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 How things have changed in three weeks.
Shortstop Alcides Escobar drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh
as the Royals moved into first place in the American League Central
with a 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.
"You want to be in first place," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Our
goal was to get back to first place. Now our goal is to stay in
first place."
The Royals, who have not been in the playoffs since winning the 1985
World Series, have won 16 of their last 19 games and eight straight
to put them 11 games above .500 and a half-game in front of the
Tigers, who lost to Pittsburgh.
"If it's a scale of one to 10, it's a 10 or an 11," first baseman
Billy Butler said of being in first place this late into the season.
"We're just playing good baseball. We're getting good results. This
is the way this team is designed to play."
Escobar's two-out ground-ball single to center in the seventh scored
pinch runner Nori Aoki. Escobar also stroked a two-out run-producing
single in the second inning. Both hits were on 0-2 counts.
"It was the right pitch, the wrong spot," said losing pitcher Sonny
Gray. "I didn't locate it and he stayed on it and put a good swing
on it. It was two good teams going at it. It's always going to be
one mistake, and unfortunately for us I was the one who made the
mistake."
Gray left a breaking pitch up that Escobar could handle.
"It was his third curveball in a row," A's manager Bob Melvin said.
"He's trying to get him to bounce it for a chase and just didn't get
it all the way to the ground."
There was another mistake in the first inning when A's right fielder
Josh Reddick spiked a throw, which allowed Jarrod Dyson to advance
to third and scored an unearned run.
"I know he is a quick runner," Reddick said. "I looked up and saw
him running hard. When I realized he wasn't going, I just tried to
slow down instead of just throwing it. I just lost the grip.
"It's not a good feeling. It's pretty embarrassing, especially since
it cost us a run. And we end up losing by one run, so it doesn't
make your feel any better. Defensive mistakes are pretty big right
now. For me, it something that's never happened. It just take that
much more of a toll on you."
The Royals' lights-out bullpen protected the lead.
Kelvin Herrera (3-2) worked a spotless seventh, striking out two, to
pick up the victory. Wade Davis, who has allowed one earned run in
his past 41 innings and 38 appearances, struck out two in a perfect
eighth.
Greg Holland closed it out for his 35th save in 37 chances, but not
before he gave up a single to third baseman Josh Donaldson and
walked left fielder Brandon Moss to begin the inning.
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Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura left after 105 pitches and six
innings, giving up two runs on six hits and four walks, while striking
out five.
Gray (12-6) absorbed the loss, yielding three runs, one of which was
unearned, on six hits in seven innings. Escobar's single was the only
hit Gray allowed after the second inning.
The Royals seized a 2-0 lead after two innings. Center fielder Dyson and
second baseman Omar Infante opened the first with singles, and Dyson
advanced to third on Reddick's errant throw. Dyson scored when catcher
Salvador Perez grounded into a double play.
In the second, Escobar's two-out single scored left fielder Alex Gordon,
who led off with a single.
After holding the Royals to three hits in seven innings in an Aug. 1
start, Gray gave up five hits to the first nine batters he faced Monday.
Oakland tied it in the third when Ventura yielded a single to designated
hitter John Jaso and walked center fielder Coco Crisp and Donaldson to
load the bases. Moss, who was in a 4-for-45 skid, singled to center on a
2-2 pitch with two outs to score Jaso and Crisp.
NOTES: The Royals acquired OF/DH Josh Willingham from the Minnesota
Twins for minor league RHP Jason Adam. Willingham, 35, is hitting .210
with 12 home runs and a .345 on-base percentage in 68 games with the
Twins. He hit 35 homers with 110 RBIs in 2012. The Royals will pick up
approximately $1.8 million of Willingham's contract for the remainder of
the season. Adam, who was recently promoted to Triple-A Omaha, went to
Blue Valley Northwest High School, located in a Kansas City suburb. ...
Butler was named the AL player of the week after hitting .435 with a
.913 slugging percentage in six games. ... A's LHP Jon Lester, who
starts Tuesday, is 8-3 with a 1.65 ERA in 12 career starts against the
Royals. ... RHP Jeremy Guthrie (8-9) will start for Kansas City on
Tuesday.
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