*Photo from AP News*
Brady Singer needed some help after that performance. Luckily for him, he got it. Michael A Taylor hit the go ahead homer, Bobby Witt Jr homered, and the Kansas City Royals rallied to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays with a 6-3 victory on Saturday night in Kansas City.
Entering this game having lost 4 straight, the Royals desperately needed to right the ship. Luckily for them, they got a career start from Singer to keep them in it. After losing the lead late in the game, Taylor and Witt Jr fired up the engines and took the lead back, good for the Royals 5th win in 10 games.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Singer that "We were always hoping he would find confidence in that third pitch, but he’s using it actually to make the others better, which is perfect. And he’s gaining confidence the more he practices it. Attacking, trusting guys to make plays behind. But he was getting a lot of outs himself with the swing and miss."
The Royals jumped out to an early lead in the 3rd inning of this one. Witt Jr doubled into the left center field gap, scoring MJ Melendez to put the Royals ahead 1-0. Witt Jr and Andrew Beninteni both scored on a two run double from Whit Merrifield, tripling the lead to a 3-0 margin. In the 6th inning, the Rays got on the board, making it 3-1 on an RBI single from Luke Raley.
In the 7th, the Rays charged back and tied the game, with new addition Roman Quinn hitting a two run triple to make it a 3-3 deadlock. In the 8th, the Royals got back up after being knocked down, with a solo home run from Taylor and a two run home run from Witt Jr getting the Royals the lead back, by a 6-3 score.
Singer provided a career outing for the Royals in his latest start, allowing two runs on 3 hits and two walks across 6 innings of work, getting a no decision. Taylor Clarke yielded one run in one inning of work in the 7th. Scott Barlow got the win with two shutout innings to seal the game.
Also in his start, Singer racked up 12 strikeouts, which is a career high. He's also the first Royals pitcher to strike out 12 hitters in a game since Mike Montgomery did it in August of 2019. Additionally, Rays hitters whiffed at 45 percent of the swings they took.
Matheny said of Singer's pitching that "He threw some really good changeups but the slider was wipeout today. To get 12 strikeouts, it had to be one of those disappearing sliders and throwing it in the right part of the zone and strikes when we wanted to. One of the best we've seen from him, it was a great job."
Getting the start for the Rays was Luis Patino, who handled the first 4 innings of the game, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3 hitters. Ryan Yarbrough came out of the bullpen, also giving up 3 runs while taking the loss in 4 innings pitched, falling to 0-5 this season.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the late loss that "It was unfortunate because Yarbrough did give us a chance right there. I liked the matchup with all the lefties they had loaded up there and the one righty they pinch hit for kind of came back to bite us."
Up next, the Royals and Rays conclude their series on Sunday afternoon. Kris Bubic takes the mound for the Royals as they look for the series win, while the Rays go for the series win with Jeffrey Springs starting.
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