Mike Moustakas Homers In Extra Innings To Propel Kansas City Royals To Victory
By Joel Wagler
Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas (8) hits a home run – Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
It has been an extremely rough season thus far for Mike Moustakas but his 11th inning home run pushed the Kansas City Royals (6-7) to a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros (5-10).
On the Mound
Jeremy Guthrie pitched a very typical Jeremy Guthrie game. In his first 5 innings, he allowed 2 runs on 5 hits, with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. He came out for one more inning, and seem to falter a bit. A walk and a home run turned a fine outing into a so-so. As usual, even though the Royals were down two, they were in the game.
The bullpen came on and 4 relievers worked 5 innings, striking out 8 as a group. Danny Duffy threw 2 innings, and got the win. He pitched out of trouble each inning, but made key strikeouts to escape unscathed. He had 4 strikeouts.
The Royals tied their season high of strikeouts in a game by matching the number they had the night before -12. They did issue 5 walks however.
At the Plate
The most productive position on the field last for Kansas City was third base. Danny Valencia started the game but was pinch hit for later in the contest. Mike Moustakas came in late to finish out the game. The two combined to go 3-5 with 2 home runs, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBI. Each had a homer in the contest.
It was Moustakas’ round tripper in the 11th that turned out to be the game winner. Moustakas’ struggles have been well documented (entered the game hitting .100), so it was nice to see him have some success, especially in a key situation. Maybe that will be the spark that get him going. The Royals need him to be good.
Ditto for Billy Butler. An 11th single kept Butler from taking the collar again. It probably won’t take much to get Butler going the right way. Hopefully, that tiny positive can set his bat on fire. Things will go much easier with a hot Billy Butler.
This and That
As crazy as it seems, as frustrating as it has been at times this season, the Royals are just one game out of first place in the AL Central. Kansas City’s 2-6 record against the Central is really noticeable, as all 5 teams are within first place in the division. If the Royals could just get on a hot streak, maybe they can take the lead in the Central.
This was the Royals’ first multiple home run game of the season. Now maybe the hitters can stop thinking about and just hit.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy (41) Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
KC Kingdom Player of the Game
A game winning home run in the 11th qualifies you for Player of the Game. Mike Moustakas needs some positive things to happen for him at the plate, and this is a good start.
- Salvador Perez
- Jason Vargas – 3
- Alex Gordon – 2
- Bruce Chen
- James Shields
- Yordano Ventura – 2
- Mike Moustakas
- Danny Duffy
- Omar Infante
- Mike Moustakas
The Astros
Houston called up George Springer, a power hitting outfield prospect, last night and he will probably take over in right field from here on out. Springer went 1-5 with a walk and 2 strikeouts in his debut.
Jason Castro and Marc Krauss each went 2-4 last night, with a run scored and 2 batted in. Each homered in the game as well.
Up Next
Bruce Chen was scheduled to go Thursday but has been bumped to the weekend. James Shields (0-2, 2.37) will go for his first win of the season. Scott Feldman (2-0, .44 ERA), who allowed just 1 run in 20.2 innings this season, will take the mound for the Astros.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omar Infante 2B | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .279 | .703 |
| Eric Hosmer 1B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .286 | .731 |
| Salvador Perez C | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .304 | .842 |
| Billy Butler DH | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .149 | .371 |
| Alex Gordon LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | .698 |
| Danny Valencia 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .273 | .818 |
| Nori Aoki PH-RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .244 | .698 |
| Justin Maxwell RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .143 |
| Mike Moustakas PH-3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .119 | .451 |
| Lorenzo Cain CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .745 |
| Jarrod Dyson CF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .400 |
| Alcides Escobar SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 | .562 |
| Team Totals | 43 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 8 | .302 | .804 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
HR: M Moustakas (1, off J Williams; 11th inn, 0 on, 0 outs to Deep RF Line); D Valencia (1, off D Keuchel; 2nd inn, 0 on, 1 out to Deep LF).
SH: A Escobar (1, off J Williams).
HBP: J Maxwell (1, by D Keuchel).
TB: D Valencia 5; M Moustakas 4; E Hosmer 2; A Escobar 2; A Gordon; S Perez; O Infante; B Butler; L Cain; J Dyson.
GIDP: S Perez 2 (3).
RBI: S Perez 2 (4); L Cain (5); M Moustakas (2); D Valencia (1); O Infante (5).
2-out RBI: S Perez 2.
Team LOB: 9.
With RISP: 1 for 10.
Fielding
E: A Escobar (2); S Perez (2); J Dyson (1); D Valencia (1).
Baserunning
SB: A Escobar (2, 2nd base off B Peacock/J Castro); J Dyson (2, 2nd base off J Williams/J Castro).
CS: N Aoki (2, 2nd base by M Albers/J Castro).
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter Fowler CF | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .205 | .625 |
| George Springer RF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .200 | .533 |
| Jason Castro C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .209 | .798 |
| Jose Altuve 2B | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .276 | .683 |
| Jesus Guzman 1B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .233 | .725 |
| Marc Krauss DH | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .172 | .560 |
| Chris Carter PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .136 | .482 |
| Jonathan Villar PR-DH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .163 | .599 |
| Matt Dominguez 3B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .196 | .603 |
| L.J. Hoes LF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .200 | .683 |
| Marwin Gonzalez SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | .558 |
| Team Totals | 43 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 12 | .233 | .699 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
HR: J Castro (3, off J Guthrie; 3rd inn, 1 on, 1 out to Deep LF); M Krauss (1, off J Guthrie; 6th inn, 1 on, 0 outs to Deep LF).
HBP: J Castro (4, by J Guthrie).
TB: M Krauss 5; J Castro 5; J Altuve 2; M Gonzalez 2; M Dominguez; G Springer.
RBI: J Castro 2 (6); M Krauss 2 (2).
Team LOB: 12.
With RISP: 0 for 6.
Fielding
DP: 2. M Gonzalez-J Altuve-J Guzman 2.
Baserunning
SB: J Altuve (5, 2nd base off J Guthrie/S Perez).
CS: G Springer (1, 2nd base by J Guthrie POCS).
Pickoffs: J Altuve (1st base by D Duffy).
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | Pit | Str |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Guthrie | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4.34 | 103 | 64 |
| Aaron Crow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 21 | 14 |
| Kelvin Herrera | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.38 | 14 | 9 |
| Danny Duffy, W (1-0) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 30 | 22 |
| Greg Holland, S (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | 23 | 12 |
| Team Totals | 11 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 3.27 | 191 | 121 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | Pit | Str |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Keuchel | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3.50 | 97 | 62 |
| Brad Peacock, H (1) | 0.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.45 | 16 | 12 |
| Kevin Chapman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12.27 | 5 | 1 |
| Matt Albers, BS (1) | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.35 | 23 | 12 |
| Josh Fields | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.18 | 14 | 10 |
| Jerome Williams, L (0-1) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8.00 | 38 | 24 |
| Team Totals | 11 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 4.91 | 193 | 121 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
K Chapman faced 1 batter in the 7th inning.
Balks: None.
WP: None.
HBP: D Keuchel (1; J Maxwell); J Guthrie (3; J Castro).
IBB: None.
Pickoffs: D Duffy (1; J Altuve, 1st base); J Guthrie (1; G Springer, 2nd base (CS)).