"Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has a penchant for leaving the yard whenever manager Terry Francona inserts him into the cleanup spot.

Pedroia smacked everything but a round-tripper while extending his hitting streak to 23 games in a 13-9 Red Sox victory over the Kansas City Royals in a madcap affair last night at Fenway Park.

Pedroia was the cleanup hitter in place of Kevin Youkilis (hamstring) and went 4-for-5 with a walk, a triple, a double, two singles, three runs and an RBI.

Pedroia has hit in the No. 4 spot seven times in his career, including three times this season, and his cleanup numbers are incredible. Pedroia is 17-for-31 (.548) and he hit a home run in his previous four games from the four hole.

"I don't change my approach, I'm just trying to get on base and see pitches and get deep into the counts," said Pedroia. "That's basically it, there's no secret behind it and maybe I'm lucky."

Pedroia had an excellent opportunity to become the first Red Sox batter to hit for the cycle since John Valentin against the White Sox on June 6, 1996.

"We are just trying to win the game, that (cycle) doesn't mean that much to me," said Pedroia."