Royals vs Mariners: Moustakas Wins It In The 13th, Butler Has 5 Hits

It took thirteen innings but Mike Moustakas helped the Kansas City Royals (73-67) walk off with a big 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners (63-77). The Royals are still trying to stay alive, even slightly, in the wild card race. Kansas City sits at 4.5 back of the second wild card spot.

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

On the Mound

Jeremy Guthrie got off to a horrendous start, giving up 3 runs in the first inning. He had trouble righting the ship, trailing 5-0 after 4 innings.  He ended up going six full innings and was fortunate not to get tagged with the loss.

The terrific bullpen went 7 strong frames, the only hiccup came in the ninth inning when closer Greg Holland blew his first save opportunity since May 6th. Raul Ibanez, a member of the 2003 Royals, which was the last Kansas City team to finish over .500, hit a 2-out home run in the 9th inning to send the contest into extra innings. In the 7 innings of relief, the bullpen yielded just the one run on 4 hits and 1 walk, while combining for 9 strikeout. Louis Coleman, who only faced one batter, got the win.

At the Plate

It was a big afternoon for the Royals offense as they knocked out 19 hits on the day. After trailing 5-0, they came charging back, scoring 3 in the 5th, and 3 in the 7th, putting Kansas City up by one.

There were several hitting heroes for a change. Alex Gordon got things going with a 2-run home run in the 5th. Emilio Bonifacio went 4-6 with runs scored. Salvador Perez went 3-3 with a RBI. Mike Moustakas had the game-winning bomb in the 13th.

And Billy Butler went 5-5 with a run scored and a RBI.

Alcides Escobar had a rough day taking the collar in six at bats.

This and That

Holland had converted 31 straight saves before faltering today. Only Joakim Soria had a longer streak – 36.

Six of the Royals 19 hits were for extra bases.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Hit a walk-off home run in the 13th inning will earn a POG every time. So will going 5-5. Congrats to Mike Moustakas and Billy Butler. Honorable mention to Emilio Bonifacio and Salvador Perez, and a big shout out to the Royals bullpen for another stalwart effort.

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

• James Shields – 12
• Alex Gordon – 15
• Wade Davis – 5
• Lorenzo Cain – 8
• Luis Mendoza – 3
• Billy Butler – 12
• Ervin Santana – 10
• Miguel Tejada – 5
• Jeremy Guthrie -6
• Eric Hosmer – 13
• Chris Getz – 3
• Mike Moustakas – 7
• 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

Brad Miller and Nick Franklin, a couple of promising middle infielders, each went 0-5 on the day.

Raul Ibanez has 26 home runs on the season.

Joe Saunders surrendered 11 hits in 4.2 innings, which led to the first 3 runs.

Up Next

James Shields (10-8, 3.03 ERA) will start the first game of a 15-game stretch that includes 6 games with Detroit, 6 with Cleveland, and 3 against Texas. First up is Anibal Sanchez (12-7, 2.68 ERA) and the Detroit Tigers at 7:10.

AL Central Notes

Detroit Tigers (81-59): Idle.

Cleveland Indians (74-65): Idle

Minnesota Twins (61-77): Idle

Chicago White Sox (56-83): The Sox were able to scatter 1 run on four hits against Miguel Gonzalez in a 3-1 loss to the Orioles. They produced 5 hits total, two by Dayan Viciedo.