Greinke allowed two runs on seven hits before turning over the lead to the bullpen.

"I felt my stuff was real good," Greinke said. "They got their hits, but I spread them out. I made some real good pitches with men on base until the last inning, and then I made some bad pitches."

Greinke picked up his first win in more than a month. He was 0-3 with two no-decisions in his previous five starts since a June 24 victory over the Rockies.

Greinke had strikeout highs of 10 twice before striking out 11 A's.

"I've been doing that a little lately, more than usual lately," Greinke said of the high number of strikeouts. "It happens every now and then."

Greinke is 2-0 in nine career appearances, including five starts, against Oakland.

"He was outstanding," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "He had command of his fastball and mixed in his secondary pitches."

ROYALS 4, ATHLETICS 2: Alex Gordon in the sixth and Jose Guillen in the first each hit two-run homers Monday as the Royals won for the first time this year at Oakland. Zack Greinke struck out a career best 11 to log his first victory since June 24. Mike Aviles and Gordon each had three hits. Ramon Ramirez replaced Greinke in the eighth with two runners on base and one out, but retired both batters he faced to preserve the victory. Joakim Soria worked a spotless ninth for his 28th save.