Meche dealing

KANSAS CITY - This makes four very good consecutive outings for Royals' righty Gil Meche.

In his previous three wins, Meche had posted a 1.33 ERA since the All-Star break. Jason Varitek singled with two outs in the sixth, but retired Coco Crisp with a strikeout and now holds a 4-2 lead over Clay Buchholz and the Sox as we enter the bottom of the 6th.

Meche entered the game 9-9 with a 4.22 ERA. He started the season 1-3 with an 8.00 in his first eight starts.