The Playoff Race: Liam Hendriks Steps Up in KC Win
By John Viril
Aug 27, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Liam Hendriks (39) hugs his wife Kristi Hendriks after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Minor leaguer Liam Hendriks made a spot start on Wednesday for the Kansas City Royals in place of Yordano Ventura who has a sore back. Hendriks held the Twins to 1 run, while the offense came alive late to power KC’s 6-1 win over the Twins.
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A late rally for the 2nd night in a row wiped out a 1-0 Twins lead by plating 6 runs on 7 hits in the 8th inning, capped by Salvador Perez‘s bases-clearing triple that drove in the final 2 runs.
The outburst came after Hendriks left the game trailing 1-0 and Twin starter Phil Hughes held the Royals to 2 hits through 7 innings.
What a comeback!
A.L. CENTRAL
| Rk | Tm | W | L | W-L% | GB | Strk | Home | Road | 1Run | vRHP | vLHP | ≥.500 | <.500 | last10 | last30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KCR | 74 | 58 | .561 | — | W 2 | 35-29 | 39-29 | 18-21 | 54-40 | 20-18 | 38-36 | 36-22 | 7-3 | 22-8 |
| 2 | DET | 71 | 60 | .542 | 2.5 | L 1 | 34-30 | 37-30 | 19-18 | 46-41 | 25-19 | 37-34 | 34-26 | 5-5 | 14-16 |
| 3 | CLE | 67 | 64 | .511 | 6.5 | L 1 | 39-25 | 28-39 | 19-18 | 49-44 | 18-20 | 31-38 | 36-26 | 6-4 | 16-14 |
| 4 | CHW | 60 | 72 | .455 | 14.0 | W 1 | 32-33 | 28-39 | 22-20 | 43-53 | 17-19 | 37-45 | 23-27 | 2-8 | 12-18 |
| 5 | MIN | 58 | 74 | .439 | 16.0 | L 4 | 29-37 | 29-37 | 17-20 | 39-49 | 19-25 | 36-50 | 22-24 | 3-7 | 12-18 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Detroit’s 8-4 loss to the Yankees in Comerica Park combined with the Royals win increases Kansas City’s A.L. Central lead to 2.5 games.
The Yankees jumped on former Cy Young award winner David Price (whom the Tigers acquired in a deadline deal with Tampa Bay) for 8 runs in the 3rd inning, pretty much putting the game out of reach.
The loss came on the same day the the Tigers received news that starter Anibal Sanchez suffered a setback in his return from injury, and might miss the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, Cleveland dropped a game to the White Sox 3-2, after the Indians rallied to tie the game in the top of the 7th. The White Sox came right back against Indians ace Corey Kluber (13-8) to score the winning run.
Cleveland fell to 6.5 games behind KC.
A.L. WILD CARD
| Rk | Tm | W | L | W-L% | GB | Strk | Home | Road | 1Run | vRHP | vLHP | ≥.500 | <.500 | last10 | last30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | OAK | 78 | 54 | .591 | — | W 1 | 43-23 | 35-31 | 19-17 | 56-38 | 22-16 | 40-34 | 38-20 | 5-5 | 15-15 |
| 4 | KCR | 74 | 58 | .561 | — | W 2 | 35-29 | 39-29 | 18-21 | 54-40 | 20-18 | 38-36 | 36-22 | 7-3 | 22-8 |
| 5 | SEA | 72 | 60 | .545 | — | L 1 | 35-34 | 37-26 | 14-23 | 45-43 | 27-17 | 39-25 | 33-35 | 6-4 | 19-11 |
| 6 | DET | 71 | 60 | .542 | 0.5 | L 1 | 34-30 | 37-30 | 19-18 | 46-41 | 25-19 | 37-34 | 34-26 | 5-5 | 14-16 |
| 7 | NYY | 69 | 62 | .527 | 2.5 | W 1 | 33-31 | 36-31 | 21-16 | 49-44 | 20-18 | 33-34 | 36-28 | 7-3 | 16-14 |
| 8 | CLE | 67 | 64 | .511 | 4.5 | L 1 | 39-25 | 28-39 | 19-18 | 49-44 | 18-20 | 31-38 | 36-26 | 6-4 | 16-14 |
| 9 | TOR | 67 | 66 | .504 | 5.5 | W 1 | 35-30 | 32-36 | 12-14 | 50-49 | 17-17 | 33-38 | 34-28 | 4-6 | 13-17 |
| 10 | TBR | 65 | 68 | .489 | 7.5 | W 1 | 29-36 | 36-32 | 19-17 | 49-49 | 16-19 | 39-48 | 26-20 | 4-6 | 15-15 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table.
Oakland and Seattle hold the 1st and 2nd wild cards, with KC atop the A.L. Central.
Oakland defeated the Astros with a 3-run rally in the top of the 9th to wipe out a 4-2 deficit. The comeback was fueled by home runs from Coco Crisp (9) and a 2-run shot by Sam Fuld (3). The win keeps Oakland 1 game behind the Angels (who beat the Marlins 6-1) in the A.L. West, and 4 games ahead of the Royals in the wild card standings.
The Mariners got stomped by Texas 12-4 at Safeco Field in Seattle, dropping them 2 back of Kanssas City. They still hold a 1/2 game lead over the Tigers for the 2nd wild card since the Tigers also lost to the Yankees.
The Yankees have made a bit of a run at the 2nd wild card, winning 6 of their last 7 games and pulling within 2.5 games of Seattle (5.5 behind KC). Derek Jeter may yet get one more post-season ride.