KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are hanging around in the AL playoff chase thanks to their first series win at Kansas City since 2009.
Logan Morrison, Steven Souza Jr. and Adeiny Hechavarria each went deep and the Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 on Wednesday night.
The Rays took two out of three and have won three consecutive series. The Royals lost 18 of 28 games in August, including six of seven to end the month. The Rays had lost their previous seven series at Kauffman Stadium.
"They're a pesky team," Souza said. "You have to play really well when you come in here. And that's what we did; we came in here and took care of business.
"These are two big wins. We had situations where we almost could have won every one of them. We've got to stop saying almost winning every one of them and start finishing those games out."
Morrison, who was born in Kansas City, has four home runs, eight RBI and six runs in the first six games of Tampa Bay's current road trip. Morrison hit his 33rd homer with two outs in the fifth against Jason Vargas (14-9).
Souza hit his 29th earlier in the fifth, snapping a 3-3 tie.
Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi (7-7), who failed to make it out of the fourth inning in his previous two starts, allowed three runs and four hits over five-plus innings.
"It's the first time it's been done since I've been here," Odorizzi said of winning a series in Kansas City. "It's a tough place. To come in and beat a team like that here for a series, it's a gauge of where we are right now and the direction we're heading."
Tampa Bay is 3 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the final AL wild card, and Kansas City is a game behind the Rays.
Hechavarria homered with one out in the Rays' three-run third. The inning also included Souza's RBI single and Evan Longoria's sacrifice fly.
Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homer in the third to account for all of the Royals' runs.
"We didn't really have many opportunities," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Whit with the big three-run homer, but, outside of that just really not much going on."
Vargas gave up five runs and seven hits, including the three home runs, over six innings. The All-Star left-hander started the year 12-3 with an AL-leading 2.22 ERA, but is 2-6 with a 7.20 ERA over his past 10 starts.
"Just frustrating because I felt really good about what we were doing and, a tough one to swallow when you feel that good," Vargas said.
Alex Colome gave up a single in the ninth, but picked up his major league-leading 40th save in 45 chances.
GORDON SITS
Royals left fielder Alex Gordon, who is hitting .199 with five home runs and 37 RBI, was not in the lineup for the second straight game.
SWEET 16 CLUB
Six Royals have 16 or more home runs -- Merrifield, Jorge Bonifacio, Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas and Brandon Moss. That matches the 1977 team for a club record with six players hitting at least 16 homers. George Brett, Hal McRae, Amos Otis, Darrell Porter, Al Cowens and John Mayberry accomplished it that season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: RHP Trevor Cahill (shoulder impingement syndrome) threw all of his pitches in a 30-pitch bullpen series and said he felt good. He could be activated Friday when rosters can expand to 40.
UP NEXT
Rays: After a day off Thursday, LHP Blake Snell will start Friday at the White Sox. He held the Cardinals to four hits and two runs over seven innings Saturday in a no-decision in his prior start.
Royals: RHP Jason Hammel will start Friday in the series opener at Minnesota after a travel day Thursday.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Logan Morrison, Steven Souza Jr. and Adeiny Hechavarria each went deep and the Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 on Wednesday night.
The Rays took two out of three and have won three consecutive series. The Royals lost 18 of 28 games in August, including six of seven to end the month. The Rays had lost their previous seven series at Kauffman Stadium.
"They're a pesky team," Souza said. "You have to play really well when you come in here. And that's what we did; we came in here and took care of business.
"These are two big wins. We had situations where we almost could have won every one of them. We've got to stop saying almost winning every one of them and start finishing those games out."
Morrison, who was born in Kansas City, has four home runs, eight RBI and six runs in the first six games of Tampa Bay's current road trip. Morrison hit his 33rd homer with two outs in the fifth against Jason Vargas (14-9).
Souza hit his 29th earlier in the fifth, snapping a 3-3 tie.
Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi (7-7), who failed to make it out of the fourth inning in his previous two starts, allowed three runs and four hits over five-plus innings.
