The Playoff Race: Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore Keep KC Alive
By John Viril
Sep 15, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Jarrod Dyson (1) scores on a wild pitch by Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Jake Petricka (52) in the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City won the game 4-3. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
The Kansas City Royals looked like they were going to slide out of the playoff hunt Monday night.
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The Royals trailed the White Sox 3-0 in the 7th inning after managing only 1 scratch hit against Chicago’s John Danks, who came into the game after losing 5 straight decisions. KC’s impotent bats looked helpless to prevent the team from losing their 6th game in their last 8, and their 4th loss out of their last 5 to last place teams.
With Detroit pulling off a 9th inning rally to beat the Twins, Kansas City was looking at falling 2.5 games off the A.L. Central lead.
Then a funny thing happened on the way to oblivion: the Royals began to chip away at the lead.
Kansas City scored single runs in the 7th and 8th innings to pull within 3-2, and then ran their way into 2 more runs with the fleet feet of pinch runners Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore to pull out the win.
Dyson stole 3rd, and then scored on a wild pitch; while Gore managed to come home all the way from 2nd base on Lorenzo Cain‘s chopper to 2nd base.
As Jarrod Dyson likes to say, “That’s what speed do.
A.L. CENTRAL
| Rk | Tm | W | L | W-L% | GB | Strk | RA ▾ | ExInn | 1Run | ≥.500 | <.500 | last10 | last20 | last30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DET | 84 | 66 | .560 | — | W 4 | 4.4 | 6-6 | 21-19 | 47-38 | 37-28 | 7-3 | 13-7 | 19-11 |
| 2 | KCR | 82 | 67 | .550 | 1.5 | W 1 | 3.9 | 5-7 | 22-22 | 41-42 | 41-26 | 4-6 | 10-10 | 16-14 |
| 3 | CLE | 76 | 73 | .510 | 7.5 | L 4 | 4.1 | 12-7 | 22-20 | 35-45 | 42-28 | 4-6 | 10-10 | 17-13 |
| 4 | CHW | 68 | 82 | .453 | 16.0 | L 2 | 4.7 | 6-8 | 26-23 | 42-53 | 26-29 | 5-5 | 9-11 | 11-19 |
| 5 | MIN | 63 | 87 | .420 | 21.0 | L 1 | 4.9 | 5-7 | 18-24 | 39-60 | 24-27 | 2-8 | 5-15 | 9-21 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.
The Tigers sprinted out to a 6-0 lead, but the Twins came back against Detroit’s suspect bullpen to tie the game at 6-6 on Joe Mauer‘s 2-run shot in the 8th. Detroit then scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th to seal the victory.
Detroit remains 1.5 games ahead of the Royals in the A.L. Central.
Cleveland continues to fall out of the race after pulling within 2.5 games after their virtual sweep of the Royals. The Indians, however, have now lost 4 straight and have 14 games to get things turned around. Theyre running out of time, even if they manage to repeat last year’s feat of winning their last 10 games.
A.L. WILD CARD
| Rk | Tm | W | L | W-L% | GB | Strk | ExInn | 1Run | ≥.500 | <.500 | last10 | last20 | last30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | DET | 84 | 66 | .560 | — | W 4 | 6-6 | 21-19 | 47-38 | 37-28 | 7-3 | 13-7 | 19-11 |
| 4 | OAK | 83 | 66 | .557 | — | W 2 | 12-8 | 21-25 | 43-41 | 40-25 | 4-6 | 7-13 | 10-20 |
| 5 | KCR | 82 | 67 | .550 | — | W 1 | 5-7 | 22-22 | 41-42 | 41-26 | 4-6 | 10-10 | 16-14 |
| 6 | SEA | 80 | 69 | .537 | 2.0 | L 3 | 3-7 | 16-26 | 43-31 | 37-38 | 4-6 | 9-11 | 16-14 |
| 7 | TOR | 77 | 72 | .517 | 5.0 | L 2 | 5-8 | 14-18 | 35-40 | 42-32 | 5-5 | 11-9 | 14-16 |
| 8 | CLE | 76 | 73 | .510 | 6.0 | L 4 | 12-7 | 22-20 | 35-45 | 42-28 | 4-6 | 10-10 | 17-13 |
| 9 | NYY | 76 | 73 | .510 | 6.0 | L 2 | 7-7 | 24-23 | 36-42 | 40-31 | 4-6 | 8-12 | 15-15 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.e
Oakland enjoyed an off-day on Monday. Kansas City gained 1/2 game on the top A.L. wild card spot with their 4-3 over the White Sox. Oakland holds a mere 1-game advantage over Kansas City in the wild card standings.
Seattle lost their 3rd straight game, this time falling 8-1 to the Angels behind the pitching of rookie sensation Matt Shoemaker (16-4, 3.04 ERA). The Mariners now trail Kansas City by 2 games for the A.L.’s 2nd wild card.
The Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Cleveland Indians all lost for the 2nd straight day to fall even further toward the fringe of the playoff race.