Royals vs Mariners: Perez Is The Hero In 4-3 Victory

The Kansas City Royals (72-66) muscled up a little in their 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night, but still needed an 8th inning clutch hit from Salvador Perez to pull out the big win.

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

On the Mound

Bruce Chen was his normal steady self as he worked 6 innings, yielded 2 runs on 6 hits, with no walks. He had just 2 strikeouts on the night. He made one big mistake during the game, giving up a 2-run blast in the 6th to Kyle Seager. He left the game with a 3-2 lead.

A lead off bunt single and a solid hit right up the middle did in reliever Kelvin Herrera in the 7th after he struck the first batter out. Tim Collins came in the game and induced a grounder to second. It wasn’t hit very hard, so the runner scored from third to tie the game. Herrera was hit with a run but it wasn’t like he got clobbered or anything.

In the 8th, Collins ran into a little trouble and Luke Hochevar got the call. With runners on second and third with just one out, Hochevar came through in a way he seldom did as starter. He struck out the first batter and got the next batter to fly out. Inning over. This is a situation in which no one had faith in Hochevar when the season began. He has earned the trust of his manager and fans to come through in the clutch.

Greg Holland struck out 2 in a perfect 9th for his 38th save.

At the Plate

Alex Gordon led off the game with a home run for his only hit on the night. It did get the Royals off to a good start, which this offense needs in the worst way. Salvador Perez added his own ding dong in the fourth.

In the 8th, things started out well as Eric Hosmer walked for the third time but Billy Butler hit into a double play. Mike Moustakas came up with a big double when hope was starting to fade, and Salvador Perez singled, sending a hustling Moustakas across the plate for the winning run.

This and That

Though Billy Butler singled in his 70 RBI on the season in the 5th, he did ground into two double plays on the night. Butler has now grounded into 23 double plays, tops in the American League, and third in the majors. Matt Holliday leads the majors with 28 for the Cardinals, and Martin Prado has 26 for the Diamondbacks.

Eric Hosmer walked 3 times in a game for just the second time. He also did it on August 17th of this year against the Tigers. He has 45 base on balls for the season. Hosmer wasn’t been below .290 since August 4th.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Salvador Perez, with his home run and late RBI single is awarded the POG, his 8th on the season. Strong honorable mention to Luke Hochevar for getting the Royals out of the 8th inning unscathed.

Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

• James Shields – 12
• Alex Gordon – 15
  
• Wade Davis – 5
• Lorenzo Cain – 8
• Luis Mendoza – 3
• Billy Butler – 11
• Ervin Santana – 10
• Miguel Tejada – 5
  
• Jeremy Guthrie -6
• Eric Hosmer – 13
• Chris Getz – 3
• Mike Moustakas – 6
  
• Aaron Crow
• Jarrod Dyson – 3
  
• David Lough – 8
• Alcides Escobar – 5
• J.C. Gutierrez
• Jeff Francoeur
• Bruce Chen – 5
• Salvador Perez – 8
• Will Smith – 2
  
• George Kottaras
• Louis Coleman – 2
  
• Bruce Chen – 2
  
• Justin Maxwell – 2
• Greg Holland -2
  
• Danny Duffy – 2
  
• Luke Hochevar

The Mariners

Kyle Seager had another good game, going 2-4 with a homer, a run scored and 2 RBI. He had three hits on Monday. He is hitting .282 on the season with 22 home runs. His OPS stands at .822, which would lead the Royals.

Seattle’s starter Tuesday, Erasmo Ramirez, is just 23 years old. In 26 major league outings (17 starts), he has a 4.18 ERA, 1.175, and 93 strikeouts in 114 innings. He seems to have a bright future.

Up Next

Ervin Santana (8-8, 3.19 ERA) will face another Mariner youngster with a a bright future in 21-year old Taijuan Walker (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Walker made his MLB debut last week against the Astros, going 5 innings, allowing just an unearned run on 2 hits.

AL Central Notes

Detroit Tigers (81-58): Despite outhitting the Red Sox 9-6, Detroit was outscored 2-1 by Boston. Max Scherzer took just his 2nd loss of the season even though he allowed only 2 runs on 5 hits over 7 frames.

Cleveland Indians (73-65): Ubaldo Jimenez went six scoreless frames Tuesday to win 4-3. Chris Perez almost blew the lead, giving up 3 runs in the 9th inning.

Minnesota Twins (60-76): Like Monday, the Twins scored late to pull off a victory over the Astros, this time pushing 3 runs across in the 12th inning to break up a 6-6 tie. Dan Mastroianni had the big, extra inning, 2-run, insurance double after a wild pitch Kevin Chapman had scored a run. Trevor Plouffe and Brian Dozier each homered in the game.

Chicago White Sox (56-81): Alejandro De Aza went 3-4 with a home run, 2 runs scored, and 1 RBI in a 6-4 loss to the Yankees. Chris Sale gave up 3 runs (1 unearned) in 7.1 innings on 5 hits and 1 walk. while striking out 6.