"It's the first time it's been done since I've been here," Odorizzi said of winning a series in Kansas City. "It's a tough place. To come in and beat a team like that here for a series, it's a gauge of where we are right now and the direction we're heading."
Tampa Bay is 3 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the final AL wild card, and Kansas City is a game behind the Rays.
Hechavarria homered with one out in the Rays' three-run third. The inning also included Souza's RBI single and Evan Longoria's sacrifice fly.
Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homer in the third to account for all of the Royals' runs.
"We didn't really have many opportunities," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Whit with the big three-run homer, but, outside of that just really not much going on."
Vargas gave up five runs and seven hits, including the three home runs, over six innings. The All-Star left-hander started the year 12-3 with an AL-leading 2.22 ERA, but is 2-6 with a 7.20 ERA over his past 10 starts.
"Just frustrating because I felt really good about what we were doing and, a tough one to swallow when you feel that good," Vargas said.
Alex Colome gave up a single in the ninth, but picked up his major league-leading 40th save in 45 chances.
GORDON SITS
Royals left fielder Alex Gordon, who is hitting .199 with five home runs and 37 RBI, was not in the lineup for the second straight game.
SWEET 16 CLUB
Six Royals have 16 or more home runs -- Merrifield, Jorge Bonifacio, Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas and Brandon Moss. That matches the 1977 team for a club record with six players hitting at least 16 homers. George Brett, Hal McRae, Amos Otis, Darrell Porter, Al Cowens and John Mayberry accomplished it that season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Royals: RHP Trevor Cahill (shoulder impingement syndrome) threw all of his pitches in a 30-pitch bullpen series and said he felt good. He could be activated Friday when rosters can expand to 40.
UP NEXT
Rays: After a day off Thursday, LHP Blake Snell will start Friday at the White Sox. He held the Cardinals to four hits and two runs over seven innings Saturday in a no-decision in his prior start.
Royals: RHP Jason Hammel will start Friday in the series opener at Minnesota after a travel day Thursday.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Tampa Bay - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Kiermaier popped out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Souza Jr. popped out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Longoria grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Jake Odorizzi pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Merrifield reached on infield single to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Merrifield stole second. | 0 | 0 |
| Cain walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Cabrera lined into double play, shortstop to second, Merrifield doubled off second. | 0 | 0 |
| Cain stole second. | 0 | 0 |
| Hosmer grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Morrison flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Ramos struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Puello grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jake Odorizzi pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Pérez flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Moustakas struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Bonifacio struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Miller fouled out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Hechavarria homered to center (399 feet). | 1 | 0 |
| Bourjos walked. | 1 | 0 |
| Kiermaier singled to right center, Bourjos to third. | 1 | 0 |
| Souza Jr. singled to center, Bourjos scored, Kiermaier to third. | 2 | 0 |
| Longoria hit sacrifice fly to center, Kiermaier scored. | 3 | 0 |
| Morrison popped out to shortstop. | 3 | 0 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jake Odorizzi pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Cuthbert walked. | 3 | 0 |
| Escobar reached on bunt single to pitcher, Cuthbert to second. | 3 | 0 |
| Merrifield homered to left (392 feet), Cuthbert and Escobar scored. | 3 | 3 |
| Cain grounded out to first. | 3 | 3 |
| Cabrera flied out to left. | 3 | 3 |
| Hosmer walked. | 3 | 3 |
| Pérez flied out to right. | 3 | 3 |
| 3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Ramos singled to left. | 3 | 3 |
| Puello grounded into fielder's choice to third, Ramos out at second. | 3 | 3 |
| Miller singled to right, Puello to third. | 3 | 3 |
| Hechavarria fouled out to catcher. | 3 | 3 |
| Bourjos flied out to left. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jake Odorizzi pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Moustakas fouled out to shortstop. | 3 | 3 |
| Bonifacio fouled out to catcher. | 3 | 3 |
