Diamondbacks rout Royals again

June 19, 4:26 AMPhoenix Sports ExaminerTom Kessler

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Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Gerardo Parra (left) is congratulated by teammate Miguel Montero after Parra hit a home run in the sixth inning of the Diamondbacks’ 12-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. (AP photo/Ed Zurga)

For the second consecutive night, the Arizona Diamondbacks scored runs by the dozen in Kansas City.

Powered by a 16-hit attack that included five doubles, two triples and two homers, the Diamondbacks posted their second straight 12-5 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

The Arizona lineup boasted five players who collected at least two hits -- Chris Young (who went 4 for 4 with two doubles, a triple, a walk and an RBI), Gerardo Parra (2 for 6 with a home run, a triple and three RBIs), Justin Upton (3 for 5 with two doubles, a walk and an RBI), Eric Byrnes (2 for 5 with a homer and two RBIs) and Miguel Montero (2 for 5 with an RBI).

Starting pitcher Dan Haren (6-4, 2.23 ERA) cruised through seven innings to earn the victory for the Diamondbacks. The ace right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.

“I don’t think he was at his best, but he was pretty good when he’s not at his best,” Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said about Haren. “He had a lot of innings where he had a lot of time (while the D-backs were batting), which was great for us. Our offense was putting runners on base. He just continues to do good things.”

Haren might have pitched longer had the game been close, but with the Diamondbacks leading 10-2 after seven innings (and extending their advantage to 12-2 in the top of the eighth), Hinch decided to call upon his bullpen for mop-up duty in the bottom of the eighth.

“To be able to take him out when we didn’t have to -- he had plenty left in his tank -- was a nice luxury,” Hinch said about Haren, who threw 98 pitches on the night.

The Diamondbacks took control early, scoring a run in the first and four in the third against Kansas City starter Luke Hochevar (2-3, 6.61 ERA).

Upton drove in the first-inning run with a double to right-center field. In the top of the third, Stephen Drew connected for an RBI single, Parra tripled home two runs and Young drove in another with a base hit to left field.

Hochevar, who was relieved during the D-backs’ three-run fifth, was charged with seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in four-plus innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Parra hit his third homer of the season in the sixth inning and Byrnes launched his fifth round-tripper of the year in the eighth. Both were solo shots.

Young left the game with a groin injury after leading off the eighth inning with a triple. “His strength was good, his flexibility was good, so hopefully we’ve avoided something and it was just a little scare,” Hinch said.

Ryan Roberts, who pinch ran for Young, scored on a ground ball off the bat of Montero.

The Royals scored two runs against Haren in the bottom of the third and added three in the ninth off Chad Qualls.

The Diamondbacks (29-38) took two out of three in the series against the Royals (29-36), winning the final two games by identical scores of 12-5 after losing the opener by a count of 5-0.

Arizona will continue inter-league play with a three-game weekend series at Seattle against the Mariners.