Willy Aybar goes 4-for-4 and Tampa Bay rallies for 4-2 victory over Royals

Aybar’s four hits power Tampa past KC 4-2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Willy Aybar was 4-for-4, including an RBI double for the go-ahead run in the eighth, and Tampa Bay beat the reeling Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Saturday night.

It was the second consecutive collapse of the Kansas City bullpen and wasted a good effort by Zack Greinke, who departed after seven innings with a 2-1 lead.

John Bale walked Carlos Pena leading off the eighth and then with one out, Pat Burrell’s RBI double off Cruz tied it 2-2. Then Aybar, who made a rare start at second, doubled into the right-field corner for a 3-2 lead. B.J. Upton’s RBI single off Roman Colon, his third hit, made it 4-2 in the eighth.

Juan Cruz (3-4) blew a lead for the second straight night.

He gave up Evan Longoria’s booming two-run homer in the eighth inning of Tampa’s come-from-behind 8-7 victory Friday night. The veteran right-hander has lost four in a row after winning 11 consecutive decisions over a span of almost two seasons, which had been the longest active streak in the majors.

Chad Bradford (1-0), the fourth of Tampa’s six pitchers, threw two pitches in the seventh and got the win. J. P. Howell pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 13 opportunities.

Each team scored a run in the second. Jason Bartlett had an RBI single off Greinke and Alberto Callaspo’s double off Kazmir drove in Alex Gordon.

Greinke, who had lost his last two starts when the Royals scored a total of one run, went seven innings, giving up nine hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Kazmir, who missed 33 days with a strain of the right quadriceps muscle and had not won since May 9, left after the sixth with mild cramping in his left forearm. He held the Royals to one run and four hits, with four walks and three strikeouts.

After Grant Balfour walked Alberto Callaspo with one out in the seventh, Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grounder to Aybar at second. He let the ball go through his legs and was given an error for allowing Callaspo to reach third.

Randy Choate then relieved Balfour and Callaspo scored the go-ahead run when David DeJesus beat the throw to first on what could have been an inning-ending double play.

NOTES:@ Upton singled leading off the Tampa third but was picked off by Greinke. … Boosted by stadium renovations costing more than $250 million, the Royals have had 15 crowds of 30,000 or more, seven more than the entire 2008 season.