*Photo from Royals Review*
Even games between bad teams have interesting endings. Salvador Perez homered, Nick Pratto drove in two runs, and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Oakland Athletics with a 5-1 victory on Sunday in Kansas City.
Looking to avoid the sweep, the Royals ended the series with a win in a matchup between the two teams with the worst records in the league. Both teams have still yet to reach 10 wins, with the Royals having 9 wins and the A's having 8.
Perez started the scoring right away for the Royals. In the first inning, he hit a solo home run to left field, making the lead 1-0 pretty early. In the top of the 4th inning, the Athletics got on the board. Ramon Laureano singled, scoring Brent Rooker to tie the score 1-1. Maikel Garcia put the Royals ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single.
The scoring didn't resume until the 8th inning. Pratto widened the Royals lead, making it a 4-1 game with a two run double to center field that scored Perez and MJ Melendez. Pratto then crossed the plate later in the inning, making the Royals lead 5-1 on a sac fly from Michael Massey, sealing the win for the Royals.
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of Perez that "For however many seasons this is, to continue to be that guy everybody can count on, every single day, as a catcher, it’s quite amazing. He’s phenomenal. He really is just fun to watch. He’s fun to be around, and I’m glad he’s on our team."
Ryan Yarbrough got the start for the Royals, allowing one run on 3 hits and no walks in 5 2/3 innings. He was struck in the face by a line drive in the 6th inning, bringing his start to a quick end. He walked off the field with help from the trainers.
Quatraro said of the incident that "Your heart drops in those moments, it is one of the worst things you can see on the field. Luckily, when we got out there, Yarbrough was aware of what was going on. He is going to get more tests. As far as his outing until that point, that was just what we are used to seeing from him."
It was Mason Miller who started for the Athletics, allowing two runs on 5 hits and a walk in 6 innings, being a tough luck loser. Shintaro Fujinami allowed 3 runs in 1 1/3 innings, leading to Sam Long pitching the next 2/3 of an inning.
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said of Miller's start that "Miller is building momentum and I think each start he is just getting better and better. Veteran Salvador got him early in the game and seemed to see him pretty well, but was probably the only guy in the lineup really. Overall, good performance."
Up next, the Royals welcome the Chicago White Sox to town on Monday night, with Zack Greinke getting the start in the series opener. The Athletics travel to face the New York Yankees on Monday, with JP Sears lined up to start.
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