*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
Well, that's one way to win a baseball game. Salvador Perez drove in 4 runs, Dairon Blanco drove in the winning run, and the Kansas City Royals rallied to defeat the Seattle Mariners with a 7-6 victory on Monday night in Kansas City.
After seeing a 5-0 lead turn into a 6-5 deficit, the Royals scored twice in the 9th inning, winning the game on a walk off squeeze bunt by Blanco. After winning 7 in a row, the Mariners have now lost their 3rd straight game, staying in the muck of the AL Wild Card race.
Seattle manager Scott Servais said after the game that "Kansas City has been playing much better of late. They're able to put a lot of pressure on you. They’re very young and athletic. They bunt, they put the ball in play and are super aggressive on the bases, super aggressive in the batter’s box."
Perez got the scoring started in the first inning, blasting a 3 run home run to put the Royals ahead by a 3-0 score. It stayed that way until the 5th inning, when Bobby Witt Jr hit a solo home run to make it 4-0. Maikel Garcia drew a bases loaded walk in the 6th to make it 5-0. Julio Rodriguez got the Mariners on the board in the 8th with a 3 run double to make it 5-3.
With Rodriguez on base, Eugenio Suarez brought him in with an RBI single to make it a 5-4 game. In the top of the 9th, Josh Rojas and Rodriguez each hit RBI singles, putting the Mariners in front by a 6-5 score. Perez tied the game 5-5 with a sac fly that scored Witt Jr. With Samad Taylor on base, Blanco bunted down the first base line, with the Mariners unable to field it to give the Royals the win.
Brady Singer got the start for the Royals and carried a no hitter deep into the game. He finished with two runs on two hits and a walk in 7 1/3 innings. Carlos Hernandez and Austin Cox each allowed two runs, with Nick Wittgren getting credit for the win.
Singer said about his near no hitter that "I knew, but you never think it’s going to happen, so I was just trying to go out there and make pitches. Obviously, if it happened, it happened, but just trying to stay in the zone as much as I could and not worry about that. Just try and get quick outs."
Logan Gilbert allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings in his start for the Mariners. Tayler Saucedo allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings before Isaiah Campbell and Justin Topa threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Matt Brash got the loss in the 9th.
Brash said of the walk off loss that "We knew they like to do it, but he laid down a good bunt. It would have been a bang-bang play anyways. They've got a lot of speed. It's a tough play. It kind of is what it is. The team fought to come back, and I didn't do my job. But tomorrow's a new day, and I'm going to be asked to do it again. I’ll be ready."
Up next, the series continues on Tuesday night. The Royals give the start to veteran Jordan Lyles, while rookie Emerson Hancock will make his second big league start for the Mariners.
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