Kansas City Royals break Five Game Losing Streak, win 3-1

Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Royals locked up in an extra innings duel with the Padres for the second straight night. This time, the Kansas City bullpen outlasted their San Diego counterparts to take a 3-1 11 inning victory over the Padres Tuesday night.

Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie battled with San Diego’s Robbie Erlin in a pitcher’s duel. Guthrie surrendered 4 hits to Erlin’s 3. Both gave up solo home runs to leave the score 1-1 after 8 innings of play.

The Royals finally broke through in the top of the 11th with Eric Hosmer‘s leadoff double. Alex Gordon drove him in with a single to right and advanced to 2nd on the throw home. Billy Butler followed with a double to score two runs in the inning.

This time, Greg Holland slammed the door for his 8th save and broke the Royals 5 game losing streak. The win leaves Kansas City 15-17 and 6 games behind Detroit.

On the Mound

Jeremy Guthrie went 8 innings and surrendered one run on a solo shot by Yasmani Grandal. He allowed 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out two. He remained in command all night with his pitch-to-contact strategy.

Wade Davis took over in the 9th and pitched two strong innings. He allowed 1 hit, 0 runs, and struck out 4. Davis ended up with the win to go 2-1 on the season.

Greg Holland pitched the 11th, allowing 1 hit and striking out two. He rebounded from Monday night’s debacle to earn his 8th save in 9 opportunities this season.

At the Plate

Salvador Perez tied up the game with his solo shot to left while leading off the 6th inning. The home ron was his 3rd of the year. Perez went 1-4 for the game with 1 RBI, 1 walk, and 1 run scored.

Alcides Escobar was the only Royals with more than one hit, going 2-5 with a pair of singles. He almost won the game in the top of the 9th by beating a grounder down the first base line for a single with one out and then stealing second and third. He attempted to score with one out on Lorenzo Cain‘s pop foul to shallow right, but was thrown out by 1st baseman Kyle Blanks on a close play at the plate.

DH Billy Butler entered the game as a pinch hitter for Wade Davis in the 11th, and added an insurance run by driving in Alex Gordon from second.

This and That

The Kansas City Royals won their first game this season while scoring fewer than four runs. They are now 1-15 in such games.

Billy Butler looks like he has recovered from his April slump. Butler is hitting .400/.444/.800 over 5 games in May.

Salvador Perez is leading the team in slugging percentage at .430 and shockingly is tied with Billy Butler and and Norichika Aoki for the team lead in walks with 11. His new-found patience at the plate is likely to unlock his true power potential this season.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Set-up man Wade Davis gets the honor for his two dominant innings in relief. He out-dueled the strong San Diego pen the night after the Royals relief staff blew two leads the night before to lose in 12. A second straight loss under similar circumstances would have been very demoralizing. His performance also was critical in stopping the team’s 5 game skid.