Kansas City, Mo. ? There’s nothing like a violent collision at home plate to cement friendship between two catchers.

Kansas City’s Brent Mayne came steaming around third and crashed into Detroit catcher Mike Rivera in the sixth inning Wednesday with such force that the ball went flying and Rivera went sprawling.

Kansas City's Neifi Perez hits a two-run double against Detroit. Perez was 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the Royals' 8-2 victory over the Tigers Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

Mayne then touched the plate, helping the Royals beat the Tigers, 8-2, on a teeth-rattling play that both men admired.

“It’s something you respect when you play like that,” said Rivera, who lay on his back motionless for a few moments.

As a catcher himself, Mayne knows firsthand how his counterpart felt.

“I’ve had a lot of collisions, on both ends,” he said. “You don’t like to do it. But it was the right play, and he knew that, too. It was a tough one for him.”

When Mayne came to bat two innings later, the two even slapped each other on the back.

Kansas City's Brent Mayne (2) runs over Detroit catcher Mike Rivera. Mayne scored Wednesday at Kansas City.

“He said, ‘Are you OK?'” Rivera said. “I told him, ‘No hard feelings. I would have done the same thing. That’s how the game is supposed to be played.”‘

Neifi Perez doubled home two runs off Steve Sparks (1-2) in the sixth, putting the Royals on top 4-2. Later that inning, Mayne singled and came around to knock Rivera down on Carlos Febles’ double.

Jeremy Affeldt relieved Royals starter Chris George with one out in the sixth and got his first major league win with 32/3 hitless innings. Affeldt struck out five.

“I’ll take my win. I’ll treasure it,” Affeldt said. “I’ll have my game ball always and I’ll have the excitement of it, but it’s only April. I’ve got five more months to go.”

Winds gusting more than 35 mph played tricks on fielders all game.

One example: Mike Sweeney’s drive to left in the fourth looked like a home run, and Tigers outfielder Wendell Magee raced back toward the wall. But then the ball seemed to hang in the air a moment. Magee tried to switch directions, and he wound up on his knees as the ball fell in, while Sweeney reached second base.

After Joe Randa walked with one out in the fourth, Perez lined a drive into the gap in left-center and the ball skipped past center fielder Andres Torres, who was backing up left fielder Magee. Both runners scored, giving the Royals a 2-0 lead. Torres was charged with an error and Perez was given one RBI.

Sparks went 52/3 innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits.

In the sixth, Magee hit what would have been a routine fly into center field, but the wind-swept ball dropped in at Carlos Beltran’s feet, resulting in a double. Shane Halter then hit an RBI double, chasing George.

Jose Macias hit a drive into left that seemed to blow away from Chuck Knoblauch as it fell in for an RBI double in the fifth.

Sweeney’s second double scored Michael Tucker with the Royals’ sixth run in the seventh. Jamie Walker’s wild pitch brought another run home, and Randa hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-2.

The Tigers announced after the game that Jose Lima would be taken out of the rotation and put in the bullpen and Seth Greisinger would be brought up from Double-A Erie to take his place. Greisinger, who has missed most of three seasons with elbow surgery, was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA. He did not pitch at all in 2000 or 2001. Lima is 1-2 with a 12.15 ERA.

Notes: Detroit’s Robert Fick, who had struck out only four times in 58 at-bats, was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as his average dropped from .397 to .371. … Tigers 1B Dmitri Young missed his sixth straight game with a hip flexor and was scheduled to have an MRI exam today in Detroit. Tigers OF Bobby Higginson, who fouled a pitch off his foot on Monday, missed his second straight game and was listed day-to-day. … The start of the game was delayed 49 minutes by rain. … George recorded three outs in the fourth inning on just four pitches. … Beltran, on his 25th birthday, stole second in the first inning, making him successful in 51 of his last 52 attempts.