Nevertheless, when he hit his second homer, a three-run shot in the eighth, he actually thought he'd popped up. "I didn't think I hit it very good," he said. Was he thinking it might bounce off the wall and give him a shot at a triple and one of the rarest feats in baseball, a cycle? "I didn't think I hit it good so I wasn't thinking anything," he said. "I was not feeling up to running around the bases." The A's collected four consecutive doubles in a five-run seventh inning en route to their 10th win in 12 games. Johnny Damon, Jeremy Giambi and Billy McMillon all had three hits. Terrence Long had two hits and two RBIs. "Big night for us offensively," said Oakland manager Art Howe. "You hope for nights like this tonight. I think Eric is going to have a few more like this before he's done." Long, Miguel Tejada and Chavez hit consecutive doubles off Doug Henry in the seventh, then Jeff Austin came in and McMillon made it four in a row. Cory Lidle (4-4) won his fourth straight decision behind the 16-hit attack. Paul Byrd (1-4) went five innings, giving up eight hits and four runs. The Royals, ironically, had been pitching well since the All-Star break. "We had a rough night," said manager Tony Muser. "But it's been awhile so that tells you how good our pitching has been." Henry pitched one inning plus four batters and was charged with six runs on five hits and a walk. "His stuff wasn't bad tonight," Muser said. "But everything he threw was in the middle and elevated." The A's, who lost 12-10 at Minnesota the previous night, were leading 6-3 when Long doubled with one on in the seventh. Tejada followed with an RBI double, then two more runs came in on the double by Chavez. McMillon's ground rule double scored Chavez before the A's closed out the inning on Frank Menechino's sacrifice fly for a 11-3 lead. Chavez, who had a solo homer in the sixth, hit a three-run homer in the eighth off Austin. The A's got runs in the first and second on a double-play grounder and Jeremy Giambi's RBI single. Then Long's two-run double in the fifth put the A's on top 4-2. After the Royals closed to 4-3 on Jermaine Dye's RBI grounder in the fifth, Chavez opened the Oakland sixth with a home run on Henry's first pitch. McMillon followed with a double and eventually scored on Henry's wild pitch. Brent Mayne had an RBI single in the Royals' second and then tied it 2-all with an RBI single in the fourth. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing