The Kansas City Royals opened a 1.5 game lead over the Tigers with the Royals 6-5 win over the Twins in Minnesota Friday night. Ex-Twin Josh Willingham‘s double cleared loaded bases in Kansas City’s 5-run 4th inning that broke open the game.
The big inning made a winner of starter Danny Duffy (8-10) and gave the Royals their 3rd straight win.
The victory puts Kansas City 13 games over .500 at 67-54, and opened a 1.5 game lead in the American League Central over Detroit, who lost to the Blue Jays. Kansas City also continues to hold a 1 game edge over Seattle for the 2nd wild card.
On the Mound
Danny Duffy put in a solid, if short outing. Duffy went 5.1 innings, allowing 6 hits, 0 walks, and 3 runs (2 earned) with 1 strikeout. He left the game with the Royals leading 5-3 in the 6th.
Aaron Crow allowed 1 hit and got 1 out in the 6th.
Francisley Bueno got the final out of the scoreless 6th inning.
Kelvin Herrera pitched a clean 7th inning with 2 strikeouts.
Wade Davis added a scoreless 8th, though he allowed 1 hit with 1 strikeout.
Greg Holland wobbled but corrected himself to notch his A.L.-leading 37th save. Holland allowed a walk, then a double to Oswaldo Arcia that scored a run when Lorenzo Cain misplayed the ball in RF. Chris Parmalee then ground out to drive in a 2nd run. Overall, Holland gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, and 2 runs (1 earned) with 1 strikeout.
At the Plate
The Royals did most of their damage in their 5-run 4th inning, but added an important “insurance run” in 8th that turned out to be the difference in the game.
Trailing 2-0, Josh Willingham slammed a double to clear loaded bases to put Kansas City up 3-2. Willingham went 1 for 4 with the double, 1 run scored, and 3 RBI’s.
Mike Moustakas followed Willingham’s blow with an infield single, and Alcides Escobar picked up both runs with a triple. Escobar’s shallow single in the 8th inning scored Alex Gordon to give KC a 6-3 lead. Escobar went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s on the day.
Alex Gordon and Jarrod Dyson also checked in with 2-hit games. Gordon went 2-3 with 2 runs scored, while Dyson went 2 for 4 along with his 27th stolen base.
This and That
Kansas City is 13 games above .500 for the first time since April 26, 2003.
Despite the best back-end in baseball, the Royals are still only 17-21 in 1-run games—even after you include Friday’s win.
Eric Hosmer‘s x-ray Thursday showed his hand is not healed and he will not have it checked against until after Kansas City returns home from their current 10-game road trip.
KC Kingdom Player of the Game
With a nod to Alcides Escobar’s 2-hit, 3 RBI game, our pick goes to Josh Willingham for opening the floodgates on Twins starter Ricky Nolasco with his bases-clearing double into the right field corner.
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- Josh Willingham
- Billy Butler – 8
- Jason Frasor
- Francisley Bueno
- Danny Valencia
- Christian Colon
- Raul Ibanez
- Jarrod Dyson – 2
- Lorenzo Cain – 6
- Johnny Giavotella
- Wade Davis
- Norichika Aoki – 5
- Salvador Perez – 6
- Jeremy Guthrie – 3
- Jason Vargas – 7
- Alex Gordon – 11
- Bruce Chen – 5
- James Shields – 10
- Yordano Ventura – 5
- Danny Duffy – 7
- Omar Infante – 4
- Mike Moustakas – 9
- Alcides Escobar – 6
- Eric Hosmer – 12
- Michael Mariot
The Twins
Minnesota catcher Kurt Suzuki didn’t make an out on Friday, going 3 for 3 with 2 singles, a double, 1 walk, and 1 run scored.
Up Next
The Royals continue with the 2nd game of their 4-game set in Minnesota. Yordano Ventura (9-8, 3.46 ERA) will pitch for Kansas City against ex-Yankee Phil Hughes (12-8, 3.88 ERA) for the Twins. Game time is 6:10 PM CST at Target Field in Minnesota.
