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 In a frame that started and ended with Kansas City Royals players
thrown out at the plate, Kansas City blitzed Boston closer Junior
Tazawa for four runs on six hits to pull out an 8-6 victory over the
Red Sox.
"I guess it was crazy. It was exciting for me to watch our guys have
the at-bats that they had," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said after
first baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas both
delivered two-run hits with two outs to give the Royals, runaway
leaders in the AL Central, their 75th win of the season.
The win, in a game mostly played in mist and fog, gave the Royals a
split of the four-game series, which started with Kansas City
arriving in Boston at 6 a.m. Thursday and losing that night and the
next by a combined 11-3. Kansas City then won Saturday night and
roared back Sunday to raise its record to 75-48.
"They didn't shut down. That's why they're one of the best teams in
the American league ... or THE best team in the American League
right now," said Boston interim manager Torey Lovullo, who finished
his first homestand on the job as John Farrell begins his battle
against lymphoma, at 6-4.
Moustakas, who stroked an RBI double in the fourth and capped a
nine-pitch at-bat with a solo homer in the sixth, went 10 pitches
with Tazawa (2-6) before delivering a two-out, two-run, bases-loaded
double in the ninth.
The winning rally started with second baseman Omar Infante hitting a
fly ball triple that left fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. appeared to
lose in the mist. For some reason, third base coach Mike Jirschele
sent Infante home, and Bradley gunned him down trying for a home
run.
Jirschele said he asked Yost after the inning if he was fired.
"I know he's got a good arm, but I got caught up a little bit in the
inside the park home run -- and I really ... I can honestly say when
I sent him I thought he was going to score easy. I really did."
Yost walked by and said, "You do interviews every day?"
Two straight singles followed and shortstop Xander Bogaerts went
high into the air to spear a liner off the bat of left fielder Ben
Zobrist. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain loaded the bases with a single,
and Hosmer tied it with his two-run hit -- Bradley this time
misfiring on his strong throw.
The rally ended with DH Kendrys Morales nailed at the plate on the
Moustakas hit.
Bradley, who had three hits, snapped a 4-4 tie with his second RBI
double of the game off starter Edinson Volquez in the seventh, and a
controversial RBI infield hit by third baseman Pablo Sandoval (he
ran inside the baseline) made it 6-4.
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Bradley has 14 extra-base hits in his last 11 games, and his streak
of 11 straight extra-base hits ended with a single in the ninth off
Wade Davis, who got his 11th save. Right-hander Chris Young (9-6)
got one out and picked up the win in relief.
Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez worked the first six innings,
allowing two earned runs. He didn't walk a batter and has gone 75
straight hitters without issuing a walk.
The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but a double error
was the key in a two-run fourth that gave Kansas City a 3-2 lead.
Moustakas, who doubled home a run in the fourth, then made it 4-2
with his second homer of the series, his 13th of the season. He
wasn't finished.
"Get a good pitch to hit and try not to miss it," Moustakas said of
the winning blow. "I kept fighting until I got something I could put
in play and I got a pretty good swing on it and drove it into the
outfield.
"I think it was a fastball."
NOTES: The Red Sox sent RHP Matt Barnes, the starter and loser
Saturday night, back to Triple-A and recalled RHP Jonathan Aro. ...
Boston RHP Rick Porcello comes off the disabled list to start
against the White Sox in Chicago on Wednesday night before the Red
Sox go to New York for their first regular-season visit to Citi
Field against the Mets. ... C Salvador Perez's homer Saturday night
gave the Royals 96 for the season, one more than they had all of
last year. ... Red Sox 2B Brock Holt missed his second straight game
with an oblique injury. ... Royals RHP Kris Medlen makes his first
start in 18 months when he faces the Baltimore Orioles on Monday to
open Kansas City's four-game homestand. ... RHP Joe Kelly goes for
his fifth straight win in Boston's opener against the White Sox
Monday night. Kelly, who has evened his record at 6-6, has gotten 38
runs of support behind him during his winning streak.
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