Raul Ibanez hits solo Home Run to beat A’s

Raul Ibanez hit a solo home run in the top of the 5th to propel the Kansas City Royals to a 1-0 win over the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum Friday night.

Ibanez’s blast was the only run of the game, as Jeremy Guthrie worked out of numerous jams to hold the A’s scoreless through 6 innings, and the pen held the lead.

The win puts the Royals 4 games over .500 at 56-52. Kansas City remains 4 games behind Detroit in the American League Central, and 2.5 games behind Toronto for the 2nd wild card.

On the Mound

Jeremy Guthrie pitched 6.0 shutout innings to out-duel Oakland starter Sonny Gray, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, and 0 earned runs with 6 strikeouts. Guthrie stranded all 5 base runners, including a 1st and 3rd situation with 1 out in the 6th inning where he struck out the the last two batters. Guthrie earned the win to go 7-9 on the season.

Kelvin Herrera pitched a socreless 7th inning despite allowing a single and a walk. Herrera notched 2 strikeouts.

Wade Davis pitched a clean 8th inning with 2 strikeouts.

Greg Holland earned his 30th save with a scoreless 9th in which he allowed a 2-out double to create a little drama. Holland struck out former Royal Alberto Callaspo to end the game.

At the Plate

The Royals only managed 4 hits and 1 walk against Oakland pitching Friday night.

Raul Ibanez provided the only run of the game with his 385-foot shot to left center. Ibanez went 1-3 on the night with his 5th home run of the season (2nd for KC). The blow raised Ibanez’s KC line to .224/.255/.449 since returning to KC June 30.

Jarrod Dyson went 2-3 with 2 singles. Dyson also added his 22nd stolen base of the season.

Nori Aoki opened the game with a leadoff double but was stranded at 2nd.

This and That

The Royals have won their last 2 1-run games and have run their winning streak to 3 straight games. Overall, KC is still only 14-21 in 1-run games.

The Royals stranded 8 base runners on Friday night and stranded 60 in their just-completed 7-game home stand.

Jeremy Guthrie struck out the last 4 hitters he faced.

Eric Hosmer is likely headed for the disabled list since he is out for 3 to 6 weeks with a stress fracture on the 3rd finger of his right hand. Look for the Royals to recall Justin Maxwell from AAA Omaha.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Our nod goes to Jeremy Guthrie, who out-dueled Oakland’s Sonny Gray, who is 12-3 on the season with an outstanding 2.59 ERA. Though Ibanez struck a key blow, Guthrie’s clutch pitching in the 6th inning to preserve his narrow 1-0 lead seals the deal.

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• Butler – 5
• Jason Frasor
• Francisley Bueno
• Danny Valencia
• Christian ColFon
• Raul Ibanez
• Jarrod Dyson – 2
• Lorenzo Cain – 6
• Johnny Giavotella
• Wade Davis
• Norichika Aoki  – 2
• Salvador Perez – 6
• Jeremy Guthrie  – 2
• Jason Vargas – 6
• Alex Gordon – 10
• Bruce Chen   – 5
• James Shields – 9
• Yordano Ventura – 5
• Danny Duffy – 7
• Omar Infante – 4
• Mike Moustakas – 8
• Alcides Escobar – 5
• Eric Hosmer – 12
• Michael Mariott

The A’s

Josh Reddick got 3 of Oakland’s 5 hits, going 3-4 with 2 singles and double Friday night. Meanwhile, Jed Lowrie had a tough night at the plate, going 0-4 with 3 strikeouts on called 3rd strikes. Lowrie was clearly unhappy with home plate umpire Mike Estabrook on multiple occasions.

Up Next

The Royals play the 2nd game of their 3-game series in Oakland. Kansas City will face new acquisition Jon Lester (10-7, 2.52 ERA) in his first Oakland start since coming over from Boston, while the Royals will send Jason Vargas (8-4, 3.31 ERA) to the mound in his first start since July 8 after his emergency appendectomy.

Box

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.

2B: N Aoki (15, off S Gray).
HR: R Ibanez (5, off S Gray, 5th inn, 0 on, 1 out to Deep RF).
TB: R Ibanez 4; N Aoki 2; J Dyson 2.
RBI: R Ibanez (26).
Team LOB: 4.
With RISP: 0 for 6.
Baserunning
SB: J Dyson (22, 2nd base off E O’Flaherty/J Jaso).

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.

2B: S Fuld (11, off J Guthrie); J Reddick (8, off G Holland).
TB: J Reddick 4; S Fuld 2; J Donaldson.
Team LOB: 8.
With RISP: 0 for 7.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.

Balks: None.
WP: S Gray 2 (9).
HBP: None.
IBB: None.
Pickoffs: None.