Box
| Royals Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nori Aoki RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .269 | .338 | .342 | .680 |
| Lorenzo Cain RF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .301 | .340 | .412 | .752 |
| Omar Infante 2B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .257 | .296 | .357 | .653 |
| Salvador Perez C | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .267 | .304 | .413 | .717 |
| Billy Butler 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .277 | .325 | .384 | .709 |
| Alex Gordon LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .280 | .356 | .432 | .788 |
| Josh Willingham DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .210 | .341 | .399 | .740 |
| Mike Moustakas 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .203 | .264 | .388 | .652 |
| Alcides Escobar SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .277 | .313 | .372 | .685 |
| Jarrod Dyson CF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .291 | .336 | .355 | .691 |
| Team Totals | 38 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 40 | .316 | .350 | .474 | .824 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.
2B: S Perez (20, off R Nolasco); J Willingham (7, off R Nolasco).
3B: J Dyson (4, off R Nolasco); A Escobar (4, off R Nolasco).
HBP: A Gordon (8, by R Nolasco).
TB: J Dyson 4; A Escobar 4; J Willingham 2; A Gordon 2; S Perez 2; M Moustakas 2; B Butler; L Cain.
RBI: A Escobar 3 (40); J Willingham 3 (37).
2-out RBI: A Escobar.
Team LOB: 7.
With RISP: 5 for 19.
Fielding
DP: 1. O Infante-A Escobar-B Butler.
E: D Duffy (4); L Cain (2).
Baserunning
SB: J Dyson (27, 2nd base off C Thielbar/K Suzuki); L Cain (18, 2nd base off R Pressly/K Suzuki).
| Twins Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Santana CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .325 | .363 | .475 | .838 |
| Brian Dozier 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .236 | .335 | .420 | .755 |
| Joe Mauer 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .276 | .347 | .370 | .717 |
| Kennys Vargas DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .296 | .345 | .426 | .771 |
| Trevor Plouffe 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .246 | .317 | .398 | .715 |
| Kurt Suzuki C | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .307 | .367 | .395 | .762 |
| Oswaldo Arcia RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .228 | .304 | .418 | .722 |
| Eduardo Escobar SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .275 | .315 | .399 | .714 |
| Jordan Schafer LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .189 | .271 | .245 | .516 |
| Chris Parmelee PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .251 | .304 | .387 | .692 |
| Team Totals | 35 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 37 | .257 | .278 | .371 | .649 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
2B: K Suzuki (24, off D Duffy); T Plouffe (32, off D Duffy); J Mauer (19, off W Davis); O Arcia (11, off G Holland).
SH: D Santana (2, off D Duffy).
TB: K Suzuki 4; T Plouffe 2; O Arcia 2; J Mauer 2; E Escobar; J Schafer; K Vargas.
GIDP: O Arcia (5).
RBI: O Arcia (30); C Parmelee (22); B Dozier (52).
Team LOB: 5.
With RISP: 1 for 11.
Fielding
DP: 1. J Mauer-E Escobar.
| Royals Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | Pit | Str |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Duffy, W (8-10) | 5.1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.60 | 79 | 50 |
| Aaron Crow, H (9) | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 7 | 3 |
| Francisley Bueno, H (5) | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.49 | 2 | 2 |
| Kelvin Herrera, H (13) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.59 | 15 | 10 |
| Wade Davis, H (26) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.84 | 18 | 14 |
| Greg Holland, S (37) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.86 | 22 | 12 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 | 143 | 91 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | Pit | Str |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Nolasco, L (5-8) | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5.99 | 81 | 48 |
| Caleb Thielbar | 0.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.05 | 7 | 4 |
| Jared Burton | 1.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.37 | 20 | 14 |
| Brian Duensing | 0.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.28 | 10 | 7 |
| Ryan Pressly | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.75 | 8 | 6 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6.00 | 126 | 79 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.
Balks: None.
WP: J Burton (1).
HBP: R Nolasco (1; A Gordon).
IBB: None.
Pickoffs: Non