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 But behind the booming bat of Mike Moustakas, the Royals clinched
the AL Central title Thursday night.
Moustakas homered, drove in three runs and reached five times as the
Royals thrashed the Seattle Mariners 10-4 Thursday night.
With the Royals' victory and the Minnesota Twins' loss to the
Cleveland Indians, Kansas City wrapped up the American League
Central championship.
"It seemed like it took forever, but we continued to battle," said
Lorenzo Cain, who had a two-run single in the sixth to put the
Royals ahead for good. "We got down early, but guys stepped up in
clutch situations."
The Royals have not won a division crown since 1985 when they were
in the AL West. The Royals hold a two-game lead over Toronto for the
best American League record and homefield advantage.
"We've got to continue to fight," Cain said. "We can't pack it in
yet. We'd love to play in front of our home crowd. It's definitely a
great feeling to play in front of these guys. They've been
supporting us all year long, so we definitely want to win home-field
advantage."
Right-hander Johnny Cueto (3-6) picked up the victory, holding the
Mariners to three runs and seven hits over seven innings, his second
straight quality start. He had lost his previous five decisions.
"Hopefully this is just the start of it and we can keep it going,"
Royals left fielder Alex Gordon said. "It feels great. We expected
to win. We believed in ourselves. At the end of the day that's all
that matters."
Logan Kensing (1-1), the fifth of seven Mariners' pitchers, took the
loss.
Right fielder Alex Rios also had three hits for the Royals,
including a run-producing triple in a three-run eighth.
Mariners first baseman Logan Morrison homered to lead off the ninth,
but the party erupted on the field minutes later as the crowd of
34,244 remained standing and cheering as players celebrated on the
field.
The Royals seized an early 2-1 advantage, but muffed opportunities
to enlarge their lead.
Second baseman Ben Zobrist doubled down the left-field line with one
out in the first. When Mariners catcher Jesus Sucre attempted to
pick Zobrist off, he airmailed the throw into right-center, allowing
Zobrist to score.
Third baseman Mike Moustakas homered to lead off the Royals second.
It was Moustakas' 21st home run and 74th RBI, both career highs.
Moustakas had 20 home runs and 73 RBIs in 2012.
The Royals loaded the bases after that with singles by catcher
Salvador Perez, shortstop Alcides Escobar and left fielder Alex
Gordon, but left them that way. Zobrist flied out to shallow right
on a 3-1 pitch and center fielder Lorenzo Cain rolled one to short.
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Mariners left-hander James Paxton left in the second with a broken
fingernail after giving up the single to Escobar. J.C. Ramirez
replaced Paxton, who was led off the mound by the trainer.
"I'm frustrated," Paxton said. "It's hard. I want to be out there
pitching and stuff like this keeps on happening. I just have to keep
on going, come out the other side and just deal with it."
The Royals again loaded the bases briefly in the third. Designated
hitter Kendrys Morales and Moustakas drew walks and right fielder
Alex Rios singled. Morales, however, circled third base too far and
was out trying to get back.
The Mariners scored a run in second when center fielder Brad
Miller's two-out double to left got right fielder Mark Trumbo home
from first.
The Mariners moved in front with a two-run fourth, which second
baseman Robinson Cano led off with a single. He stopped at third on
Seth Smith's double. Trumbo's double down the right-field line
scored both off right-hander Johnny Cueto.
"We couldn't cash in early," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said.
"We certainly had some opportunities. And so did they. It's just one
of those games. They broke it open."
The Royals tied it at 3 in the bottom of the fifth when Hosmer
greeted left-handed reliever Rob Rasmussen with a homer to center on
his third pitch.
NOTES: Royals RHP Greg Holland has a right elbow torn ligament with
surgery likely. He will see Dr. Neal ElAttrache next week in Los
Angeles for a second opinion. Manager Ned Yost called it a
"significant tear" and rest would not help. ... The Mariners have
opted to shutdown RHP Taijuan Walker for the remainder of the
season. Walker, who was on the disabled list for nearly 10 weeks
last year, has thrown 169 2/3 innings. "To run him out there at this
juncture of the season, to me, is not a win-win for nobody involved,
so the best thing to do is to make sure that he's healthy going into
next season," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. ... Royals C
Salvador Perez was back in the lineup after leaving in the eighth
inning Wednesday with a sore knee. ... Mariners LHP Vidal Nuno will
start the series opener Friday against the Angels. ... Indians LHP
Carlos Carrasco and Royals RHP Edinson Volquez are the Friday
probables.
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