Jeremy Guthrie goes Nine Innings to finish Sweep

Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Royals took over the 2nd wild card position in the American League behind Jeremy Guthrie‘s complete game in KC’s 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks Thursday night.

Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez chipped in with 2 RBI’s apiece, with Gordon smacking his 10th home run with 1 man on in the 2nd to give KC the lead 2-1 in the 2nd inning.

The win puts the Royals at a season high 7 games over .500 at 60-53, which matches their bulge on June 18 (the last day of KC’s season-long 10-game winning streak). Kansas City also pulled within 2.5 games of the A.L. Central lead after Detroit lost to the Yankees 1-0. Kansas City holds the 2nd wild card position by 1/2 game over both Toronto and New York.

Sorry about the late post everyone, I had problems with my computer crashing because it was overheating. To solve the immediate problem, I stuck in my laptop in the refridgerator before using it to write this story.

On the Mound

Jeremy Guthrie went 9 full innings Thursday night, giving up 7 hits, 0 walks, and 2 earned runs with 4 strikeouts. Guthrie notched his 8th win of the season (8-9). Guthrie finished his first complete game this year, and only the 8th of his career (4 with the Royals).

At the Plate

Alex Gordon got the party started with a 2-run home run after Billy Butler‘s double in the 2nd inning. Overall, Gordon went 1-4, with his 10th home run, 1 run scored, and 1 RBI.

Salvador Perez followed Gordon’s blow with a 2 RBI single in the 4th inning after a double steal by Nori Aoki and Omar Infante put both runners in scoring position at 2nd and 3rd. Perez went 1-4 with 2 RBI’s on the evening.

Nori Aoki, Mike Moustakas, and Alcides Escobar all contributed 2 singles, with Aoki and Escobar notching RBI’s.

This and That

The Royals are now 3-0 with S. Korean fan Sung Woo Lee in Kansas City after their sweep of the Diamondbacks.

The last time the Royals were in position to make the playoffs as late as August came on August 20, 2003 with Kansas City tied for 1st place with the White Sox in the A.L. Central. Minnesota ended up winning the division with a 7-game lead over 3rd place Kansas City.

The Royals are now 5-1 and have won 2 consecutive series since the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Arizona center fielder Ender Inciarte nailed Mike Moustakas at home plate in the 8th inning trying to score on Alcides Escobar‘s single up the middle. Escobar took second on the throw and ended up scoring on Nori Aoki’s RBI single.

Diamondback 3B Jack Lamb enjoyed his major league debut on Thursday, and collected his 1st major league hit with a single off Jeremy Guthrie in the bottom of the 3rd inning.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Jeremy Buthrie is the clear choice for his 1st complete game win of the season.

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• Billy Butler – 6
• Jason Frasor
• Francisley Bueno
• Danny Valencia
• Christian Colon
• Raul Ibanez
• Jarrod Dyson – 2
• Lorenzo Cain – 6
• Johnny Giavotella
• Wade Davis
• Norichika Aoki  – 3
• Salvador Perez – 6
• Jeremy Guthrie  – 3
• Jason Vargas – 6
• Alex Gordon – 10
• Bruce Chen   – 5
• James Shields – 10
• Yordano Ventura – 5
• Danny Duffy – 7
• Omar Infante – 4
• Mike Moustakas – 9
• Alcides Escobar – 5
• Eric Hosmer – 12
• Michael Mariot

The DIamondbacks

As I mentioned above, 3B Jack Lamb made his major-league debut Thursday night, going 1-4 with a single, and 1 run scored. Lamb also made a nice grab at 3rd base on the 1st play of the game on Nori Aoki’s tapper to 3rd. Playing in to defend against the bunt, Lamb charged the ball and made a nice throw to just nab Aoki at 1st base.

Up Next

The Royals return home to play their 2nd straight inter-league series, this time against the San Francisco Giants in Kansas City. The Royals will send JasonVargas (8-5, 3.69 ERA) to the mound against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner (13-8, 3.21 ERA). Game time is 7:10 PM CST at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

Sung Woo Lee will attend his first Royals game in Kauffman Stadium.

Box

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

2B: B Butler (24, off V Nuno); L Cain (21, off V Nuno); M Moustakas (15, off E De La Rosa).
HR: A Gordon (10, off V Nuno, 2nd inn, 1 on, 0 outs to Deep RF).
HBP: J Guthrie (1, by E De La Rosa).
TB: A Gordon 4; M Moustakas 3; A Escobar 2; B Butler 2; N Aoki 2; L Cain 2; S Perez; O Infante.
RBI: S Perez 2 (46); A Gordon 2 (49); A Escobar (33); N Aoki (24).
2-out RBI: N Aoki.
Team LOB: 5.
With RISP: 5 for 7.
Baserunning
SB: O Infante (6, 2nd base off V Nuno/M Montero); N Aoki (10, 3rd base off V Nuno/M Montero).
CS: A Escobar (3, 2nd base by V Nuno POCS).

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

SF: M Trumbo (3, off J Guthrie).
SH: V Nuno (5, off J Guthrie).
TB: R Kieschnick; D Gregorius; M Trumbo; J Lamb; M Montero; A Hill; E Inciarte.
RBI: J Lamb (1); M Trumbo (26).
2-out RBI: J Lamb.
Team LOB: 5.
With RISP: 1 for 5.
Fielding
Outfield Assists: E Inciarte (M Moustakas at home plate).

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

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

Balks: None.
WP: None.
HBP: E De La Rosa (2; J Guthrie).
IBB: None.
Pickoffs: V Nuno (1; A Escobar, 2nd base (CS)).