Kansas City Royals Thirteenth-Inning Rally sinks Angels

Danny Valencia‘s leadoff double in the 13th inning opened the floodgates to a three-run inning that broke a 4-4 tie in the Kansas City Royals 7-4 victory over the Angels Saturday night.

Jarrod Dyson came into the game to run for Valencia and scored when Los Angeles relief pitcher Mike Morin made a wild throw to 1st base after fielding Alcides Escobar‘s sacrifice bunt.

Norichika Aoki drove in Escobar with a single, and Billy Butler drove in the 3rd run with a sacrifice fly. The Royals 13th inning rally broke up a game that had been tied 4-4 since the top of the 7th inning.

Kansas City’s victory again returns the team to the .500 mark at 24-24 on the season, and the Royals moved within 5.5 games of Detroit in the Central.

On the Mound

James Shields did not have his dominating stuff on Saturday night, giving up 4 runs on 9 hits and two walks, with 4 strikeouts.

Shields threw a wild pitch in the 5th that allowed Albert Pujols to score from third base. The miscue turned Alex Gordon’s earlier defensive gem into a meaningless play.

Royals relievers Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, and Greg Holland combined to provide 7 innings of scoreless relief.

Wade Davis and Crow pitched two innings apiece, with Crow recording the win (2-1). Greg Holland entered in the 13th after the Royal had staked him to a 3-run lead in the top of the inning. Holland notched his 14th save.

At the Plate

The Royals banged out 16 hits, but only 2 went for extra-bases (doubles by Lorenzo Cain and Danny Valencia). However, the Royals bunched their hits well-enough to overcome the Angels 7-4, despite 7 extra-base hits by Los Angeles—including home runs by Eric Ayabar and Mike Trout. Kansas City hitters were aided by 3 errors by Angel defenders.

Eric Hosmer went 4-7, with 4 singles, 2 runs scored, and 1 RBI.

Lorenzo Cain spaced three hits (including 1 double) around 3 strikeouts.

Alex Gordon also got on base 3 times, going 2-6 with a walk. He somehow managed to avoid participating in scoring any runs.

This and That

In the 5th inning, Alex Gordon leaped into the air to knock down a drive by Albert Pujols that would have landed over the wall. A falling Gordon then juggled the ball in a crazy attempt to finished the catch. Though he finally managed to glove the ball before it hit the ground, a New York review indicated that the ball hit the wall—giving Pujols a double.

You can see the video of Gordon’s catch here.

Only 4 of the Royals 7 runs were earned, which was also the difference in the game.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

I’m recognizing Eric Hosmer for this game. He went 4-7 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Hosmer had a single that helped keep the Royals 3-run 13th inning rally going as well as solid play in the field

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• Billy Butler – 2
• Johnny Giavotella
• Wade Davis
• Norichika Aoki
• Salvador Perez – 2
• Jeremy Guthrie — 2
• Jason Vargas – 4
• Alex Gordon – 5
• Bruce Chen
• James Shields – 5
• Yordano Ventura – 3
• Mike Moustakas
• Danny Duffy – 3
• Omar Infante
• Mike Moustakas – 3
• Alcides Escobar – 3
• Eric Hosmer – 6
• Michael Mariot
• Casey Coleman
• Danny Valencia

The Angels

Mike Trout had a heck of a night. He both hit a solo home run in the 5th inning and added a great leaping catch at the wall. Overall, he went 2-6 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. For the second straight year, he hit his 10th home run of the season against the Royals.

Up Next

The Royals will try to take the rubber game of the 3 game set against the Angels by sending Jason Vargas (4-2, 3.76 ERA) to the mound. Los Angeles counters with Garrett Richards (4-1, 2.90 ERA). Game time is 2:35 CST at Angels Stadium of Anaheim.

 Box

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

2B: L Cain (5, off M Shoemaker); D Valencia (4, off M Morin).
SF: B Butler 2 (6, 1 off M Morin, 1 off M Shoemaker).
SH: A Escobar (4, off M Morin); P Ciriaco (1, off M Morin).
TB: E Hosmer 4; L Cain 4; S Perez 2; A Gordon 2; N Aoki 2; D Valencia 2; B Butler; A Escobar.
GIDP: S Perez (9).
RBI: B Butler 2 (20); L Cain (14); E Hosmer (22); N Aoki (10).
2-out RBI: E Hosmer; L Cain.
Team LOB: 12.
With RISP: 3 for 12.
Fielding
DP: 2. D Valencia-P Ciriaco-E Hosmer; A Escobar-P Ciriaco-E Hosmer.
Baserunning
SB: A Escobar 2 (14, 3rd base off M Shoemaker/H Conger, 2nd base off M Shoemaker/H Conger).

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

2B: H Conger 2 (6, 2 off J Shields); R Ibanez (4, off J Shields); A Pujols (13, off J Shields); E Aybar (11, off K Herrera).
HR: E Aybar (3, off J Shields, 4th inn, 1 on, 0 outs to Deep RF Line); M Trout (10, off J Shields, 5th inn, 0 on, 0 outs to Deep CF).
SH: J McDonald (1, off T Collins).
TB: E Aybar 6; M Trout 5; H Conger 4; D Freese 3; A Pujols 3; R Ibanez 2; H Kendrick; G Green.
GIDP: M Trout (3); H Kendrick (5).
RBI: E Aybar 2 (25); M Trout (33).
Team LOB: 10.
With RISP: 1 for 13.
Fielding
DP: 1. E Aybar-A Pujols.
E: C Cowgill (3); M Trout (2); M Morin (1).

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

S Burnett faced 1 batter in the 7th inning.
Balks: None.
WP: J Shields (2).
HBP: None.
IBB: None.
Pickoffs: None.