The Kansas City Royals blew an early lead but pulled out a victory in extras, downing the Cleveland Indians 7-6 in 14 innings.
Kansas City depended on twelve innings out of their bullpen, as starter Jake Odorizzi lasted only two frames. The rookie right-hander allowed one run on two hits and three walks while throwing 43 of his 65 pitches for strikes.
The Royals were able to erase the Indians’ one-run lead in the 3rd, scoring six runs on five hits. Third baseman Mike Moustakas doubled to drive in two and right fielder Jeff Francoeur followed him up with his 15th home run of the year, a three-run shot to left. All of the runs came against Indians starter Jeanmar Gomez.
Right-hander Nate Adcock followed Odorizzi’s disappointing start by allowing a single unearned run over 3 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old allowed two hits and a walk while collecting six strikeouts. Left-hander Francisley Bueno added 1 1/3 perfect innings of work.
Unfortunately for the Royals their next three relievers weren’t able to retain the lead. Aaron Crow, Tim Collins and Greg Holland combined to allow four runs on four hits and five walks over the next two innings, sending the contest into extras.
The game remained tied well into extra innings until Kansas City was able to move ahead for good in the 14th on an RBI single off the bat of second baseman Tony Abreu. Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base in the bottom-half of the frame, but he managed to escape the jam and collect his third save of the season.