KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Craig Monroe homered twice and drove in five runs, and Nate Robertson threw his first career complete game in the Detroit Tigers’ 9-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

Ivan Rodriguez added a two-run homer for the Tigers, who snapped a four-game losing streak and sent the Royals to their 10th loss in 12 games.

Robertson (12-7) allowed one run and six hits in becoming the first Tigers left-hander to win 12 games in seven years. He had seven strikeouts and no walks.

Monroe gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the second with his second homer in two games, sending a 1-1 pitch from Mike Wood (2-7) to left.

Rodriguez, who missed the previous three games with flulike symptoms, hit a two-run shot off Wood in the third to make it 4-0. It was Rodriguez’s 17th homer and the 1,000th run he has scored in his career.

Facing Wood again in the fifth after Carlos Guillen and Carlos Pena walked, Monroe hit a 1-0 pitch 408 feet over the fence in left to make it 7-0. The left fielder has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games with seven home runs, 18 RBIs, seven doubles and 16 runs scored. He’s hitting .379 in the stretch.

Calvin Pickering hit a long home run – his fourth – off Robertson in the fifth.

Guillen added a two-run double in the ninth off Matt Kinney to cap the scoring.

Wood lost for the seventh time in eight decisions, allowing seven runs and seven hits in five innings. He also walked three.

Notes: Justin Thompson went 15-11 in 1997, the last Tigers lefty to win at least 12 games. … The right-field ballboy had an embarrassing moment in the second when Bobby Higginson hit a grounder down the line. As the umpire signaled fair ball, the boy jumped off his bench and made a nice stop in foul territory. Higginson was credited with a ground-rule double. … Royals CF David DeJesus left the game at the top of the second after colliding with shortstop Angel Berroa. The team said he had a strained neck and a mild concussion, and is day to day … Monroe has one other multihomer game, against Anaheim last Aug. 23. … Dmitri Young singled off reliever Matt Kinney in the seventh for his 1,000th career hit. … Berroa made another error, giving him three in three games – and 25 this year.

AP-ES-08-30-04 2248EDT