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 The Royals did their part at U.S. Cellular Field, beating the
Chicago White Sox 6-4 to win the four-game series, but their victory
was rendered moot thanks to the Detroit Tigers' win against the
Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park.
The Tigers are division champions and Kansas City will host the
Oakland Athletics in the American League wild-card game Tuesday at
Kauffman Stadium -- the Royals' first postseason appearance since
1985.
"They're a good team, but we've played them good," Royals manager
said of the Athletics, who needed a victory Sunday at the Texas
Rangers to clinch their spot in the wild-card game. "They've been
tough on us. The two games we lost, we lost to Jon Lester. So, it's
going to be an exciting game. But I think we're ready to play."
They were ready to play Sunday too.
Royals third baseman Christian Colon's two-run double keyed a
three-run sixth inning for the Royals, who replaced their entire
starting lineup in the fifth, after learning of the Tigers' win. For
the day, Kansas City (89-73) scored two runs in the second for a 2-0
lead, plated three in the sixth to overcome a 4-2 deficit and tacked
on one more in the eighth against the White Sox (73-89), who spent
the weekend celebrating the retirement of long-time first baseman
Paul Konerko.
"He's always been good about blocking things out because it has just
been about the playing," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of
Konerko, who went 0-for-3 in his final game before leaving to a
standing ovation in the top of the sixth. "I think this weekend, it
caught up to him because it's more of family (and) friends. There
was just more to it than just him going to play and trying to get a
hit and helping his team win."
Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar, playing his 162nd game, went
2-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to nine games to lead the
way at the plate. Kansas City right fielder Nori Aoki extended his
hitting streak to eight games by going 2-for-3 and center fielder
Lorenzo Cain had his season high nine-game streak snapped.
Center fielder Adam Eaton led the White Sox by going 3-for-3 with a
run scored on a home run by third baseman Marcus Semien (1-for-4).
Right-hander Casey Coleman (2-0) pitched a scoreless fifth to earn
the win, right-hander Louis Coleman earned his first save and
Chicago right-hander Daniel Webb took the loss.
"We had to come out and win and obviously needed Detroit to lose to
make a playoff there; didn't happen," Royals first baseman Eric
Hosmer said. "I'm glad we can kind of put the regular season behind
us (and will) start this new journey right now. It's going to be a
fun experience. We've got to head back home for a playoff game, and
there's a lot of excitement."
Aside from the playoff implications, Konerko dominated the day's
other big storyline. A day after an emotional pregame ceremony
commemorated his storied 18-year career, Konerko got one last day
filled with appreciative cheers for his 16 seasons wearing a White
Sox uniform.
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The attendance was 32,266, with the Chicago Bears playing the Green
Bay Packers just a few minutes away at Soldier Field. After a
sellout crowd of 38,160 showed up Saturday to celebrate Paul Konerko
Day, the two-day total was 70,426 for a team that traditionally
struggles to attract big crowds.
That didn't go unnoticed by Konerko, who took a lap around the field
after the game high-fiving with fans and shaking hands.
"I like just the normalcy of the regular season without all that
stuff, but I understand it's the end," Konerko said. "And I now
understand -- I don't think I would've understood this a year ago --
there's a lot of people out there I've impacted over the years here.
I see people crying out there. That's crazy that just because I
played a game, I never thought about that stuff. I get ... sometimes
it's not always about what's comfortable to me. I have to make that
happen and go for closure for them, as well. It's something they
don't teach you in the minor leagues, about this kind of stuff."
NOTES: Royals RHP James Shields will start the American League
wild-card game against Oakland on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium. ...
White Sox 1B Jose Abreu (sprained thumb) and SS Alexei Ramirez
(hamstring) did not start Sunday. ... Chicago LHP Chris Sale looked
like he had the race for the AL's top ERA sewn up until a recent
ruling by Major League Baseball changed a hit to an error from a
recent start for Seattle Mariners' ace RHP Felix Hernandez, thus
erasing four earned runs from his stat line. Hernandez started for
the Mariners on Sunday and finished the season with a 2.14 ERA, just
a tad better than Sale's 2.17. ... White Sox GM Rick Hahn said his
priority this offseason will be bolstering the bullpen via trades or
free agency. Hahn said top prospect LHP Carlo Rodon will go into
spring training in 2015 with an opportunity to earn a spot in the
starting rotation, but might also spend some time in the bullpen
first.
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