| Cuthbert popped out to shortstop. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Kiermaier popped out to third. | 3 | 3 |
| Souza Jr. homered to left (417 feet). | 4 | 3 |
| Longoria grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 3 |
| Morrison homered to right center (433 feet). | 5 | 3 |
| Ramos grounded out to third. | 5 | 3 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jake Odorizzi pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Escobar popped out to shortstop. | 5 | 3 |
| Merrifield struck out swinging. | 5 | 3 |
| Cain grounded out to pitcher. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jason Vargas pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Puello flied out to center. | 5 | 3 |
| Miller lined out to left. | 5 | 3 |
| Hechavarria popped out to second. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jake Odorizzi pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Cabrera singled to left. | 5 | 3 |
| Cishek relieved Odorizzi. | 5 | 3 |
| Hosmer struck out swinging. | 5 | 3 |
| Pérez struck out looking. | 5 | 3 |
| Moustakas lined out to center. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Scott Alexander pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Alexander relieved Vargas. | 5 | 3 |
| Bourjos singled to right. | 5 | 3 |
| Kiermaier grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Bourjos out at second. | 5 | 3 |
| Moylan relieved Alexander. | 5 | 3 |
| Souza Jr. grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Steve Cishek pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Bonifacio popped out to second. | 5 | 3 |
| Cuthbert grounded out to third. | 5 | 3 |
| Escobar grounded out to pitcher. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Peter Moylan pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Longoria flied out to left. | 5 | 3 |
| Minor relieved Moylan. | 5 | 3 |
| Morrison struck out swinging. | 5 | 3 |
| Ramos struck out swinging. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Tommy Hunter pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Hunter relieved Cishek. | 5 | 3 |
| Merrifield grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 3 |
| Cain grounded out to second. | 5 | 3 |
| Cabrera grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Brandon Maurer pitching for Kansas City | TB | KC |
| Maurer relieved Minor. | 5 | 3 |
| Dickerson hit for Puello. | 5 | 3 |
| Dickerson grounded out to first. | 5 | 3 |
| Miller struck out swinging. | 5 | 3 |
| Hechavarria lined out to first. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Alex Colome pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | KC |
| Dickerson in left field. | 5 | 3 |
| Colomé relieved Hunter. | 5 | 3 |
| Hosmer struck out looking. | 5 | 3 |
| Pérez singled to left. | 5 | 3 |
| Moustakas struck out swinging. | 5 | 3 |
| Bonifacio struck out swinging. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay Rays | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Kiermaier CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .272 | .340 | .445 |
| Souza Jr. DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .252 | .358 | .492 |
| Longoria 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .264 | .318 | .435 |
| Morrison 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | .247 | .351 | .523 |
| Ramos C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | .236 | .274 | .385 |
| Puello LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .200 | .200 | .200 |
a-Dickerson PH-LF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .290 | .336 | .512 |
| Miller 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .196 | .331 | .330 |
| Hechavarria SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .238 | .261 | .365 |
| Bourjos RF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | .230 | .283 | .399 |
| Totals | 33 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 129 | |||
| a-grounded to first for C Puello in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING HR: Hechavarria (4, 3rd inning off Vargas 0 on, 1 Out); Souza Jr. (29, 5th inning off Vargas 0 on, 1 Out); Morrison (33, 5th inning off Vargas 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: Hechavarria (14), Souza Jr. 2 (77), Longoria (72), Morrison (76) SF: Longoria 2-out RBI: Morrison GIDP: Kiermaier Rays RISP: 1-3 (Hechavarria 0-1, Bourjos 0-1, Souza Jr. 1-1) Team LOB: 3 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Hechavarria-Miller). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO |
| Attendance | 25,916 (68.4% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:39 |
| Weather | 79 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 6 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Bill Welke, First Base - Dan Bellino, Second Base - Marvin Hudson, Third Base - Mike Estabrook |
No comments:
Post a Comment