Kansas City, Mo. ? Fernando Tatis surfaced again Thursday night after all but disappearing from baseball for two years.

Tatis, starting in the major leagues for the first time since June 15, 2003, had two hits, drove in a run and scored twice to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 6-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

“This guy was a heck of a player, and then he kind of dropped off the face of the earth for a couple of years and now he’s back, so it’s nice to see him back,” said Kevin Millar, who homered in the sixth to put the Orioles ahead 3-2. “I wish him good things. He’s a great guy, a great teammate. I’m happy for him to be back.”

Tatis hit 34 home runs, drove in 107 runs and became the first player to hit two grand slams in the same inning in 1999, with St. Louis. Then groin, shoulder and knee injuries took their toll on him and Tatis missed the final 92 games of the 2003 season because of inflammation in his chest wall.

“I’m very excited,” said Tatis, who had his first multi-hit game since May 7, 2003. “I’m healthy. I’m 100 percent. I just wanted to go out and try to have a good game, just be myself. The best part is we won the game.”

Tatis, who was released by Tampa Bay in spring training in 2004 and did not play professional baseball the past two seasons, doubled in the seventh and scored on a fielding error by third baseman Mark Teahen.

Baltimore's Fernando Tatis, left, accepts congratulations from Javy Lopez after scoring in the third inning. Making his first major-league start in more than three years, Tatis went 2-for-4, and the Orioles defeated the Royals, 6-4, on Thursday night in Kansas City, Mo.

In the Orioles’ two-run eighth, Javy Lopez led off with a double, advanced on Corey Patterson’s bunt single and scored on pinch-hitter Nick Markakis’ groundout. Tatis drove in the second run with a groundout to make it 6-3.

Jeff Conine, who had four hits Wednesday, had a two-run single in the third as the Orioles took a 2-0 lead.

“I’m not surprised,” Conine said of Tatis’ performance. “He’s obviously got a track record. He’s a pretty good baseball player. It was nice to see him have a good night. He was with us in spring training and was biding his time.”

The 31-year-old third baseman signed a minor-league contract with the Orioles last November and was invited to spring training. He began the season with Triple-A Ottawa, hitting .298 in 90 games before he was promoted on Friday.

“He came into camp and was in good shape,” Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo said. “He went to Triple-A and went about his business as a professional and earned his way up.”